7 Cult Objects Top Screenwriters Obsess Over

Stephen Sondheim and the Blackwing 602

Composer Stephen Sondheim, 83, has written exclusively with a Blackwing 602 since the early 1960s, when he was introduced to the pencil by the late playwright Burt Shevelove, whom Sondheim (pictured here in a 1968 photo with late singer-songrwriter Laura Nyro) calls "a stationery geek." The Blackwing was discontinued in 1998, but Sondheim bought a large supply before they went off the market and still uses them, most recently to compose two new songs for Disney's upcoming big-screen adaptation of his musical, Into the Woods.
Woody Allen and the Olympia SM-3 Typewriter

From 1965's What's New Pussycat? to 2013's Blue Jasmine, 77-year-old auteur Woody Allen has written all of his screenplays using the same manual typewriter, an Olympa SM-3 manual typewriter he bought at age 16 and calls "a tank." To make changes to a script, he uses scissors and a stapler.
Quentin Tarantino and Paper Mate Flair Felt-Tip Pens

Django Unchained director Quentin Tarantino, 50, writes each of his scripts with a fresh set of three red and three black retro-style Flair pens. The pens have made cameos in several of his films, including a key scene in Kill Bill Vol. 1, in which Uma Thurman's character composes her hit list using one.
Cormac McCarthy and the Olivetti Lettera 32 Typewriter

No Country for Old Men author Cormac McCarthy, 80, who is also screenwriter of Ridley Scott's upcoming The Counselor, works with an Olivetti Lettera 32 mechanical typewriter exclusively, bought for him by a friend for $11.
John Logan and a Circa-1999 Computer Keyboard

John Logan, the 51-year-old, triple-Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Hugo, Gladiator and The Aviator, produces all of his scripts using the same outdated keyboard, which he reportedly likes because each key offers just the right amount of resistance.
Neil Gaiman and the Waterman 52 Fountain Pen

Neil Gaiman, the 52-year-old novelist and comic book writer behind The Sandman and Coraline, is fond of a range of fountain pens and the vintage Waterman 52 in particular. He wrote his 1999 book Stardust, adapted into a 2007 film starring Michelle Pfeiffer, using one.
Spike Jonze and Moleskin Notebooks

The Moleskin, a simple Italian journal with rounded corners and an elastic page-holder, is favored by Spike Jonze, the 43-year-old director of Adaptation, Where the Wild Things Are and the upcoming Her. He uses them to jot down doodles and ideas as they occur to him.

Stephen Sondheim and the Blackwing 602

Woody Allen and the Olympia SM-3 Typewriter

Quentin Tarantino and Paper Mate Flair Felt-Tip Pens

Cormac McCarthy and the Olivetti Lettera 32 Typewriter

John Logan and a Circa-1999 Computer Keyboard

Neil Gaiman and the Waterman 52 Fountain Pen

Spike Jonze and Moleskin Notebooks