Go Into The Story

Screenwriting 101: Horton Foote

“I keep notebooks, and sometimes just a phrase in a notebook will start me off. I never know. I’ve also learned that you can’t really…

Page One: ‘Whiplash’ (2014)

Written by Damien Chazelle

Interview (Part 1): Beth Curry

My interview with the 2020 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

On Writing

“My favorite ‘trick’ is to stop writing at a point where I know that I can pick up easily the next day. I’ll stop in mid-paragraph, often…

Page One: ‘When Harry Met Sally…’ (1989)

Written by Nora Ephron

30 Days of Screenplays: Vol. 3?

Seeking your suggestions for 30 scripts to read in 30 days.

Hero’s Journey as Psychological Journey

When we think of the Hero’s Journey, what comes to mind is a geographical adventure. The Heroine starts out in their Ordinary World…

Page One: ‘War Games’ (1983)

Written by Lawrence Lasker, Walter F. Parkes

I love that quote, Tyler, I’m definitely saving it.

Re “challenging term ahead”: I hear you. At DePaul, it looks we will be teaching remotely for both the winter and spring quarters…

Movie Story Type: Contained Thriller

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

Great Scene: “North by Northwest”

It was one of the scenes which inspired Hitchcock to make the movie.

Page One: ‘WALL·E’ (2008)

Screenplay by Andrew Stanton & Jim Reardon, original story by Andrew Stanton & Pete Docter

Kevin, that is an obvious issue: By breaking up scene description into shorter paragraphs, you run…

There’s no rule to say you can’t write paragraphs of scene description with 5, 6, 7, lines or more. I note that in the article. However…

Kevin, given your long history writing screenplays, you know what I'm talking about in terms of how…

That said, as noted in the article, you have to be JUDICIOUS. The world of a screenplay is primarily an externalized reality and that's…

60 Second Screenwriter: What is “high concept?”

A video series addressing key screenwriting concerns in sixty seconds.

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Set a Deadline

Nothing like the fear of being publicly humiliated to motivate you to write.

Page One: “Vertigo’ (1958)

Screenplay by Alec Coppel & Samuel A. Taylor, based on the novel “D’Entre Les Morts” by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac

So-Called Screenwriting ‘Rule’: Action Paragraphs — 3 Lines Max

There are conventions. There are expectations. There are patterns. But the simple fact is… THERE ARE NO SCREENWRITING RULES!

Walter Murch and The Rule of Six

When this notable figure in cinema talks editing… think screenwriting.

Page One: ‘V for Vendetta’ (2005)

Written by The Wachowski Brothers

How They Write A Script: Charlie Kaufman

“When I started screenwriting, I never really knew what I was doing, but I instinctively understood how to do it.”

Billy Wilder on ‘The Apartment’

On how he used a mirror to convey ke exposition with minimal dialogue.

Page One: ‘Up in the Air’ (2009)

Screenplay by Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, novel by Walter Kirn

Best Writing Approach: Routine or Ritual?

I am fascinated by creativity, in particular how creativity manifests itself in the wide variety of people I meet or learn about. That has…

Screenwriting 101: Bong Joon-ho

“I think that’s because my approach was to describe people in my daily life. If we think about our friends and relatives, they're both good…