The Coen Brothers, Storytelling, and Fate A poem by Ethan Coen reveals a key clue to the brothers’ story sensibilities.
Scene Description Spotlight: “Zombieland” One of the most important things a writer wants to do when they begin a script is establish the story’s tone — and this is nowhere more…
20 Tips from Martin Scorsese The writer-director of Mean Streets, Goodfellas, The Age of Innocence, and Casino with reflections on cinematic storytelling.
Here’s to Us Night Owls! “The conventional wisdom is that morning people are high achievers, go-getters, while late risers are lazy. But what if going to bed in the…
The Business of Screenwriting: Movie Stars I am staring at a cardboard standup display of an iconic movie character from an Academy Award winning movie, one of the most famous…
Page One: “Little Shop of Horrors” (1986) Screenplay by Howard Ashman, based on the musical play “Little Shop of Horrors”
On Writing “I can count on one hand, or possibly one elbow, the number of good writing ideas I’ve had while straining at the keyboard. When you find…
Story Summaries: From Loglines to Beat Sheets Learn six different types of story summaries and how to use them to develop your scripted projects. My one-week online class starts Monday…
Screenwriting 101: Richard Curtis “I tend to do projects I’ve had in mind for two years, so they’re slowly boiling on the stove like stock. And by slowing yourself down, you…
Scene Description Spotlight: “Withnail and I” This Great Scene was from one of my favorite comedies Withnail and I (1987). Unfortunately, I only had a transcript of the scene to post…
Page One: “Live Free or Die Hard” (2007) Screenplay by Mark Bomback, story by Mark Bomback and David Marconi, original character by Roderick Thorp, article by John Carlin
On Writing It has often been said there’s so much to be read, you never can cram all those words in your head.
Screenwriting 101: Destin Daniel Cretton “I do a lot of writing in my head for a while and then I start outlining and just throwing ideas down on the notes in my iPhone or notes in…
Page One: “Like Father Like Son” (1987) Screenplay by Lorne Cameron and Steve Bloom, story by Lorne Cameron
On Writing “Writing is like driving in the fog. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 25 This is the 15th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.
Screenwriting 101: Destin Daniel Cretton “I do a lot of writing in my head for a while and then I start outlining and just throwing ideas down on the notes in my iPhone or notes in…
Scene Description Spotlight: “Wall-E” I have discussed the writing style of the Pixar film Wall-E before here. On the subject of scene description, here’s a money quote from…
