Daily Dialogue — August 26, 2016 “What did you expect? ‘Welcome, sonny’? ‘Make yourself at home’? ‘Marry my daughter’? You’ve got to remember that these are just simple farmers. These are people of the land. The common clay of the New West. You know… morons.” — Blazing Saddles (1974), screenplay by Mel Brooks, Norman Steinberg, Andrew
Reader Question: Do all Protagonists need a character arc? From Gregaria: I am wondering if protagonist character arcs (in which they learn something and grow in a positive way) apply to protagonists of comedy. I can see where the personal growth of the character would be important in drama, but what about in comedy or horror? If the comedy
Zero Draft Thirty: What Are You Afraid Of? It all started with this blog post in October 2015: Who’s with me to pound out a script in November? That led to this: Zero Draft Thirty: Write a Script in a Month Challenge. Every day for 30 days in November, I did a Zero Draft Thirty post with
Interview (Part 4): Adam Kolbrenner, Madhouse Entertainment This week, we are fortunate to have as our guest manager-producer Adam Kolbrenner from Madhouse Entertainment, an L.A.-based production and literary management company that works with screenwriters and writer/directors in the areas of film, television and new media. I will be posting the whole interview over
The Spirit Of The Spec (Part 4): You Put It Out There I had a conversation recently with a former studio executive turned producer in which I found myself talking about the “spirit of the spec,” essentially when a person chooses to pursue a project or goal entirely on speculation with the hopes of some eventual payoff. Not everybody would make that
What are YOUR screenwriting Do’s and Don’ts? I occasionally dip into the GITS archive of over 20,000 blog posts to see what items of interest I can resurrect for the benefit of GITS readers which is how I found this April 2009 Business of Screenwriting post: Do’s and Don’ts #1. Some highlights: Do: Regularly
Daily Dialogue — August 25, 2016 Dr. Ian Malcolm: [after the T-Rex failed to appear for the tour group] You see a Tyrannosaur doesn’t follow a set pattern or park schedules, the essence of chaos. Dr. Ellie Sattler: I’m still not clear on chaos. Dr. Ian Malcolm: It simply deals with predictability in
Interview (Video): Franklin Leonard with Michael Eisner You hear a lot of talk nowadays about ‘disruptors’ in the field of business. For example, here is a list of the 2016 CNBC Disruptor Companies. How do they define it? These forward-thinking starts-ups have identified unexploited niches in the marketplace that have the potential to become billion-
Zero Draft Thirty: Story Prep — Script Diary It all started with this blog post in October 2015: Who’s with me to pound out a script in November? That led to this: Zero Draft Thirty: Write a Script in a Month Challenge. Every day for 30 days in November, I did a Zero Draft Thirty post with
Interview (Part 3): Adam Kolbrenner, Madhouse Entertainment This week, we are fortunate to have as our guest manager-producer Adam Kolbrenner from Madhouse Entertainment, an L.A.-based production and literary management company that works with screenwriters and writer/directors in the areas of film, television and new media. I will be posting the whole interview over
The Spirit Of The Spec (Part 3): You Write Your Story I had a conversation recently with a former studio executive turned producer in which I found myself talking about the “spirit of the spec,” essentially when a person chooses to pursue a project or goal entirely on speculation with the hopes of some eventual payoff. Not everybody would make that
Great Scene: “North by Northwest” I’m sure there are Hitchcock experts out there who can correct me if I’m wrong, but I seem to recall that the genesis of North by Northwest (1959), the classic thriller written by Ernest Lehman and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, began with two images from Hitchcock’s imagination:
Daily Dialogue — August 24, 2016 DODGER: Well, well. Looks like Louie’s got a visitor. Could be time for The Dodge to turn this into a total cat-astrophe. LOUIE: Hey, get off me! Hey! Get out of here! Go on! Shoo! DODGER: Boy, you sure picked the wrong guy to get hot dogs from,
Networking Hollywood A guest post from Tom Benedek, longtime screenwriter (Cocoon) and co-founder of Screenwriting Master Class: SCRIPT WRITER CASE STUDY #1: “I am a natural enthusiast. An optimist. I love to imagine out my script projects. I savor my writing time. I enjoy rewriting. I love blank pages. And the
Zero Draft Thirty: Story Prep — Character Development It all started with this blog post in October 2015: Who’s with me to pound out a script in November? That led to this: Zero Draft Thirty: Write a Script in a Month Challenge. Every day for 30 days in November, I did a Zero Draft Thirty post with
Interview (Part 2): Adam Kolbrenner, Madhouse Entertainment This week, we are fortunate to have as our guest manager-producer Adam Kolbrenner from Madhouse Entertainment, an L.A.-based production and literary management company that works with screenwriters and writer/directors in the areas of film, television and new media. I will be posting the whole interview over
The Spirit Of The Spec (Part 2): You Act On Your Idea I had a conversation recently with a former studio executive turned producer in which I found myself talking about the “spirit of the spec,” essentially when a person chooses to pursue a project or goal entirely on speculation with the hopes of some eventual payoff. Not everybody would make that
Screenwriting 101: Billy Ray “Chinatown took 17 drafts. And none of us are as good as Robert Towne. Amadeus, I think, took 46. And none of us are as good as Peter Shaffer. All that means is the previous 45 of Amadeus, someone said, ‘Peter, you can do better.’ And I’m sure it
Daily Dialogue — August 23, 2016 Malone: You said you wanted to get Capone. Do you really wanna get him? You see what I’m saying is, what are you prepared to do? Ness: Anything within the law. Malone: And then what are you prepared to do? If you open the can on these worms you
Zero Draft Thirty: Story Prep Fun With Index Cards! It all started with this blog post in October 2015: Who’s with me to pound out a script in November? That led to this: Zero Draft Thirty: Write a Script in a Month Challenge. Every day for 30 days in November, I did a Zero Draft Thirty post with
Interview (Part 1): Adam Kolbrenner, Madhouse Entertainment This week, we are fortunate to have as our guest manager-producer Adam Kolbrenner from Madhouse Entertainment, an L.A.-based production and literary management company that works with screenwriters and writer/directors in the areas of film, television and new media. I will be posting the whole interview over
Spirit Of The Spec (Part 1): You Get An Idea I had a conversation recently with a former studio executive turned producer in which I found myself talking about the “spirit of the spec,” essentially when a person chooses to pursue a project or goal entirely on speculation with the hopes of some eventual payoff. Not everybody would make that
On Writing “There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they’ll take you.” — Beatrix Potter
Daily Dialogue — August 22, 2016 CODY: Uh, I don’t know. I guess I’d like — BIG Z: What you…what you want is something in between. Trust me, I’m the expert here, okay? CODY: Okay. BIG Z: So, uh, here are your shaping tools. Now, remember, the board’s already inside there, see,
Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Autumn Challenge: Story Prep It all started with this blog post in October 2015: Who’s with me to pound out a script in November? That led to this: Zero Draft Thirty: Write a Script in a Month Challenge. Every day for 30 days in November, I did a Zero Draft Thirty post with
