Go Into The Story

What to do when you feel out of touch with your creative energy

When a creative spark seems so very far, far… FAR… away…

The Coen Brothers and the Long Shadow of Authority Figures

If there is one thing about the craft writers hear ad nauseam, it’s this: There is no drama without conflict. And there is no story without…

Movie Story Type: Buddy Picture

In Hollywood movie circles, there are genres like Horror or Science Fiction, cross genres like Action-Thriller or Drama-Comedy, and…

On Writing

“Plot offers the promise of Chekov and his gun, of Hitchcock and his bomb under the table. An event here leads to a choice there which…

Page One: “Spring Breakers” (2012)

Written by Harmony Korine

Sundays with Stephen King’s “On Writing”

A series featuring reflections on writing from the famed author’s memoir.

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: “The Father”

The entire part series delving into the Oscar-winning drama dealing with the mental decline of a family’s patriarchal figure.

Scene Description Spotlight: “(500) Days of Summer

One of the best moments in the delightful film (500) Days of Summer is the morning-after-having-sex-with-Summer-big-dance-bit.

The Theology of Cinema: Despair

This commonly occurs at the end of Act Two — what is often called All Is Lost — representing an existential crisis for the Protagonist.

Page One: “Spirited Away” (2001)

Written by Hayao Miyazaki

Non-Linear Storytelling in ‘Pulp Fiction’

“Tarantino, whether intended it or not, hit upon non-linearity as the only way he could tell one particular storyline involving the fates…

Script Analysis: ‘The Father’ — Part 6: Takeaways

Read the script for this Oscar-winning drama dealing with the mental decline of a family’s patriarchal figure.

Interview (Video): Akela Cooper and Owen Egerton

From Season 11 of the PBS series “On Story”.

Page One: “Speed” (1994)

Written by Graham Yost

While there is a lot of great dialogue in the screenplay, I want to focus on one short line Anthony…

Who exactly am I?

Go Into The Story interview (Part 4): Steven E. de Souza

An in-depth conversation with the legendary Hollywood screenwriter who has had a significant influence on the modern action movie.

Script Analysis: ‘The Father’ — Part 5: Dialogue

Read the script for this Oscar-winning drama dealing with the mental decline of a family’s patriarchal figure.

The First Draft is a Journey of Discovery

“As a writer, when you put something down, you make something happen.”

Writing and the Creative Life: “Come to the edge”

Going beyond the edge of the Old World into the New World can be a terrifying experience, but a necessary one for the transformation…

Script To Screen: “Young Frankenstein”

A classic scene from the 1974 comedy Young Frankenstein.

Page One: “Source Code” (2011)

Written by Ben Ripley

If I had to try to sum up the central theme of the story, it might be this: discombobulation.

Of course, Anthony's discombobulation impacts other characters.

One interesting way to look at each of the characters in the story -- Anne, Paul, Laura, The…

Anne is sometimes an ally, but often an enemy in her desire to get Anthony into a care facility.

There have been several movies about dementia over the last decade or so, but none which do such an…

In terms of the plot, the central question is about Anne getting Anthony out of her place and into some sort of care facility. Thus:

We’re on the road to… somewhere.

A really long-ass bridge… story outlines… and YOU!