Go Into The Story

“There are no screenwriting rules”

No matter what you have read or may have heard. Perhaps the source is a so-called screenwriting “guru.” Maybe it’s a friend. A member of…

Page One: “Twins” (1988)

Written by William Davies & William Osborne and Timothy Harris & Herschel Weingrod

You might want to check this out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqvfm2PbJ9w

Spec Script Deal: “Blood Count”

Paramount Pictures acquires supernatural thriller spec script “Blood Count” written by Peter Ramsey. Via Deadline:

Interview (Part 2): Haley Bartels

My interview with the 2021 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Script Analysis: “Nomadland” — Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:

Screenwriting 101: Stephany Folsom

“In my outline, I lay out what needs to happen in the scene, and how it’s part of the overall plot, and what the characters need to get…

Page One: “Gremlins” (1984)

Written by Chris Columbus

Thanks, Joe.

That said, all three of those scripts are great recommendations (and I’ve read all three of those, too).

Yes, Philip, I agree 100%.

A character we care about confronts complex challenges created by a compelling crisis.

Barry, I'm not even sure we should consider the presence of conflict as a rule.

But you hit on the larger point: feel free to play around with conventions. Subvert expectations. Go against type. All in service of…

The Definitive Spec Script Deals List [1991–2022]

Pretty much ever since I broke into the movie business in 1987, I have been keeping track of spec script deals. This list is, as far as I…

Interview (Part 1): Haley Bartels

My interview with the 2021 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Script Analysis: “Nightcrawler” — Scene By Scene Breakdown

Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:

On Writing

“Listen, Stephen King used to write in the washroom of his trailer after his kids went to sleep. Harlan Ellison wrote in the stall of a…

Page One: “Good Night, and Good Luck” (2005)

Written by George Clooney, Grant Heslov

2021 Spec Script Market Analysis

Comprehensive analysis of all the reported spec script deals in 2021.

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “The Tomorrow War”

A week-long analysis of the science fiction script and movie. Download. Read. Discuss.

Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages.

You can learn pretty much everything you need to know about screenwriting by doing these three things:

Video: Between the Lines 2022: Comedy Panel

Conversation with writers from notable TV series including Superstore, Reservation Dogs, Only Murders in the Building, Dave, The Great, and…

Page One: “Gone with the Wind” (1939)

Screen play by Sidney Howard, novel by Margaret Mitchell

2021 Spec Script Deals Analysis: First-Timers

We continue our week-long analysis of spec script deals in 2021. Today: Writers who broke in by selling a spec script.

Script Analysis: “The Tomorrow War” — Part 6: Takeaways

A week-long analysis of the science fiction script and movie. Download. Read. Discuss.

“Learn the craft”

Being a screenwriter is much more than just writing a script.

Video: Between the Lines 2022: Episodic Drama Panel

Conversation with writers from notable TV series including The Morning Show, This Is Us, New Amsterdam, 1883, and The Handmaid’s Tale.