Go Into The Story

Sundays with Sidney Lumet’s “Making Movies”

A weekly series featuring reflections on filmmaking by one of the truly great movie directors.

Go Into The Story Interview: Juliet Giglio and Keith Giglio

My conversation with the screenwriting couple whose first novel The Summer of Christmas has just been released to the public.

Redemption as a Movie Theme

A character seeking freedom from psychological bondage to a past event is one of the most common themes in movies.

Video: “Seven Set Pieces”

Another in the excellent screenwriting series Raising the Stakes.

Page One: “On Golden Pond” (1981)

Screenplay by Ernest Thompson, based on his play

“What if I’m writing a script, but want to start another one?”

Time to stack projects… or is this simply an example of the Shiny Object Syndrome?

Interview (Part 6): Juliet Giglio and Keith Giglio

My conversation with the screenwriting couple whose first novel The Summer of Christmas has just been released to the public.

Script To Screen: “12 Monkeys”

From the 1995 movie 12 Monkeys, screenplay by David Webb Peoples and Janet Peoples.

Video: Around the Table with Jordan Peele and the Cast of ‘Nope’

A 25-minute conversation about the film offers insights into Peel’s creative process as writer-director.

Page One: “The Omen” (1976)

Written by David Seltzer

Character Archetype “Masks”

Any character can don the “mask” of any archetype in any scene or any relationship, but that does not change their primary archetype…

Interview (Part 5): Juliet Giglio and Keith Giglio

My conversation with the screenwriting couple whose first novel The Summer of Christmas has just been released to the public.

Reader Question: How much dialogue versus description in a screenplay?

Is there some sort of key to finding a balance in a script?

Writing and the Creative Life: “In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail”

When legendary football coach Vince Lombardi would speak in public, he rarely strayed far from two closely related subjects: success and…

Page One: “Oldboy” (2003)

Screenplay by Park Chan-wook, Joon-hyung Lim, Jo-yun Hwang

2022 Willamette Writers Conference

Join me in Portland, Oregon for The Protagonist’s Journey master class… and get a free autographed copy of my book!

Interview (Part 4): Juliet Giglio and Keith Giglio

My conversation with the screenwriting couple whose first novel The Summer of Christmas has just been released to the public.

How to Do a Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

Whether you are analyzing a movie or a screenplay, breaking it down to the granular level of its scenes can reveal much about its story…

The Business of Screenwriting: There is always another way

Between writing assignments, I wrote a spec script. It’s a contained thriller called “Legacy,” about a child psychiatrist who ends up on a…

Page One: “Office Space” (1999)

Written by Mike Judge

Update: The Metamorphosis of Darth Vader

A new video by The Italian Screenwriter explores my theory about how Darth Vader’s narrative function shifts from Star Wars: Episodes IV…

Interview (Part 3): Juliet Giglio and Keith Giglio

My conversation with the screenwriting couple whose first novel The Summer of Christmas has just been released to the public.

Writer’s Life: Inside and Outside the Story Universe

“Sometimes we are inside the story universe, rubbing elbows with our characters, listening to and watching them. Sometimes we step outside…

The Theology of Cinema: Cross

“A six-pointed star, a crescent moon, a lotus — the symbols of other religions suggest beauty and light. The symbol of Christianity is an…

Page One: “Ocean’s Eleven” (2001)

Screenplay by Ted Griffin, 1960 screenplay by Harry Brown and Charles Lederer, 1960 story by George Clayton Johnson & Jack Golden Russell