Go Into The Story

The Business of Screenwriting: Anatomy of a Deal (Part 4)

“A majority of studio projects do not get made. Is it considered a strike against a writer if their project dies on the vine? Not…

Screenwriting 101: Justin Marks

“Sometimes you’re swinging your way through a first draft like a blind miner with a pick-axe. That’s OK. Get it done, nothing else…

The Business of Screenwriting: Anatomy of a Deal (Part 3)

“Bottom line: That single idea which we worked up as a pitch results in a sale and what eventually turns out to be a three-year overall…

On Writing

“There is always a sheet of paper. There is always a pen. There is always a way out.”

The Business of Screenwriting: Anatomy of a Deal (Part 2)

“Warner Bros. They want to buy ‘Mr. President’.”

Screenwriting 101: Frances Marion

“It is true, of course, in an important sense, that a character exists only in his emotions and sensations. Without the expression of…

The Business of Screenwriting: Anatomy of a Deal (Part 1)

I’ve sold several pitches in Hollywood. This was the first.

On Writing

“It is better to fail in originality than succeed in imitation.”

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…

Tweetstorm: Daniel Kunka on the one thing a Hollywood writer can control

“What I have excelled at (and what keeps me from having to find a real job) is doing the one thing that you have total control over —…

Screenwriting 101: Kelly Marcel

“Every scene has to be doing something. It has to be moving the story along, peeling off a layer of the onion so to speak. The goal in its…

Go Into The Story interview: Tze Chun

My conversation with the film and TV writer, director, producer, and showrunner.

On Writing

“Strong characters act despite their fear, not because of it.”

The Business of Screenwriting: Don’t stand in water where you should be fishing

I use fishing as a metaphor for one’s approach to screenwriting. Seriously.

Screenwriting 101: Michael Mann

“All right, let me try an example. A story about a guy who’s been a bootlegger and a gunman who’s retiring to a rural part of the Midwest…

Tweetstorm: Melissa Hilfers on the attitude to have when taking a meeting

“No matter how many times you get knocked down not only must you get up, you must hold up your head knowing that last guy was a fool for…

On Writing

“A writer has to have some kind of compulsive drive to do his work. If you don’t have it, you’d better find another kind of work, because…

Go Into The Story interview: Michael Arndt

My conversationwith the screenwriter of Little Miss Sunshine and Toy Story 3 about his video: “Endings: The Good, the Bad and the Insanely…

Screenwriting 101: David Mamet

“I suggest that everyone get Francis Ferguson’s edition of Aristotle’s Poetics. Read it once — it’ll make the point — and then retire to…

The Business of Screenwriting: Do you know your stuff?

It’s one thing to write a script. It’s another thing to understand the craft.

On Writing

“If today was not a productive day don’t beat yourself to death over it. Wake up tomorrow and start from there.”

Tweetstorm: Eric Heisserer on Finding Joy in Your Writing

In April 2015, Eric Heisserer (Arrival, Lights Out, Hours, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Final Destination 5, The Thing) shared a series of…

Screenwriting 101: David Mamet

“Forget every rule Syd Field, Robert McKee or any other screenwriting guru ever taught you. Except one: Never be boring.”

Go Into The Story interview: Stan Chervin

My Q&A with one of the writers of the movie Moneyball.

On Writing

“The writer by nature of his profession is a dreamer and a conscious dreamer. They must imagine, and imagination takes humility, love and…