Go Into The Story

The Business of Screenwriting: “God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason”

I’m at lunch with our agents in Beverly Hills. It’s February, 1987. The deal where Universal Pictures bought our spec script K-9 is…

Daily Dialogue — March 12, 2020

“You’re a disease, and I’m the cure.”

Test Your Story Concept

5 questions to ask about a story idea to assess its viability as a scripted project.

2020 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 11

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Script Analysis: “Avengers: Endgame” — Part 3: Characters

Read and analyze the script for the hit Marvel superhero movie.

Spec Script Deal: “Murder In The White House”

Paramount Pictures acquires mystery thriller “Murder in the White House” written by Jonathan Stokes. Via Deadline:

Daily Dialogue — March 11, 2020

“I’m gonna take you to the bank, Senator Trent. To the blood bank.”

Watch Movies. Read Scripts. Write Pages.

I came up with this screenwriting mantra a decade ago. Still works.

2020 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 10

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Script Analysis: “Avengers: Endgame” — Part 2: Plot

Read and analyze the script for the hit Marvel superhero movie.

Screenwriting 101: Noah Baumbach

“When something strikes me, I write it down in a notebook. I’ll often find I write versions of the same idea over and over with slight…

Daily Dialogue — March 10, 2020

Sergeant Tom Hannon: Hey, where the hell are you going, Shaft? John Shaft: To get laid, where the hell are you going?

Screenplays Are Stories, Not Formulas

“If you go in with formula, you come out with formula.”

2020 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 9

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Script Analysis: “Avengers: Endgame” — Part 1: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

Read and analyze the script for the hit Marvel superhero movie.

On Writing

“I say this a lot, but being a writer is almost entirely about perseverance. Life is going to continuously try to keep you from writing or…

Daily Dialogue — March 9, 2020

Bob Hauk: You going to kill me, Snake? Snake Plissken: Not now, I’m too tired. [pause] Maybe later.

M = Mentor.

There can also be False Mentors and False Attractors.

The Theology of Cinema: Temptation

“By extracting the notion of temptation from its conventional religious trappings, we open it up for all sorts of uses in our storytelling…

Go Into The Story Interview: Karen McDermott

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

2020 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 8

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Interview (Written): Eleanor Catton

A Q&A with the screenwriter who adapted the Jane Austen novel Emma.

Daily Dialogue — March 8, 2020

“You can’t bring drugs into the library.”

2020 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 7

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity

Interview (Part 6): Karen McDermott

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.