Cole Haddon
@colehaddon
Followers
6,744
Following
1,700
Media
1,650
Statuses
25,133
I write things. Novel PSALMS FOR THE END OF THE WORLD out now (order: ). Subscribe to me at Substack:
Australia
Joined February 2011
Don't wanna be here?
Send us removal request.
Explore trending content on Musk Viewer
Pinned Tweet
‘How to Survive the Creative Embarrassment of Working in Genre’
A host of filmmakers, novelists, and comic book writers from around the globe discuss the value of genre storytelling and how these stories are still disrespected by many in the arts.
0
7
9
These headlines crack me up. This argument from Alan Moore isn't a controversial new idea from him. It's literally the thesis and conclusion of WATCHMEN -- which was published in 1986.
‘Watchmen’ Creator Alan Moore Warns That Adults’ ‘Infantile’ Love of Superhero Movies Can Lead to Fascism
131
402
3K
76
5K
37K
It's almost as if people under 35 will actually go to the movie theater to see dramas if you give them interesting, exciting, fresh ones to watch. See: OPPENHEIMER, the audience for which was around 60% under-35.
46% of opening night moviegoers for "Killers of the Flower Moon" were under 35 years old.
116
768
10K
25
515
7K
#AllLivesDidntMatter
when the U.S. unconstitutionally threw 120,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps because they "could" be threats.
33
4K
5K
"THE SANDMAN" TV series is a success in so many ways, but none more so than how it manages to recreate what made the
@neilhimself
's comic series so important to so many. Simply put: it makes you feel less alone in this confusing, terrifying, and far too often lonely world.
20
379
4K
By the time I got the chance to see TOP GUN: MAVERICK, I had heard from every direction that it was a great film. After its opening sequence, I had no doubt it would be. Let me explain why, which might interest fellow screenwriters and, more broadly, storytellers. 1/
31
300
2K
"Naatu Naatu" from RRR is predicted to nab a "Bet Original Song" nomination at the 2023 Oscars. If you haven't experienced it yet, do so immediately. It's become a standard in my house. Even thinking about it makes me grin (I'm grinning right now).
12
343
2K
Holy hell, I'm one hour into RRR from
@ssrajamouli
and I haven't had this much fun watching a film all year. My wife just walked into the room and asked why I was grinning. Getting back into it now...
19
217
2K
Dear White People, when you call the
#BaltimoreRiots
the work of violent animals, you sound like your grandparents did in the 1960s. Stop.
117
2K
1K
This tweet is the only explanation of any labor dispute you'll ever need.
#WGAstrike
#SAGAFTRAstrike
#UnionStrong
8
403
2K
Nothing about this tweet is true except Trump's desire to mass murder a religious group. Nazi is as Nazi does.
Study what General Pershing of the United States did to terrorists when caught. There was no more Radical Islamic Terror for 35 years!
53K
17K
67K
8
349
1K
Screenwriters, let me tell you about the time an American mega-producer stole my project. Not behind my back, but to my face. In it is a lesson to bear in mind when discussing any ideas you have that are derived from history, public domain properties, or ancient mythologies. 1/
40
164
1K
Ex-VP Cheney is a war criminal & should be rotting behind bars. Instead, he gets to write op-eds blaming others for fallout from his crimes.
48
592
806
What is all this bullshit about actors taking on the studios' risk with them? They're not hitting Vegas together. Actors are employees, and they expect to be paid fairly for their labor. If a studio can't turn a profit from that labor, it's on them. Take it out of the CEOs' pay.
29
233
1K
Sometimes I wonder if RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK could get made today. I miss the days when hating Nazis was something we all could agree on.
This is a friendly reminder that Ohio House Republicans are advancing a bill to teach BOTH SIDES OF THE HOLOCAUST.
8K
26K
87K
58
173
804
"We did not anticipate authors and other reasonable people would take issue with our totally well-thought-out plans to segregate the stories of people of color and other marginalized groups away from the books that make cishet white people feel the world was made just for them."
17
263
904
Screenwriters, let me tell you about the time I sold a TV project and made it multiple drafts into the pilot process before discovering the real reason my employer's notes had proven so impossible to answer. 1/
25
129
804
I balked when Kristen Stewart (an American) was cast as Princess Diana in SPENCER. But her transformation into Di isn't just hair, posture, or other traits. It's spiritual. She's unrecognizable in any way. A moving, I dare say transcendent performance in a film I greatly enjoyed.
5
97
644
You know what would happen if I walked around my neighborhood carrying a toy gun? Nothing. Nothing at all.
#CrimingWhileWhite
27
794
498
I was first called "difficult" after I declined to do further free work after 26 FUCKING DRAFTS and demanded the most current one be turned into the studio.
An executive saying 'That writer is difficult' is often code for 'That writer won't put up with free work or late payment.' When this strike is over, I'll bet a lot more WGA members are going to be considered 'difficult.'
17
194
1K
11
113
626
The
#Oscars2023
failed to nominate
#RRRMovie
for Best Picture, which confirms my decision to give up on and stop watching the awards five years ago.
Here's a list of films that inspired and/or excited me this past year -- which includes RRR.
10
77
573
Josh Hawley running away from the January 6th insurrectionists after encouraging them on. Check out his new book MANHOOD to learn more about hypocritical white male fragility.
The Josh Hawley ‘Manhood’ book tour has begun, and I am insanely inspired already.
2K
250
3K
16
113
571
I can't imagine how confusing this video must be for Americans who think refusing to wear masks is opposing tyranny.
Video of Ukrainian father saying goodbye to his kids while he stays behind to fight.
Fuck war.
5K
47K
202K
11
79
556
1. Netflix is 99% shit.
2. The 1% of new stuff worth your time can be watched over the course of one month every year.
3. Cancel Netflix, sign up for one month a year, and get everything you want from them for $22.99.
4. Buy tickets to indie films with all the money you save.
Netflix is increasing its fees in the US, UK & France.
• Premium subscription will cost $22.99/month instead of $19.99
• Basic subscription will cost $11.99/month instead of $9.99
But somehow they are still refusing to pay actors 57 CENTS per subscriber in streaming revenue.
191
2K
11K
10
84
589
WTF died inside you that you could hate INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY?
56
43
532
This is bullshit. I watched all the films I actually wanted to watch when I had video stores to go to. Now I can't find anything I'm looking for on the streamers I subscribe to and must go to Apple to rent films, only to often find what I'm after isn't available there either.
Streaming is a modern marvel that allows us to watch more shows and movies than any old Blockbuster could hope to stock.
But somehow, the act of consuming content has never felt more frustrating than it does today, writes
@cwarzel
.
118
54
417
15
78
525
Screenwriters, let me tell you the story of how I sold my first project in Hollywood and, in doing so, share with you a valuable lesson about trusting yourself in a business where nobody knows anything but everybody insists they know everything. 1/
10
59
474
Nia DaCosta had actually directed two films before THE MARVELS, plus multiple episodes of television.
Colin Trevorrow had directed one film, which had grossed a total of $100K, when he was given JURASSIC WORLD. It went on to make $1.67 billion.
Yes, the system is "rigged".
The director of the Marvels had only directed one feature before.
It was the failed retelling of Candyman.
They’re letting people with barely any experience direct 250 mil dollar films based on their race and gender.
Be as critical of it as you want. It’s all rigged.
1K
168
1K
12
95
492
YOU DIDN'T CARE ABOUT BOX OFFICE WHEN YOU WERE A KID. STOP ACTING LIKE IT MATTERS TODAY. ART ISN'T SOMETHING YOU ROOT FOR LIKE SPORTS TEAMS.
#TheMarvels
is shaping up to be the lowest domestic opening ever for a Disney Marvel Cinematic Universe title
159
77
545
15
77
458
Most I know dwell on
@neilhimself
's SANDMAN series in story terms, but the potency of the art is unparalleled, too. It taps into an unconscious anxiety about the modern world (our perceived reality) that both underpins narrative & haunts you even as single panels like this one.
12
341
3K
4
42
407
Stupidity will always be a bigger killer than Covid-19.
72 protestors tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a large rally against the stay-at-home order in Wisconsin
900
2K
6K
10
113
367
Translation: “We can’t figure out how to make money off streaming platforms we staked our businesses on, so filmmakers should take pay cuts or work for free to help us stay afloat. Meanwhile. we’ll keep taking multimillion dollar payouts for failing.”
Disney CEO Bob Iger says "there’s a level of expectation" the Hollywood strikers have "that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive."
130
52
208
9
109
409
This review by Giles Coren in the
@thetimes
is easily one of the most overtly racist things I've read published in a major newspaper in the 21st Century.
A review of the new London
@PopeyesUK
restaurant in The Times. Fried chicken = Black people = sloth, waste, degradation.
349
658
3K
17
98
352
A few years ago, I had an A-list film actor who is also an Emmy-nominated TV actor attached to star in a TV series I created. The studio refused to pay for a pilot. They wanted me to spec it first.
For the past 5+ years, every exec has asked for an A-list director attachment or secondarily, an actor with some “juice” plus extensive pitch materials in order for them to even consider buying something. Prior to that, you could sell an idea off a logline and a 20-minute pitch.
5
184
919
11
64
361
After my friend
@WomenScribes
challenged a fellow filmmaker's list of "great screenplays" for lacking any by women, I culled the internet and assembled this list of brilliant scripts by women you can download for free and study.
#ScreenwritingTwitter
19
119
357
Just saw
#DonaldTrump
's Star of David tweet. I'm impressed by his ability to find a way to insult literally every kind of human being.
49
157
262
Dear White People Suggesting Looters Be Shot on Sight, do you feel the same when white sports fans take to the streets?
#BaltimoreRiots
46
305
234
Ever noticed how everyone photographed next to Donald Trump (and unrelated to him) looks like they're having the worst day of their lives?
11
24
248
One day you'll realize what a mistake it was to give up on physical media, which sadly will coincide with your realization that you can only watch what a handful of huge corporations want you to watch. Myself, I'll continue to expand and safeguard my personal film/TV collection.
BREAKING/EXCLUSIVE on The Digital Bits – Best Buy is exiting the physical media business for good in 2024
59
81
198
14
75
324
Rather than become the Christian martyr she hoped to,
#KimDavis
, serial wife and adulturer, has become the face of Christian hypocrisy.
7
157
225
In other words, my employer was giving me notes on what they thought they bought -- which had no relationship to the source material or my pitch. There were no more drafts. The writing sample all this produced got me several more jobs...so that's at least something. 12/
10
6
274
The lesson of this tale of screenwriting woe: Your take on a “public domain” event, story, or world might be original, but there's no real way to protect that idea. Sure, you can try to sue, but do you have the financial wherewithal as a new writer to do that? So, be careful. 13/
8
10
276
Just a quick note for those of you who have enjoyed this screenwriting tweet thread: it’s not even in the Top 5 dumbest or terrible things I’ve experienced as an employed screenwriter. In fact, it barely scratches the Top 10. 13/
8
3
248
THE MARVELS is a blast. What does Iger think having more execs on set would’ve done for its box office numbers? My kids blame everyone else for their own mistakes, too. It’s even less adorable when a billionaire CEO does it.
‘The Marvels’ Suffered From a Lack of ‘Supervision on the Set,’ Says Bob Iger; Disney CEO Admits Studio Has ‘Made Too Many’ Sequels Recently
84
33
128
6
41
270
Why would I invest any enthusiasm into a studio’s next tax write down?
A new live-action/animated hybrid ‘BUGS BUNNY’ movie is reportedly in the works.
(Source: )
567
942
9K
7
47
265
TOP GUN: MAVERICK is how sequels, reboots, requels -- whatever you call them -- should work. The filmmakers make it look so easy here, you're left wondering why it doesn't. 17/
7
20
227
I've made this point over and over: it's very possible to be a full-time working screenwriter and fail to make a living wage in LA. This is why we're on strike.
#WGAstrike
3
58
234
"SUPERNATURAL" ran for 15 seasons on network TV - 327 episodes! - so all you need to know is that it is and always has been wildly profitable. Netflix licensed it from WBD and sells subscriptions off it, so now BOTH WBD and Netflix are profiting. Know who isn't?
@therealKripke
.
This is why we strike.
#Supernatural
Creator Eric Kripke Hasn’t Seen Residuals From Netflix via
@gizmodo
41
370
1K
3
69
232
This is revisionist history. The Army prohibited black people from service until 1862 and was segregated until 1948.
The Army doesn't tolerate racism, extremism, or hatred in our ranks. It's against our Values and everything we've stood for since 1775.
3K
25K
82K
7
46
172
If only there were evidence the
#Trump
administration is comprised of white supremacists. Then we'd know for sure.
#BREAKING
PHOTO: Sebastian Gorka wearing uniform & medal of Vitézi Rend-a Nazi ally group in Hungary-found on facebook-undated
#trumprussia
658
7K
6K
6
120
161
Adam Conover explains what it's like to work for the streamers without MBA protections. This is why we're on strike.
Read more at 'Into the Black Hole: What’s at Stake for Comedy/Variety Writers in the WGA Strike':
#WGAstrike
#WGAstrong
#WGA
0
59
214
I’ve experienced the joy of watching all of
#WellingtonParanormal
now, and I can’t recommend it enough. Silly & unpretentious, it makes no demands of you; and yet it’s also extremely clever, the jokes are crackling & you miss the cast as soon as each episode ends. Check it out!
4
5
188
Long story short: The employer had bought an adaptation of a TV commercial they watched, but never actually watched the pilot the commercial was made for. From this commercial alone, they discerned we were adapting a haunted house series filled with...ghosts. Lots of them. 11/
4
10
189
They're calling for the eradication of transgender people because they think it will help them get elected. But after that, they'll come for every other group they don't like, too. Because they're cut from the same cloth as Nazis and every other fascist movement in history.
4
77
197
Weds: 0 mass shootings in Australia.
Thurs: 0 mass shootings in Australia.
Friday: 0 mass shootings in Australia.
Yesterday: 0 mass shootings in Australia.
Today: 0 mass shootings in Australia.
Hm, what's the difference?
Weds: mass shootings in Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Paterson
Thurs: mass shooting in Hot Springs National Park
Friday: mass shooting in Milwaukee
Yesterday: mass shooting in Buffalo
Today: mass shootings in Houston and Orange County
210
3K
7K
5
39
181
Back to me: At this point in TOP GUN: MAVERICK, it was so painfully obvious that the filmmakers were operating at a storytelling level well beyond what most Hollywood films offer these days, I sat back, grinning, utterly confident I'd enjoy every minute of the experience. 15/
1
6
185
And I did enjoy it -- LOVED IT is more accurate. I laughed. I cheered. I cried a lot, as did my wife, because we were so caught off-guard by a cinematic experience that manages to be nostalgic, refreshingly new, and brilliantly executed in 2022. 16/
3
8
191
Good news,
@NBCDracula
fans! Today, NBC said there's a good chance you'll get a second season of
#Dracula
!
http://t.co/27FLR6Di6I
98
161
153
The mega-producer isn't happy about this because it’s going to be very hard for them to find an A-list screenwriter who will want to share credit with some “no name”. I’m trying to blow up their project, I’m told. They actually try to turn themselves into the aggrieved party. 9/
1
2
166
I stand my ground, since I’ve already been screwed by this production company. I’m also early in my career and so still dumb enough to have things like integrity. Eventually, the mega-producer concedes. 10/
1
2
166
Long story short: no studio buys EPIC. But that’s not the point of this story, is it? (Though, I will admit, I was pleased the mega-producer managed to fall on their faces after what they so brazenly did to me.) 12/
3
2
167
The mega-producer has pointed out my pitch for EPIC is based on mythology that exists in the public domain of human history, so they’re just going to do it without me if I complain. This isn’t an extraordinary thing to do in Hollywood, but saying it aloud…well…is. 7/
1
3
161
At the closing bell today:
DIS -2.04%
CMCSA -1.29%
NFLX -1.88%
PARA -5.11%
WBD -5.34%
If they can't run their businesses properly and pay their employees adequately, burn it all down. Whatever follows can't be any worse than the hellscape these clowns want for us.
5
34
174
80
114
149
Staffing my own show was a comically stupid experience thanks to agencies and management companies and my producers. Maybe we shouldn't rely on them to be our gatekeepers. There has to be a more efficient way for us to find each other than Twitter, right?
A lot of us are in the stressful position of looking for work post-strike, & so am I... I'm a single mom with a kid to feed & available to staff. 16+ years as a WA, SC, and staff writer. I've written 5 eps ranging from hourlong (Foundation, Fire Country) to animation (TigNSeek)
21
384
1K
13
15
174
Matt Damon delivers an incredibly pro-labor statement. Deadline tries to make it sound like he’s shit-talking the WGA and SAG strikes.
1
36
170
There you go. Eleven or so very economical minutes into the film, and you know everything you need to know about Maverick. Every moment of action was conceived and executed specifically to dramatize all this backstory and set up Maverick's character arc in TOP GUN: MAVERICK. 14/
1
5
165
I’m given two choices: either accept a co-producer credit or take a “story by” credit. Everyone knows co-producer credits mean nothing, and you only get paid if the film gets made. I’m a writer, goddamnit, right? – so I tell my agent I want the “story by” credit. 8/
3
2
158
I don't care if the slaves who built the White House were paid in gold and housed in mansions, Bill O'Reilly -- THEY WERE SLAVES!!!
10
52
130
Says the pretty white girl who never worries about getting shot when cops pull her over.
#whiteprivilege
#kateupton
7
64
126
I am a HUGE fan of
@Starbucks
' new Satanic holiday cup. All hail Satan!
#StarbucksRedCup
#starbuckschristmas
9
56
128
It's rare to wake up to good news in the 21st century anymore, but here in London, I just woke up to an email from the WGA saying we did it. WE did it. This is why unions scare corporations so much, my friends. Now, let's help SAG-AFTRA stick it to the bastards next.
#unionstrong
5
14
167
My employer begins to throw out bad ideas. If you’re a screenwriter, you know how this goes. “Let me pitch you the bad idea here.” Pro-tip: they never think it's a "bad idea" when they say this. 8/
2
4
145
For years, filmmakers have pleaded with people not to pirate films and TV series. But now, it seems necessary to encourage people to do just that in order to protect these works of art from the assholes who regard them as nothing more than numbers on a spreadsheet.
Disney to Take $1.5 Billion Content Write-Off Charge in June Quarter After Pulling Dozens of Titles From Streaming Services
169
270
637
2
72
161
You know what happens when I get pulled over by cops? They call me "sir".
#CrimingWhileWhite
10
128
117
At this point, I sense something is truly amiss.
Me: “Why does the door bang?”
My employer (in a tone that suggests this is why they get paid the big bucks): "The ghost.”
Me: “What ghost?”
Them: The ghost in the house."
Me: "But...there is no ghost."
10/
4
4
142
For context, my screenwriting career launched in the US on the back of a spec script that reimagined one of my favorite books as a child. I quickly sold several other such "reboots" of my childhood... 2/
1
2
147
TOP GUN: MAVERICK isn’t just a sequel, as no film should ever be. It must re-introduce characters and present new challenges/character arcs. In the case of MAVERICK, it has the added challenge of re-introducing a character after 36 years away from the big screen. 4/
1
5
143
...creating a niche for myself in a market desperate to find the next period franchise a la RDJ's SHERLOCK HOLMES. If you’ve seen my series “DRACULA”, this is how it happened. As for the story at the heart of this thread: 3/
1
1
136
Screenwriters, here is a list of some of the most insane things that Hollywood producers have told me during my career as a professional screenwriter (including a twist ending and a lesson): 1/
4
16
145
NEW ESSAY: The Horror of "DRACULA": The Unbelievable True Story of the 2013 TV Series - Part 1 of 4
Both a story about what goes into getting a show greenlit and a cautionary tale for screenwriters about what can happen when all their dreams come true.
12
31
143
This fucking moron apparently lacks the braincells necessary to grasp that the only reason the
#LondonBridgeAttack
wasn't a mass shooting is BECAUSE Londoners CAN'T carry firearms legally. People are alive today because the Brits aren't gunpowder-high enablers of mass-murderers.
Takeaway from
#LondonBridge
incident: If law-abiding Londoners could carry firearms legally, it probably wouldn't have happened.
Amazing how bold the terrorists are when they know their victims will be unarmed.
21K
2K
7K
6
8
115
For context, I had one concern when TOP GUN: MAVERICK was announced: If Maverick’s journey in the first film was to go from dangerous self-centered “maverick” his fellow pilots are afraid of to team player, where would they take the character in the second film? 2/
2
6
137
I picked up a couple hundred new followers off this tweet, most of whom I assume are working or emerging screenwriters. Feel free to follow me on Facebook for more pop-culture musing:
4
4
127
You know what happens when I walk around with my hands in my pockets? My hands stay warm. Nothing else.
#CrimingWhileWhite
4
106
112
"Fundamentalism isn't about religion, it's about power."
An important quote from Salman Rushdie, who is thankfully off his ventilator and able to speak again.
0
29
126
At this point, I sign a contract. The mega-producer manages to find a screenwriter they think can help them sell EPIC in an (sorry) epic way. They pitch it around town (while I don't know what their pitch was, I do know the mega-producer had my take and very likely used it). 11/
1
1
126
My agent calls me. Turns out, the mega-producer loves EPIC so much, they want to find an A-list screenwriter to write it instead of me. I say no, of course not. My agent says I might not have a choice. Insert record scratch because: 6/
1
1
125
Five years ago, I pitched and was hired to write an adaptation of a foreign TV series I will not name. It had fantastical elements, but not supernatural ones. Call it a horror series with heart; something Guillermo del Toro would make (or so I flatter myself). 2/
1
1
119
You know what happens when I wear a black hoodie? It obstructs my peripheral vision. Not much else.
#CrimingWhileWhite
3
82
103
I adored
#RussianDoll
S1, but what Natasha Lyonne and her collaborators accomplish with S2 is next-level, as far as I’m concerned. In so many ways, it feels like a television series I've been waiting years, if not decades to watch. 3/
2
9
122
A couple of projects into life as a professional writer, I have a meeting with an exec at said mega-producer’s company. I pitch them an epic take on one of the most well-known foundational myths in Western civilization. Let's call it EPIC for our purposes. 4/
1
1
125
Being born white in the US is like getting a lifetime pass to Disneyland. And Disneyland is awesome. You need a White Appreciation Day, too?
13
44
90
If I were black, I wouldn't call the police for help. I'd assume the odds of living would be greater without them around.
#BlackLivesMatter
6
112
96
Their pitch, regarding more scares, is this: “What if our protagonist comes home and..." (dramatic pause) "...a door bangs upstairs? Let's make the audience really jump." 9/
2
2
112
Question 1: Who is Maverick?
He’s a test pilot with the US Navy, a past as a fighter pilot, and, judging by his motorcycle and penchant for riding it sans helmet, a need for dangerous speed. Mission accomplished without dialogue and in an incredibly economical minute or so.
7/
1
4
121
The filmmakers would've no doubt been faced with the following questions about how to start TOP GUN: MAVERICK:
1) Who is Maverick?
2) What did he learn from the first film?
3) Is he still a maverick?
4) What will his character obstacle be 36 years later?
5/
1
3
121
Chef’s kiss.
“Oh My Fucking God, Get the Fucking Vaccine Already, You Fucking Fucks”
5
24
117
I complete a first draft. The producers and studio love it. I’m a golden god. My employer – I’ll avoid identifying it as a network or streamer – says they love it…but have notes. It needs to be scarier. No problem, right? The story is solid, so let’s dial up those scares. 3/
1
1
113