Ottawa-based screenwriter and director Mark Parks talks with THGM about writing, critics and film making.

Lauralee, my younger daughter, made her screen debut last month at Ottawa’s venerable Mayfair Theatre in Dead Air, a horror short that was part of the annual Monster Pool anthology. Running 4:40, Dead Air is one of seven invited films, joined by another 12 at the “community screening”.

The director and screenwriter was Mark Parks, who had previously helped produce feature films Biff Wellington and The Stars Look Tired. He also co-produced a Bell Fibe TV1 series called The Underdog. Mark sat down to chat with us about Dead Air and the path that lead him to create it. [Read more…]

It’s one of the most popular memes out there: what people think writers really do. Let’s give it a Canadian spin.

You’ve seen the meme many times. It revolves around a profession, and it shows:

• What my friends think I do.
• What my husband/wife thinks I do.
• What society thinks I do.
• What somebody else thinks I do.
• What I think I do.
• What I really do.

They almost always travel in packs of six. Often, there’s an editor in there, because this meme is often about writers. [Read more…]