Go Into The Story

Writing Goals: 2021 [Part 7] — Time Management

10 part series for writers to consider what we did in 2020 and will do in 2021.

Screenwriting 101: Jay Presson Allen

“I’ve always been interested in the why of human behavior. I think most dramatic writers are natural psychologists.”

Page One: ‘The Big Lebowski’ (1998)

Written by Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

2020 Black List Word Cloud Logline Challenge!

Check out this word cloud from the 2020 Black List loglines, then write your OWN logline from those words to win some great prizes!

Reflections on 3rd Annual Black List / Women In Film Feature Writers Lab

Writers who participated in this year’s Black List / Women in Film Feature Writer’s Lab reflect on their experience.

Update: 2020 Award Season Screenplay Downloads — 3 New Scripts, 11 Total

It’s that time of year again when studios and production companies make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season.

Page One: ‘The Apartment’ (1960)

Written by Billy Wilder, I.A.L. Diamond

2020 Black List

All 80 scripts listed in order of votes received including loglines, plus a link where you can download the official list.

Writing Goals: 2021 [Part 6] — Schedule

10 part series for writers to consider what we did in 2019 and will do in 2020.

On Writing

“Build pockets of stillness into your life. Meditate. Go for walks. Ride your bike going nowhere in particular. There is a creative purpose…

Page One: ‘Straight Outta Compton’ (2015)

Screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff, story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff

Sundays with Ray Bradbury

“I can imagine all kinds of worlds and places, but I cannot imagine a world without Bradbury.” — Neil Gaiman

The Theology of Cinema: Chosen

The archetype of the Chosen One is common to movies, echoing the Messiah figure in ancient religions.

Page One: ‘Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens’ (2015)

Written by Lawrence Kasdan & J.J. Abrams and Michael Arndt, based on characters created by George Lucas

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Make a Collage

Remember your first day in third grade? And your teacher… you know, the new one fresh out of college with boundless enthusiasm and…

Video: “Give a Shit”

A 12-minute documentary by film school students about what they have learned being part of a live-event crew featuring notable filmmaking…

Page One: ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018)

Screenplay by Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman, story by Phil Lord

Writing Goals: 2021 [Part 5] — Going Public

10 part series for writers to consider what we did in 2020 and will do in 2021.

Spec Script Deal: “The Black Belt”

Monarch Media is producing comedy spec script “The Black Belt” written by Randall Green. Via The Wrap:

Update: 2020 Award Season Screenplay Downloads — 3 New Scripts

It’s that time of year again when studios and production companies make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season.

Page One: ‘Sideways’ (2004)

Screenplay by Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor, novel by Rex Pickett

Unpacking the Mysteries of Screenplay Time

Flashback, Flashforward, Set-Up / Payoff, Callback, Montage, Series of Shots, Cross Cut, Visual-to-Visual Transition, Audio-to- Audio…

Writing Goals: 2020 [Part 4] — Practical Matters

10-part series for writers to consider what we did in 2020 and will do in 2021.

Page One: ‘Shakespeare in Love’ (1998)

Written by Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard

Writing Goals: 2021 [Part 3] — Where Do You Want To Go As A Writer?

10-part series for writers to consider what we did in 2020 and will do in 2021.