Go Into The Story

Deadline’s Strike Talk Podcast

Episode 12: Billy Ray talks with four SAG-AFTRA members about how the acting life has become financially untenable.

Script Analysis: “Babylon” — Part 1: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

A week-long analysis of the screenplay for the Oscar nominated movie.

Script To Screen: “Schindler’s List”

From the 1993 movie Schindler’s List (screenplay by Steve Zaillian, based on the novel by Thomas Keneally).

“Telling stories really is a kind of power, and not an insignificant one.

— Elena Ferrante

Page One: “Get Low” (2009)

Screenplay by Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell, story by Chris Provenzano & Scott Seeke

Hollywood was built on the work of underappreciated writers

Just ask Chandler, Faulkner and Fitzgerald.

Go Into The Story Interview: Lindsay Michel

My interview with 2022 Black List writer for her script Caravan.

Writing Tip: The Nemesis as the Protagonist’s ‘Shadow’

Want drama? Ask your Protagonist: What do you fear the most? Then put them in a story where they have to confront that fear: Their Shadow.

Interview: Danny Philippou & Michael Philippou

A conversation with the co-directors of the new horror film Talk to Me.

Page One: “Gemini Man” (2019)

Screenplay by David Benioff and Billy Ray and Darren Lemke, story by Darren Lemke and David Benioff

Hollywood is on strike because CEOs fell for Silicon Valley’s magical thinking

Silicon Valley’s invasion of Hollywood brought with it science fictional notions of growth for the industry, a penchant for secrecy and…

Interview (Part 6): Lindsay Michel

My interview with 2022 Black List writer for her script Caravan.

Writing in the Moment. Being in the Moment.

Time is a mystery, especially in a screenplay. As writers, we can leap through decades from one scene to the next. Or we can stretch a…

Video: Showrunners Roundtable

The head writers of the TV series Only Murders in the Building, Shrinking, The Last of Us, Swarm, Tiny Beautiful Things, and Ramy.

Page One: “Gangster Squad” (2013)

Written by Will Beall, book by Paul Lieberman

The Hollywood strike can and must win — for all of us, not just writers and actors

The thousands of strikers are at the frontlines of two key battles: against a future controlled by AI, and against suffocating inequality

Interview (Part 5): Lindsay Michel

My interview with 2022 Black List writer for her script Caravan.

Script To Screen: “Scream”

Part of the memorable opening sequence in the 1996 horror movie Scream, written by Kevin Williamson.

Story as Psychological Journey

“The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.”

Page One: “The Gambler” (2014)

Screenplay by William Monahan, based on a 1974 screenplay by James Toback

Where Are My Residuals?

Actors/Writers Share Horror Stories On Picket Line, Social Media

Interview (Part 4): Lindsay Michel

My interview with 2022 Black List writer for her script Caravan.

Pixar and the Craft of Storytelling

My popular online class begins Monday, July 24, 2023.

Writing Tip: The Power of Structured Procrastination

“The beauty of the structured procrastination method is that it recognizes the extreme challenge in changing that pro-tomorrow vein, and…

Page One: “Funny People” (2009)

Written by Judd Apatow