Writing Tip: “The only way out is through” Imagine the process of writing a story as being a journey. Perhaps as you embark on your adventure, you have a map — an outline or beat…
How They Write A Script: Nancy Meyers “I think you’re only going to get noticed by following your own instincts and doing original work, and writing the thing that only you can…
The Business of Screenwriting: OWA Three little letters: OWA. But they mean big things for Hollywood screenwriters. What do these letter stand for?
Writing and the Creative Life: Structure and Freedom Words of creative wisdom the great 20th century composer Igor Stravinsky.
Page One: “Mars Attacks!” (1996) Screenplay by Jonathan Gems, screen story by Jonathan Gems, trading card series by Len Brown & Woody Gelman & Wally Wood & Bob Powell &…
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Screenwriting 101: James DiLapo “Emotional authenticity, even with a period piece, is more important than historical authenticity. If you can get the audience to feel as…
How They Write A Script: Diablo Cody “I’m not an especially highbrow person, but I have always loved small, quirky, edgy movies.”
Page One: “Monsters University” (2013) Screenplay by Daniel Gerson & Robert L. Baird and Dan Scanlon, story by Dan Scanlon and Daniel Gerson & Robert L. Baird
How They Write A Script: Jay Presson Allen “She is one of a handful of first-rank screenwriters of the post-1960s who also happens to be female. This has figured into her trademark…
On Writing “Dreaming and writing are Adam and Eve of the same process. Long before one ever writes a story…one works a story. You have ideas; and they…
How They Write A Script: Anna Hamilton Phelan “It’s the character that usually grabs me. My downfall always is the plot. That’s the hardest part for me, plot.”
Screenwriting 101: Gerald DiPego “Before this interview, I thought I would do a little homework. I made a column of original screenplays called ‘Sold and Produced,’ and I…
My alliterative definition of Story. A character we care about confronts complex challenges created by a compelling crisis with a cathartic conclusion.
Page One: “McFarland, USA” (2015) Screenplay by Christopher Cleveland & Bettina Gilois and Grant Thompson, story by Christopher Cleveland & Bettina Gilois
How They Write A Script: Leigh Brackett “I don’t think there’s anything better than screenwriting to teach you the construction of a story.”
Great Scene: “Arrival” How the 2016 science fiction movie uses a bookend to reveal a remarkable truth… and upend our understanding of time.
Page One: “The Mauritanian” (2021) Screenplay by M.B. Traven) and Rory Haines & Sohrab Noshirvani, story by M.B. Traven, book by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, book editor Larry Siems
Writing and the Creative Life: “That pure part of you” Writing words of wisdom from the screenwriter of Ordinary People.
Great Scene: “Amadeus” Compare screenplay to screen: The wondrous scene in the 1984 movie in which Mozart dictates the Requiem Mass to Salieri.
