Minimum Words, Maximum Impact I know the source of this mantra. It was one of my online screenwriting students. During a weekly live-chat session. I was going on and on…
“Conversations With Wilder”: Part 9 Billy Wilder is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Consider just some of his movies: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Ace in the…
Test Your Story Concept 5 questions to ask about a story idea to assess its viability as a scripted project.
“Conversations With Wilder”: Part 8 Billy Wilder is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Consider just some of his movies: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Stalag 17…
Script Analysis: “American Hustle” — Scene By Scene Breakdown Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:
Set-up and Payoffs One of the most important narrative elements screenwriters have available to us is set-ups and payoffs. The basic idea is this: We…
“Conversations With Wilder”: Part 7 Billy Wilder is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Consider just some of his movies: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Stalag 17…
Writing and the Creative Life: To Write, Stop Thinking Think character. Think plot. Think theme. But when you sit down to write, don’t think… feel.
Interview: Tor Valenza My conversation with a Hollywood screenwriter using his storytelling skills to advocate for solar power and the Earth’s well-being.
“Conversations With Wilder”: Part 6 Billy Wilder is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Consider just some of his movies: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Stalag 17…
1, 2, 7, 14 Here is a simple formula about three things — Read Scripts. Watch Movies. Write Pages. — you need to do to expand and deepen your…
Story Type: Martial Arts In Hollywood movie circles, there are genres like Horror or Science Fiction, cross genres like Action-Thriller or Drama-Comedy, and…
“Conversations With Wilder”: Part 5 Billy Wilder is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Consider just some of his movies: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Stalag 17…
“Conversations With Wilder”: Part 4 Billy Wilder is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Consider just some of his movies: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Stalag 17…
Screenwriting 101: Wes Anderson “The project almost always begins with a character or a group of characters. Usually there’s a sort of world that’s tied in. The last film…
“Movies don’t owe anybody a living” The original quote is about music, but it pertains to all entertainment.
“Conversations With Wilder”: Part 3 Billy Wilder is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Consider just some of his movies: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Stalag 17…
