Matt Cipolla

Proud to be part of the 9 club!

(The script is called MEXICAN WINE if, ahem, anyone’s interested.)

A still of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) in Wes Craven’s SCREAM 3 (2000). She has shoulder-length black hair and is standing in front of a swimming pool at nighttime holding a black cell phone to her right ear, wearing black pants, an olive green sweater with a brown/tan jacket over it, and a gold fraternity necklace she received from Derek (Jerry O’Connell) in SCREAM 2.

A still of Eva (Liv Ullmann) and Charlotte Andergast (Ingrid Bergman) in Ingmar Bergman’s AUTUMN SONATA (1978). The former is to the left, looking down, while the latter is to the right, looking at Eva. Charlotte has short black hair and is wearing an olive green sweater with a brown/tan jacket over it along with two gold necklaces.

Still *love* how Neve Campbell’s outfit for a huge chunk of SCREAM 3 is exactly like Ingrid Bergman’s in AUTUMN SONATA.

A ★★★ review of Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie (2025) I didn't really go in with many expectations, but I still wasn't expecting this to be as broad as it was. As a collection of ideas it's amusing, but it also doesn't actually get going until its second...

Didn’t realize NIRVANNA THE BAND THE SHOW THE MOVIE took place on my birthday.

The guerrilla filmmaking is great. I still needed this to be less broad.

boxd.it/doR5UT

A ★½ review of Scream 7 (2026) It's over. We're done here, everyone. Okay, anyone who knows me knows that I'm a massive Scream fan. The first three were integral to not just my taste in movies as a middle schooler, but in how a mar...

I wasn't expecting to spit out almost 1,500 words on this thing at 2:00 am, but here. As a movie, SCREAM 7 is really, really bad. As a SCREAM movie, it's a disaster.

letterboxd.com/mattcipolla/...

Ranking:

- SCREAM
- SCREAM 2
- SCREAM 4
- SCREAM 3
- SCREAM VI
- SCREAM 5
- What we hear about STAB 5 at the beginning of SCREAM 4
- SCREAM 7

A ★½ review of Scream 7 (2026) It's over. We're done here, everyone. Okay, anyone who knows me knows that I'm a massive Scream fan. The first three were integral to not just my taste in movies as a middle schooler, but in how a mar...

I wasn't expecting to spit out almost 1,500 words on this thing at 2:00 am, but here. As a movie, SCREAM 7 is really, really bad. As a SCREAM movie, it's a disaster.

letterboxd.com/mattcipolla/...

I’ll write a Letterboxd blurb or something, but anyone who knows me knows that I am a *huge* SCREAM fan… and SCREAM 7 was an unmitigated shitshow. Did ChatGPT write this? Did everyone behind the scenes conspire to make the greyest, blandest-looking movie imaginable?

This franchise is over, y’all.

A piece of printer paper in which I hand wrote the following: THIS SCRIPT WOULD NOT EXIST AS IT DOES WITHOUT THE FOLLOWING SONGS: - “THE ABSENCE OF GOD” & “A MAN/ME/THEN JIM” BY RILO KILEY x LYRICS BY JENNY LEWIS, BLAKE SENNETT x - “ABSOLUTE LITHOPS EFFECT,” “ALPHA RATS NEST,” & “FLASHING LIGHTS” BY THE MOUNTAIN GOATS x LYRIXS BY JOHN DARNIELLE x - “ANGEL IN THE SNOW” & “BYE” BY ELLIOTT SMITH x LYRICS BY ELLIOTT SMITH x - “ASHES OF AMERICAN FLAGS” BY WILCO x LYRICS BY JEFF TWEEDY x - “AVALON” BY SIGUR RÓS - “BIXBY CANYON BRIDGE” BY DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE x LYRICS BY BEN GIBBARD x - “BLIND” & “YOUNG LIARS” BY TV ON THE RADIO” x LYRICS BY TUNDE ADEBIMPE, DAVE SITEK x - “BOTHY,” “DEATH,” & “LIPSTICK TO VOID” BY MICA LEVI - “BUKOWSKI” BY MODEST MOUSE x LYRICS BY ISAAC BROCK, TOM PELOSO x - “CARRION” & “I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME” BY FIONA APPLE x LYRICS BY FIONA APPLE x - “CORÉ ON STAIRS, LOVE THEME” BY TINDERSTICKS - “DECADES” BY JOY DIVISION x LYRICS BY IAN CURTIS x - “DOLL PARTS” & “SOFTER, SOFTEST” BY HOLE x LYRICS BY COURTNEY LOVE; COURTNEY LOVE, ERIC ERLANDSON x - “THE DREAM” BY JOCELYN POOK - “EFFIGY” BY CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL x LYRICS BY JOHN FOGERTY x - “EVERYTIME” BY BRITNEY SPEARS x LYRICS BY ANNET ARTANI, BRITNEY SPEARS x - “FEARLESS” BY PINK FLOYD x LYRICS BY DAVID GILMOUR, ROGER WATERS x - “FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN” BY THE MARSHALL TUCKER BAND” x LYRICS BY GEORGE McCORKLE x - “HIGHWAY KIND,” “NO PLACE TO FALL,” & “NOTHIN’” BY TOWNES VAN ZANDT x LYRICS BY TOWNES VAN ZANDT x

A piece of printer paper on which I hand wrote the following, continuing from the previous sheet: - “THE IDEA OF NORTH” BY SHELLAC x LYRICS BY STEVE ALBINI x - “I’M SET FREE” BY THE VELVET UNDERGROUND x LYRICS BY LOU REED x - “IN THE FADE” BY QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE x LYRICS BY JOSH HOMME, MARK LANEGAN x - “LA MER” BY NINE INCH NAILS x LYRICS BY TRENT REZNOR x - “A PERFECT DAY ELISE” & “RID OF ME” BY PJ HARVEY x LYRICS BY PJ HARVEY x - “SILVER” BY PIXIES x LYRICS BY KIM DEAL, BLACK FRANCIS x - “SOUTH SIDE” BY MOBY x LYRICS BY MOBY x - “SUN’S COMING UP” BY TAME IMPALA x LYRICS BY KEVIN PARKER x - “MOVING THROUGH TIME” & “THE VOICE OF LOVE” BY ANGELO BADALAMENTI - “YONKERS” BY TYLER, THE CREATOR x LYRICS BY TYLER, THE CREATOR x AND MORE…

A piece of printer paper on which I hand wrote the following: SIMILARLY, THIS SCRIPT WOULD NOT EXIST AS IT DOES IF IT WEREN’T FOR THE FOLLOWING FILMS: - THE BOYS IN THE BAND (1970), WRITTEN BY MART CROWLEY, BASED ON HIS PLAY - DIRECTED BY WILLIAM FRIEDKIN - THE DOOM GENERATION (1995), WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY GREGG ARAKI - EYES WIDE SHUT (1999), WRITTEN BY STANLEY KUBRICK, FREDERIC RAPHAEL, BASED ON TRAUMNOVELLE BY ARTHUR SCHNITZLER - DIRECTED BY STANLEY KUBRICK - FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2 (1981), WRITTEN BY RON KURZ - DIRECTED BY STEVE MINER - LAST DAYS (2005), WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY GUS VAN SANT - MYSTERIOUS SKIN (2004), WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY GREGG ARAKI, BASED ON THE NOVEL BY SCOTT HEIM - THE SOUVENIR PART II (2021), WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY JOANNA HOGG - STROSZEK (1977), WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY WERNER HERZOG - THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (1974), WRITTEN BY KIM HENKEL, TOBE HOOPER - DIRECTED BY TOBE HOOPER - THE TRIAL (1962), WRITTEN & DIRECTED BY ORSON WELLES, BASED ON THE NOVEL BY FRANZ KAFKA - TROUBLE EVERY DAY (2001), WRITTEN BY CLAIRE DENIS, JEAN-POI FARGEAU - DIRECTED BY CLAIRE DENIS - UNDER THE SKIN (2013), WRITTEN BY WALTER CAMPBELL, JONATHAN GLAZER, BASED ON THE NOVEL BY MICHEL FABER - DIRECTED BY JONATHAN GLAZER

My demented elevator pitch is, “Okay, so kind of imagine THE BOYS IN THE BAND, LAST DAYS, STROSZEK, and TROUBLE EVERY DAY in the framework of THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE.”

Shameless plug, but if anyone wants to, uh, read it, or buy it…

A bunch of musical and cinematic inspirations below.

51 weeks from when I started the outline, I’m done with the depressing horror script. Thanks to all who read or gave notes.

Logline: “Five depressed acquaintances spend their final weekend at a Texas lake house to carry out a suicide pact while they are unknowingly stalked by an anonymous killer.”

An amazing thing about riding motorcycles is that it alleviates migraines and moderate hangovers for me. What sucks about winter is that the cold weather and barometric pressure are trying to murder me with a migraine, but without the ability to go for a ride, I feel hungover despite not drinking.

Happy 17th anniversary to when Obama said that Guantanamo Bay would be closed within one year lol

ACAB for Cutie

Is this anything

Kind of insane how we’ve been stuck in 2003 for the last two and a half years, but only the absolute shittiest parts of 2003.

Happy 26th anniversary to the climax of Hype Williams’ BELLY

Happy New Year’s to Tara and Raven and to Tara and Raven only

A before picture of a 35mm Showa front end for a Harley sitting on a metal fabrication table. It’s super scratched up and dirty, especially the fork lowers. The bottom tree is completely caked in rust.

A progress picture of the same 35mm Showa front end sitting on the same fabrication table. The fork lowers are far cleaner, all the major and deep scratches are gone, and it’s more polished. The bottom tree is comparatively cleaner with a bunch of heavy rust removed, but there’s still rust on it.

Oh, and I (partially) cleaned this crusty, super-scratched-up 35mm Showa front end I snagged that I’ll put on the shovelhead, at least as a placeholder. Would love a springer front end, but this is definitely cool for now. Good amount of rust water tonight.

A productive 24 hours!

A picture of a self-portrait I drew with a black Sharpie. I’m wearing my glasses and a Harley-Davidson trucker hat whose design is partly obscured by the hat’s rim, looking directly into the viewer. There’s an oval around my face and I wrote a bunch of stream-of-consciousness thoughts, formatted so it’s like the words are “underneath” the oval that has my face in it. The partially visible words say: “WAIT, 2025 WAS THE FIRST YEAR IN LIKE A DECADE THAT I DIDN’T DO AT LEAST ONE FULL DARIA REWATCH. WEIRD. JEEZ, SOMETIMES I WONDER… LY HAVE OCD EVEN THOUGH I DON’T MEET T… EA. I’VE STILL NEVER USED APPLE PAY… SHOVELHEAD IS SURREAL TO… ME TRUE. I HOPE IF FIXED T… G A GRINDING NOISE, B… YPERBOLIC WHEN I SAY T… OTORCYCLES SAVED M… LOVED BIKES SO MUC… ROUND PEOPLE WHO LO… TRIUMPH IS LIKE M… CHOPPER IS LIKE M… MY BODY. I LOVE… FYING, BUT IT ISN… KNOW? I GUESS… OF CHOPPERS AS ART… AESTHETICS IN A V… FUL TO HAVE MET SO… LY CREATIVE PEOPLE. G, TOO. REALLY HOSPITAB… LEARN MORE AS I GO… REW A LOT IN THE PAST Y… T I HAVEN’T BEFORE. IT… I’M JUST THANKFUL FOR THESE DO… DO COOL SHIT. THANK YOU ALL FOR T… US TO SEE WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS. I MEAN, MORE BIKES, MORE WRITING, AND WHO KNOWS. BUT HEY, THAT’S SOMETHING. AND I JUST”

Quick Sharpie self-portrait, 12/30/25.

I guess if 2024 was learning a ton about myself, 2025 was actualizing that and doing a bunch of stuff I always wanted to. Thanks to pretty much everyone who taught me something. Looking forward to more writing, more bikes, and more figuring shit out in 2026.

Given how many people Obama deported, him putting ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER on his list of his favorite movies of 2025 is about as devoid of self-awareness as when he included BACURAU in 2020, a movie where the villains drone strike an innocent village.

My 2025 Spotify Wrapped showing my top five songs of the year, as follows: 1.) “405” by Death Cab for Cutie 2.) “Stars and Sons” by Broken Social Scene 3.) “There, There” by Radiohead 4.) “La Mer” by Nine Inch Nails 5.) “La Grange” by ZZ Top

My 2025 Spotify Wrapped showing my top five artists of the year, as follows: 1.) Death Cab for Cutie 2.) The Mountain Goats 3.) ZZ Top 4.) Townes Van Zandt 5.) Rilo Kiley

My 2025 Spotify Wrapped showing my top five albums of the year, as follows: 1.) YOU FORGOT IT IN PEOPLE by Broken Social Scene 2.) THE SUNSET TREE by The Mountain Goats 3.) SANTIGOLD by Santigold 4.) WE HAVE THE FACTS AND WE’RE VOTING YES by Death Cab for Cutie 5.) THE EXECUTION OF ALL THINGS by Rilo Kiley

My 2025 Spotify Wrapped showing my top five genres of the year, as follows: 1.) Alternative rock 2.) Indie rock 3.) Dance pop 4.) Singer-songwriter 5.) Indie folk

This tracks.

Also, I skimmed through and it looks like over 80 of my top 100 songs were on corresponding playlists to one of three scripts I worked on this year: 2003-set post-9/11 drama-comedy, drama-horror-slasher about suicide, and 2009-set recession comedy. Makes sense.

A mostly black 1979 shovelhead Harley-Davidson FXEF Fat Bob Super Glide sitting in a motorcycle shop. The bike has been heavily altered with a five-gallon tank with a different badge, a ‘90s Fat Boy front end, and a deeper seat with cheap-looking flame touches on the passenger pad and a backrest on the sissy bar. The front fender has more red flame paint on it. Behind the bike is a black, raked out shovelhead chopper as well as some work benches, a fabrication table, and more.

Got a ‘79 FXEF. Has even more flame touches on the B-side, which are, uh… too cool for me. Yeah, that’s it.

Can’t wait to get into customizing this and changing about 99 percent of what you see here. Also can’t wait to see how many times I’ll make a fool out of myself, but hey! I have a shovelhead.

My left hand holding the new Criterion Collection 4K UHD/Blu-Ray release of Stanley Kubrick’s EYES WIDE SHUT (1999). I’m sitting in the passenger seat of a car with the receipt partially visible and folded up on my leg.

:)

FROM JUSTIN JAY KELLY

Is this anything

My left hand holding the Blu-Rays for Carson Lund’s EEPHUS and Karyn Kusama’s JENNIFER’S BODY. A small coffee table with a MacBook Pro and an Xbox One controller are partially visible in the background.

Ultimate double feature.

A ★★★ review of Bugonia (2025) I didn't have time to watch Save the Green Planet! before this, so I can't speak to how this works in relation to the original. And frankly, I do wonder if I'd have even the sort of passive engagement...

Saw BUGONIA. Chuckled at times, Robbie Ryan continues to be one of the most reliable cinematographers working today, and Stone and Plemons are obviously very good, but I really needed this script to go farther, not just louder. My love for KINDS OF KINDNESS continues to surprise me. boxd.it/bwfV6V

Suffice it to say that I'm on Instagram far, far more than here or anywhere else.

@ cipolla.matt

Dead Cab for Kennedys

To Wong Foo, Thnks fr th Mmrs! Julie Newmar

Got a *ton* of writing done on another screenplay, then went for a motorcycle ride at around 11:45 pm. Rode past a stranger with a nice Heritage Softail, circled back around to say hi to him, and then we rode around the city for over an hour and chatted at a gas station. What a good day.

The last two days have really been making me think of “The Misery Chick” from DARIA, easily one of my favorite episodes.

Random inspirations: MYSTERIOUS SKIN, LAST DAYS, PARANOID PARK, THE VIRGIN SUICIDES, WILD STRAWBERRIES, CHILD'S PLAY 2, AUTUMN SONATA, NEAR DARK; the music of Rilo Kiley, Broken Social Scene, Wilco, and Shellac; and... getting an autism diagnosis in my late 20s! #scriptsky