BPS 108: The Power of the Dark Side: Creating Great Villains with Pamela Jaye Smith

BPS 108: The Power of the Dark Side: Creating Great Villains with Pamela Jaye Smith

Author: Bulletproof Screenwriting February 17, 2021 Duration: 1:11:21
Today on the show we have author Pamela Jaye Smith. She is is a mythologist, international consultant-speaker, and award-winning writer-producer-director with 30+ years in features, TV, music videos, commercials, documentaries, web series, corporate and military films. She has worked at major studios and with wildly independent companies in Hollywood and around the world, always enjoying the process of bringing creative ideas to worldwide screens.

Credits include Fox, Disney, Paramount, Microsoft, Universal, RAI-TV Rome, UCLA, USC Film School, American Film Institute, Women in Film, Natl. Film Institute of Denmark, LA and Marseille and Roma WebFests, Romance Writers of America, Children’s Book Writers LA, and many media festivals and

Pamela founded MYTHWORKS a consulting and information resource offering Applied Mythology for individuals, organizations, and the media arts. She teaches and consults on fiction and non-fiction, writes for others, coaches writers and actors, and helps individuals discover and use their personal archetypes.

Smith authored "SHOW ME THE LOVE: All Kinds of Love for All Kinds of Stories", "INNER DRIVES: How to Write and Create Characters Using the [chakras] 8 Classic Centers of Motivation", "SYMBOLS.IMAGES.CODES: The Secret Language of Meaning in Media", and "BEYOND THE HERO'S JOURNEY: Other Powerful Mythic Themes".

She was the mythologist interviewed on Fox's ICE AGE: CONTINENTAL DRIFT Special Features and has appeared on national TV and radio programs as a mythology expert, including the "Forbidden Secrets" TV series. She was on-camera spokesperson for Microsoft's "Age of Mythology" on-line computer game and designed their "Which God Are You?" quiz.

Her book The Power of the Dark Side: Creating Great Villains, Dangerous Situations, & Dramatic Conflict is why I wanted her on the show. I wanted to go deep into what makes a good multidimensional villain. Conflict is the very heart and soul of drama, and Pamela's latest work explores character conflict and the various ways to portray it both in scripts and on the stage.

Enjoy my conversation with Pamela Jaye Smith.

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Ever find yourself staring at a blank page, wondering how the stories you love actually got made? Bulletproof Screenwriting™ Podcast digs into that process with the people who live it. Each week, we sit down for honest, detailed conversations that pull back the curtain on the craft and business of telling stories for the screen. You’ll hear from Oscar® and Emmy® award-winning writers, not just about their triumphs, but about the drafts that failed and the specific problems they had to solve. We also talk with best-selling authors who have adapted their work, seasoned Hollywood agents and managers who know what sells, and various industry insiders who provide a clear-eyed view of how things really work. This isn't about abstract theory or motivational fluff. It's a practical resource built on real experience, covering every aspect of the screenwriting process from that initial spark of an idea to navigating the complexities of the marketplace. The goal is straightforward: to provide you with actionable insights and straight talk that can strengthen your work and clarify your path forward. Whether you're just starting out or have a few scripts under your belt, this podcast offers a grounded perspective on the journey, one concrete discussion at a time. Tune in for a dose of reality and craft from those who have been in the trenches and emerged with stories to tell.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 500

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