Screenplay Time Time is a mystery and perhaps nowhere more than in stories. As writers, we can jump through decades with one scene transition. Conversely we can stretch out mere moments for many pages, slowing down, even stopping the clock. Indeed something so fundamental as the choice of past tense, typical of
How They Write A Script: Paddy Chayefsky Noted playwright, screenwriter, and probably the most famous television writer during its so-called golden age of live TV, Paddy Chayefsky is one of the most revered contemporary American writers. This fact is underscored by the “Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award for TV Writing Achievement, presented annually by the Writers Guild
On Writing “You can’t wait to write until you’re in the mood. My God, if you waited until you were in the mood, it would take forever. You have to sit down. The name of the game is to put it in the chair.” — Harry Crews Via Advice To Writers
Daily Dialogue — November 23, 2015 “This is really fascinating, what’s going on at this table. Let’s take you and Erica. You’ve been around the block a few times. What are you, around 60? 63. Fantastic! Never married, which as we know, if you were a woman, would be a curse. You’d
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 22 Zero Draft Thirty: Day 22. November 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. November 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. To learn everything you need to know about the ZDT Challenge, go
Video: Phyllis Nagy (“Carol”) on writing subtext Phyllis Nagy, screenwriter of the movie Carol, on two ways to approach writing subtext: Via Film Courage.
Interview (Video): Susannah Grant A BAFTA screenwriting lecture by Susannah Grant (Erin Brockovich, Pocahontas ). From BAFTA. Comment Archive
Daily Dialogue — November 22, 2015 Penny: I’m Penny, I’m Karen’s assistant. Harold: I’m Harold, I’m her main character. — Stranger Than Fiction (2006), written by Zach Helm The Daily Dialogue theme for the month: Writers and Writing. Trivia: The film borrows heavily from ‘Niebla’ by Miguel de Unamuno, a Spanish novel
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 21 Zero Draft Thirty: Day 21. November 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. November 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. To learn everything you need to know about the ZDT Challenge, go
Daily Dialogue theme for the Month: Writers and Writing In honor of the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge, we’re going to have one theme for the entire month of November. That theme: Writers and Writing Consecutive days of Daily Dialogue posts: 2,746. Over 500 people have committed to join me in the #ZD30SCRIPT Challenge. What better way to
Saturday Hot Links Time for the 213th installment of Saturday Hot Links! Academy Launches 5-Year Diversity Initiative. How Hollywood Keeps Out the Stories of Women and Girls. Hollywood Sexism Exposed by Over 100 Women in Groundbreaking NY Times Cover Story. 13 Explosive Quotes on Hollywood Sexism From NYT Takedown. Why Female Superheroes
Interview (Written): Phil Lord and Chris Miller A THR interview with Phil Lord and Chris Miller: Where they were Based on their success with the animated film Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs ($243 million worldwide), Lord and Miller had persuaded Sony to let them make the rare leap to live action with 2012’s 21 Jump
Daily Dialogue — November 21, 2015 “I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.” — In a Lonely Place (1950), screenplay by Andrew Solt, adaptation by Edmund H. North, story by Dorothy B. Hughes The Daily Dialogue theme for the month: Writers and
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 20 Zero Draft Thirty: Day 20. November 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. November 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. To learn everything you need to know about the ZDT Challenge, go
Spirit of the Spec: And if it doesn’t sell… 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
Update: Award season screenplay downloads — 3 new scripts / 25 total It’s that time of year again when studios and production companies make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season. As in years past, we will be tracking them and posting links as they become available. UPDATE: Current total of 2015 scripts for download: 25. Newly added scripts (3)
The Black List Table Reads: “Three Months” It’s back! The Black List Table Reads podcast! Welcome to Season 2 of the new and improved The Black List Table Reads with Franklin Leonard. Expect a full earmovie in its entirety with superb sound design. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house during our recording of
Great scene: “Broadcast News” I love the movie Broadcast News (1987), written and directed by James L. Brooks. The movie is full of great scenes, but this one might be the funniest: The famous “flop-sweat” scene starring Albert Brooks. Playing Aaron, a field reporter desperate to get one shot at being an on-
Daily Dialogue — November 20, 2015 “I wrote no defense of Eichmann, but I did try to reconcile the shocking mediocrity of the man with his staggering deeds. Trying to understand him is not the same thing as forgiveness. And furthermore, I see it as my responsibility to understand. It is the responsibility of anyone who
Black List Live: “El Fuego Caliente” For folks living in and around Los Angeles, the good people at the Black List have put together a stellar event for the upcoming Black List Live stage reading of the comedy script “El Fuego Caliente,” written by Ben Schwartz. STARRING Roselyn Sanchez (DEVIOUS MAIDS) Jaime Camil (JANE THE VIRGIN)
Zero Draft Thirty: Day 19 Zero Draft Thirty: Day 19. November 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. November 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. To learn everything you need to know about the ZDT Challenge, go
Spirit Of The Spec: 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
Interview (Written): Lawrence Kasdan When my spec script K-9 was floating around Hollywood, before it eventually sold to Universal, there were a number of agencies interested in signing my writing partner and me. The most aggressive was Bauer / Benedek, later to merge as part of UTA. They showed me their client list. As
Trust Your Story’s Characters, Not Writing ‘Gurus” Over in the Zero Draft Thirty Facebook group, a disturbing theme has popped up here and there: Some writers whose confidence in their projects has waned as their concern rises about how their stories don’t conform to the formulas and patterns espoused by a variety of so-called screenwriting
Writing and the Creative Life: Flow As writers, we know the experience. We sit down to write. Conjure up a scene in our mind. Fingers on keyboard. Scene description. Dialogue. Characters coming to life. Scene end. Leads directly to the next scene. Deeper into the story universe. We are there. More writing. Another scene. And another.
