Posted on July 17, 2008 in Story | 1 Comment
by Dennis Palumbo
If you saw the season-ending episode of Monk, do you remember the clue that helped catch the killer?
Me, neither.
In the recent thriller Fractured, what was the mistake Anthony Hopkins made that proved he killed his wife?
You got me.
My point, and I do have one, is that often writers think the most important aspect [...]
Posted on July 16, 2008 in General Screenwriting | 1 Comment
by Michael Lent
This morning I received an Industry email with a headline reading “Get it together. Start fresh!”
I don’t want a fresh start.
Despite all of the spiked eggnog-fueled New Year’s Eve resolutions we make, the winter months can end up as creatively fallow as the Siege of Leningrad for writers not on assignment or under [...]
Posted on July 15, 2008 in General Screenwriting | No Comments
by Bruce Holland Rogers
Claude Lévi-Strauss, the social anthropologist, believed that all myths are true and all versions of a myth are the true version. There’s a reason that people tell conflicting stories about the volcano god — did he marry the sea goddess, or did he marry the rain goddess? Both versions were told and [...]
Posted on July 15, 2008 in Selling Your Script | No Comments
By Stephanie Palmer
You’ve worked for months (years!) on your project and a buyer is interested. The meeting is set and there’s a lot at stake. You’re going to get one chance to effectively communicate the value and uniqueness of your project. Many people get nervous at this point. The best of the best, however, follow [...]
Posted on July 15, 2008 in Legal & Copyright | No Comments
Entertainment Attorney Mark Litwak helps writers navigate the tricky legal issues involved when portraying real life stories with this educational FAQ.
…Question: What are the legal issues pertaining to writing a screenplay based on someone’s life story? What rights need to be secured, etc.? Is it advisable to engage an attorney prior to any discussion [...]
Posted on July 14, 2008 in Selling Your Script | 1 Comment
Writing advice I’d give my best friend. A plan of attack once you have your basic idea. The Disney animated feature approach. Much, perhaps even most, of the work happens before you write FADE IN.
…Here it is, as we discussed, 23 simple steps to your first feature film sale. Shouldn’t take more than a year [...]
Posted on July 14, 2008 in General Screenwriting | No Comments
It’s an age-old question: What makes a movie a domestic box-office draw?
…There is one common denominator in movies that draw crowds and earn big bucks domestically: Motivated characters. Many of the characters have strong motivation, even some who appear in only one scene. The characters in Saw have a strong motivation to escape, or identify [...]
Posted on July 14, 2008 in General Screenwriting | No Comments
by D.B. Gilles
I know over five hundred screenwriters – maybe more – ranging in age from 18 to 76, at all levels, from those just starting out to a bunch that’ve gotten deals, sold scripts and had movies made. They include friends, former students, colleagues, pen pals, clients and acquaintances. Some have good writing habits, [...]
Posted on July 14, 2008 in Story | No Comments
by Syd Field
At this moment in time, I think we’re in the middle of a screenwriting revolution, a time where screenwriters are pushing the form and craft in new directions. I firmly believe that the traditional way of “seeing things” has changed, and we’re looking for new ways to match our experiences and incorporate the [...]
Posted on July 13, 2008 in Story | No Comments
by John Truby
With a good Action script you can write your own ticket. But Action is the most deceptively challenging genre in Hollywood. What may seem simple and straightforward on the movie screen actually requires careful planning and extremely creative solutions from the screenwriter.
Action films are deceptive in a number of ways. Many people think [...]
Posted on July 13, 2008 in Legal & Copyright | 3 Comments
by Evan Smith
To steal someone’s car, money, parking space – that’s low. But to steal someone’s story? A little made-up tale? A hundred pages of FADE IN here and CUT TO there? Is that even stealing?
Um, how can we put this – YES, DAMMIT! It is! Stealing of the worst kind! Because many hours have [...]
Posted on July 10, 2008 in Story | No Comments
by Rob Tobin
There is a myth that the ability to write great dialogue is a gift that can’t be learned and can’t be taught. You’re born with it or you’ll never have it.
One version of the myth goes something like this: you have to have an ear for dialogue in order to be able to [...]
Posted on July 9, 2008 in Story | No Comments
by Tony Levelle
When Dorothy Fadiman agreed to be a poll watcher in the U.S. presidential elections of 2004, she thought she was only volunteering to work on Election Day. She had no idea that what she saw would trigger the idea of making a movie about U.S. elections. Her documentary, Stealing America: Vote by Vote, [...]
Posted on July 9, 2008 in Selling Your Script | No Comments
by Dave Trottier
When you write your first screenplay, the path to glory seems clear: find an agent who will get you a six-figure deal. A hundred and fifty query letters later, you’re languishing at Hollywood’s front gate. You’ve received a lot of encouragement, but, as Pauline Kael put it, “Hollywood’s the only town where you [...]
Posted on July 9, 2008 in Story | 1 Comment
Everyone in town is combing the beach for the next great idea, examining each tiny grain of sand. Meanwhile huge conch shells are just sitting there, obvious once somebody points them out. Techniques on how to come up with a salable film concept. How to know when you’ve got one.
…It’s as if thousands of people [...]
