Counterpoint

Musicians know when you have it, and when you don't. I spent more than two decades standing in front of professional orchestras. Whiplash gets that exactly right. You can glare. You can intimidate. You can humiliate someone in front of their colleagues. For a while, tyranny can look remarkably like authority. But it isn't. That's why I believe most of the critics - - and viewers -- watched the wrong movie when they saw Damien Chazelle's Whiplash. Terence Fletcher, the terrify

A bad conductor keeps time like a metronome. A bad screenwriter writes like one. Twenty years on the podium taught me that rhythm is never just pulse. The pulse is a framework. What gives the music life is what happens against that framework: acceleration, hesitation, interruption, silence, contrast. Screenwriting works the same way. Here are four lessons from the podium about rhythm on the page. COUNTERPOINT: STOP PLAYING PING-PONG Bad dialogue often settles into

I've spent more than two decades on the podium, so when I watch a film about musicians, I watch it differently. I notice the hands. I notice whether the conducting could survive an actual rehearsal. I notice whether the people on screen understand that being a musician is not a job description, but rather, an identity. By that standard, Radu Mihăileanu's LE CONCERT (2009) should fail. The conducting is faked, and not particularly well. The soloist's playing is also faked, unc

He practices on a briefcase. No keys, no sound, no instrument. Just a flat surface across his lap and Beethoven moving under his fingers while the world goes by outside the window. It looks absurd. But pianists do it in hotel rooms, in green rooms, in the back seats of Ubers. That's the opening of THE COMPETITION, and it told me that the filmmakers had talked to someone who did this for a living. Joel Oliansky's 1980 film follows six pianists into the final round of an intern

I've spent more than two decades as a professional orchestral conductor. So when a film is built around one of the most famous conductors of all time, I watch it differently. I notice the hands. The rehearsal language. The relationship between the conductor and the orchestra. The physicality on the podium. But most importantly, I watch to see if the filmmakers understand that conducting is not merely something a conductor does. For many conductors - and I’d even say most of t

I've spent over two decades conducting major orchestras and ballet companies. So when BLACK SWAN came out, I watched it the way I watch anything set in my world: waiting to see what only insiders can see. What struck me most was not only the film’s authentic portrayal of the ballet world, but also how skillfully it uses that world to build one of the most effective genre pieces of its era. Spoiler Alert: This review gets into how the film works and why it works so well. If yo

There are times when a logline knows more than you do. I spent several months writing a pilot I absolutely loved. It was a slow-burn romance set in the high-stakes world of ballet and classical music. The feedback I received on the script was strong: genuine voice, great cinematics, and authentic world-building. That feedback came from mentors and colleagues I trust completely. And yet, when presented with the logline, those same people were unmoved. We tried several ve

In the 1984 film, AMADEUS, one of the most famous lines is delivered by Emperor Joseph II to Mozart: “Your work is ingenious. It's quality work. And there are simply too many notes, that's all. Just cut a few, and it will be perfect." In the classical music world, "too many notes" can, in fact, be a real problem. And it isn't about virtuosity, as you might expect. It’s often about style over substance. Or overdramatization. Or indulgence. But whatever the cause, t

This is the first in a series exploring my favorite films and shows set in the world of the performing arts, exploring what they got right, and what they reveal about the world I'm building stories in. I've spent over two decades conducting major orchestras and ballet companies. So when Mozart in the Jungle premiered, I watched it the way an attorney watches Suits or The Good Wife: hoping it wouldn't embarrass or demean the profession. In addition to creating colorful cha

“This is the Opera Europa. Here, you can be misunderstood in six different languages.” Mild spoiler or two ahead... Very few films have attempted what MEETING VENUS did in 1991: stage an operatic production with a full orchestra, chorus, ballet company, three different unions, and a multinational cast. I've spent over two decades conducting major orchestras and ballet companies. So, watching a film that’s not just set within that world, but one that’s specifically about

What can a career conducting orchestras teach you about screenwriting? Turns out, a lot. For many writers, "show, don't tell" is heard so often that it’s lost its meaning. But my 20 years as a professional conductor forced a nuanced understanding of the phrase on me. On the podium, "showing" is a multi-dimensional language ranging from physical gestures to the effective use of silence. Failure to speak that language can result in losing the room. Trust me, cold, blank s

I've spent over two decades conducting major orchestras and ballet companies. So, when TÁR was released, I watched it expecting to see a film about classical music. But TÁR isn’t only that. While the world-building is extraordinary, at its core, TÁR is a film about power and abuse, with classical music as the pressure cooker. Significant spoilers ahead. This one digs into how some of the film’s strongest scenes actually work. So if you haven’t seen TÁR yet, you may want to