Episode 40: Mackendrick's Rules, Part 1

The Secrets of Story Podcast · Mackendrick's Rules, Part 1

We’re back! After a long hiatus, James and I return with a new episode per week for the next three weeks at least! The great Alexander Mackendrick (The Man in the White Suit, The Ladykillers, Sweet Smell of Success) finished out his career teaching at Cal Arts and his advice was famously boiled down to 41 rules for storytellers. A while ago, I gave my thoughts on those rules, and now, many years later, I give James a chance to respond, which leads to a rollicking discussion. There was a ton of great material here, so we ended up with our first three-part episode! Enjoy Part 1 this week.

Updated to add: And hey, here’s two videos we mentioned. First is the video James and his kids made, Hat-Chet:
And here’s that one-second film festival I loved, which is, amazingly, still on the internet:  

(Click the V to play it larger on Vimeo.)