WGA - Great Place for Research

Last Friday, while everyone else in India celebrated Diwali, I checked out some of the great research tools at the WGA.

Ask the Expert lists a whole slew of organizations that are "willing to provide free information to writers." It's a huge list, including everything from government agencies (Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines), to medical experts (Alzheimer's Disease, Blindness, Pain Management) to religion to Psychological (Domestic Violence/Legal, Social Workers) to Miscellaneous (Chinese Culture, croquet). Contact information is provided, mostly phone numbers with a few emails and websites. NOTE: neither the WGA nor I endorse any of these organizations nor guarantee that the contact information is current. But, a priori, it seems like a great resource.

Technically Speaking is a monthly series of articles, each an interview with an expert in a subject frequently portrayed in film. For example, the most recent article interviewed David Molner, head of Screen Capital International, which specializes in “structuring and facilitating cross-border tax-advantaged financing for major motion picture producers.” Mr. Molner recently advised Oliver Stone regarding the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleep. Other interviewees include Todd Robbins (con games), Hugh Ambrose (WW II history) and Pat Brown (serial killers). The cool thing is that each article includes a list of research resources recommended by the expert.

Kudos to the WGA for providing these resources.