What script should we read and analyze in October? Since we started this monthly series, we have reviewed 23 notable movie scripts. You can check out all of them here. Why this series? Because reading movie scripts is one of the best ways to advance your knowledge of the craft. In September, we read Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Great Character: Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb (“The Silence of the Lambs”) In a month-long run-up to Halloween, our Great Character focus this month is boogeyman. To kick off things, Jason Cuthbert analyzes Jame “Buffalo Bill” Gumb from the movie The Silence of the Lambs: Before director Jonathan Demme explored skin-crawling inhumanity with The Silence of the Lambs in
Daily Dialogue — October 5, 2012 Ed: Bobby, Drew was shot! He was shot, Bobby! Drew was shot! Bobby: Here’s his jacket! Ed: He wasn’t wearin’ it! Bobby: Ed, maybe Lewis is right! Ed: Of course, he’s right. Of course! Bobby: Lewis, you mean that other guy shot him? Did you see him?
How would YOU write the sequel to “The Princess Bride”? So I posted this about The Princess Bride yesterday. And updated it with this, a news item about a recent cast reunion. There screenwriter William Goldman spoke about the possibility of a sequel to the movie: “I’m desperate to make it and write it and I don’t know
Dispatch from The Quest: Brandon Cohen Last week as we did here on GITS, the Quest writers focused on the third week of Prep. Today’s dispatch: Brandon Cohen on embracing the solitary life of a writer: I just moved, and I now live by myself for the first time in my entire life. A lot
Golden Age for smart genre films? Dear, God: Please let it be so! Per Steve Zeitchik at the LAT: Cut to the fall of 2012, and not only was the film produced (by means of an unusual coalition of the independent companies Endgame Entertainment and FilmDistrict, the studio Sony Pictures and a Chinese production entity) but
Go On Your Own Quest, Week 12: Prep “The Quest” has entered Week 12! And so did Go On Your Own Quest, an opportunity for anyone to follow the structure of “The Quest” to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write a first draft [Pages — 10 weeks]. It’s
Movie Trailer: “The Lone Ranger” Native American spirit warrior Tonto recounts the untold tales that transformed John Reid, a man of the law, into a legend of justice. Screenplay by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Justin Haythe IMDB site Release Date: 3 July 2013 (USA)
Why “The Princess Bride” should not work as a movie: Part 3 Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the premiere of The Princess Bride [released on September 25, 1987]. In a nice bit of synchronicity, last month in an online “Hero’s Journey” class I’m teaching with 15 really sharp middle-schoolers, we read William Goldman’s novel “The Princess
The Business of Screenwriting: Script readers, Hollywood’s threshold guardians They may not get a lot of respect, but they are important to writers. Outside of yourself, the single most important person in the life of your spec script is more than likely the reader assigned to it. Almost no material gets submitted in Hollywood without coverage and that coverage
Daily Dialogue — October 4, 2012 GITTES: As little as possible. ESCOBAR: What’s that? What’s that? You wanna do your partner a BIG favor? Take him home. TAKE HIM HOME! Just get him the hell out of here! Go home, Jake. I’m doing you a favor. WALSH: Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown.
Reader Question: Could you break down the numbers related to a movie’s budget? From John Agerholm: Scott, I have 2 questions (sorry), and they’re both finance related (double sorry). But I’ve always wondered about them, they’re important, and you did ask. So . . . Let’s use the 2011 film HUGO as our example. The critical acclaim for HUGO was wonderful. But
Dispatch from The Quest: Scott Reynolds Last week as we did here on GITS, the Quest writers focused on the third week of Prep. Today’s dispatch: Scott Reynolds, who is writing a rom-com, waxes profound on the sub-genre: One of my best friends has a theory that you can tally a person’s
Go On Your Own Quest, Week 12: Prep “The Quest” has entered Week 12! And so did Go On Your Own Quest, an opportunity for anyone to follow the structure of “The Quest” to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write a first draft [Pages — 10 weeks]. It’s
Movie Trailer: “The Oranges” The enduring friendship between the Walling and Ostroff families is tested when Nina, the prodigal Ostroff daughter, returns home for the holidays after a five-year absence and enters into an affair with David, head of the Walling family. Ian Helfer (screenplay), Jay Reiss (screenplay) IMDB site Release Date: 5
Why “The Princess Bride” should not work as a movie: Part 2 Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the premiere of The Princess Bride [released on September 25, 1987]. In a nice bit of synchronicity, last month in an online “Hero’s Journey” class I’m teaching with 15 really sharp middle-schoolers, we read William Goldman’s novel “The Princess
Script To Screen: “Fargo” Here is a terrific scene from a terrific movie, the 1996 film Fargo, screenplay by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen for which they won an Academy Award. Setup: Carl (Steve Buscemi) and Grimsrud (Peter Stormare), who have kidnapped Jean (Kristin Rudrüd) and stashed her in the back seat of their
Daily Dialogue — October 3, 2012 PRIMO: This place is eating us alive! SECONDO: Good, I’m glad! PRIMO: Where are you going? You’re always leaving. Stop! Stay! Stay still for a moment! I’ve tried, I’ve tried to teach you, Secondo. But you’ve learned nothing! You’re like a child! Why do
Reader Question: Are there any rules of thumb to “locking down” your script? From zxcvb: Are there any time-tested rules of thumb when it comes to “locking down” your script? That is, knowing when it’s ready and done (and not going to get appreciably better or worse)? I’m thinking I should wait until I start writing something else. That way,
Dispatch from The Quest: Ben Odgren Last week as we did here on GITS, the Quest writers focused on the third week of Prep. Today’s dispatch: Ben Odgren talks about Ninja Turtles, genre movies, and writing what you know: The earliest story I can remember writing involved two brothers shrinking down to action-figure size,
Free Screenwriting Master Class course update As I continue to make good on my promise to give away a complimentary Core or Craft course to those of you who submitted a logline for The Quest, I will accept for enrollment the first five people to email me for the upcoming 1-week online screenwriting course Core
Go On Your Own Quest, Week 12: Prep “The Quest” has entered Week 12! And so did Go On Your Own Quest, an opportunity for anyone to follow the structure of “The Quest” to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write a first draft [Pages — 10 weeks]. It’s
Why “The Princess Bride” should not work as a movie: Part 1 Last week marked the 25th anniversary of the premiere of The Princess Bride [released on September 25, 1987]. In a nice bit of synchronicity, last month in an online “Hero’s Journey” class I’m teaching with 15 really sharp middle-schoolers, we read William Goldman’s novel “The Princess
Screenwriting 101: David Mamet “I suggest that everyone get Francis Ferguson’s edition of Aristotle’s Poetics. Read it once — it’ll make the point — and then retire to your typewriters. Screenwriting’s all about working on it and working on it until it comes out even. There’s really no magic to it.
Daily Dialogue — October 2, 2012 Dave Bowman: Hello, HAL. Do you read me, HAL? HAL: Affirmative, Dave. I read you. Dave Bowman: Open the pod bay doors, HAL. HAL: I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that. Dave Bowman: What’s the problem? HAL: I think you know what the problem
