Go Into The Story

Spec Script Deal: “Decon”

QC Entertainment and Good Universe are producing and financing the horror spec script “Decon” written by Max Landis. From Deadline:

’90s Movies You Should Watch

Clueless, Fight Club, Jurassic Park, The Shawshank Redemption, and more.

Is there a science to writing a successful screenplay?

A podcast interview with Franklin Leonard about screenwriting.

Daily Dialogue —October 22, 2017

BOWMAN: Open the pod bay doors, please, Hal. Open the pod bay doors, please, Hal. Hello, Hal, do you read me? Hello, Hal, do you read me…

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Therapy

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 3,446 consecutive days and counting.

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…

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 312th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other…

’80s Movies You Should Watch

Die Hard, Top Gun, Trading Places, War Games, and more.

Interview (Written): Yorgos Lanthimos

The co-writer/director of the movie “The Killing of a Sacred Deer”.

Daily Dialogue — October 21, 2017

MAX: The main vulnerability isn’t in applications or servers. Man is the main security flaw. BENJAMIN: You hack people? MAX: Exactly. The…

Screenwriting Lessons: “The Wizard of Oz” — Part 5: Final Struggle

Everything in the story leads to this culmination point.

Reflections on the 5th Annual Black List Feature Writers Lab

6 writers. 7 mentors. 6 days. 1 incredible experience.

“La La Land”: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

A look at the underlying story structure of the 2016 Oscar nominated movie.

’70s Movies You Should Watch

Alien, Carrie, Jaws, Network, Rocky, and more.

Daily Dialogue — October 20, 2017

PAULINE: Peter, did you ever stop and ask yourself how many squares are on a chess board? BISHTON: 64. It’s an 8 by 8 grid. PAULINE: Well……

Screenwriting Lessons: “The Wizard of Oz” — Part 4: Ordinary Character, Extraordinary World

The inherent compelling nature of a stranger in a strange land narrative.

Sexual Violence in Spec Screenplays

Analysis of sexual violence in screenplays on the Black List website.

“Hell or High Water”: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

A look at the underlying story structure of the 2016 Oscar nominated movie.

’60s Movies You Should Watch

Easy Rider, The Apartment, The Graduate, Rosemary’s Baby, and more.

The Business of Screenwriting: The crazed life of a studio executive

There is nothing laid-back about movie execs who live life in the fast lane.

Daily Dialogue — October 19, 2017

Edgar: I finally found out what love is. Miles: What is it? Edgar: It’s give. And not take. So I give her to you and I take myself away.

Denise, having done this for 9+ years, allow me to bend some of your suggestions to make them…

Medical

Screenwriting Lessons: “The Wizard of Oz” — Part 3: Trickster

Ally. Enemy. Enemy. Ally. Shapeshifting personified.

Reader question: How may I approach a favorite screenwriter (since I’ve got their personal email)?

Tread carefully, my friend. Tread carefully.

“Arrival”: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

A look at the underlying story structure of the 2016 Oscar winning movie.