Short Film: “The Smallest Power” This compelling animation is the first in a series of The New Yorker documentaries.
Script To Screen: “Before Midnight” The final scene in the 2013 movie Before Midnight, written by Richard Linklater & Julie Delpy & Ethan Hawke, characters by Richard…
Screenwriting 101: Paul Thomas Anderson “Bad movie dialogue speaks in complete sentences without any overlapping or interruption, and avoids elliptical speech, which is truer to…
On Writing “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”
Go Into The Story Interview: Sam Boyer My interview with 2023 Black List writer for his script Foragers.
“Conversations With Wilder”: Part 1 Billy Wilder is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Consider just some of his movies: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Stalag 17…
30 Things About Screenwriting: Know your genre If you want to write in a genre, you’re wise to immerse yourself in it.
Page One: “Blades of Glory” (2007) Screenplay by Jeff Cox & Craig Cox and John Altschuler & Dave Krinsky, story by Craig Cox & Jeff Cox & Busy Philipps
Screenwriting Mantra: What is the point of the scene? Begin the scene-writing process by asking this fundamental question.
Script To Screen: “Being John Malkovich” The 7 1/2 floor scene from Being John Malkovich (1999), written by Charlie Kaufman. Setup: Craig (John Cusack) goes to an unusual office…
Page One: “Blade Runner 2049” (2017) Screenplay by Hampton Fancher and Michael Green, story by Hampton Fancher, based on characters from the novel “Do Androids Dream of…
How They Write A Script: Richard Matheson Richard Matheson has written novels and short stories, as well as screenplays for both film and television. Notably, he is among the few…
Writing and the Creative Life: “Nothing succeeds like failure” Re-thinking the role of failure in the creative life.
The Business of Screenwriting: Living and Writing in L.A. Let me say up front, there are advantages for a screenwriter to live in or near Los Angeles. Here are a few key ones:
“Black Panther” (2018) Written by Ryan Coogler & Joe Robert Cole, based on the Marvel comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby
