There’s no right way to write: Part 4 There is no right way to write. No one way. No single approach, paradigm, theory or magic formula. No easy path. There is only the writer. Their creativity. Their stories. And lots of hard work.This week I’ve decided to feature the words of four screenwriters each day to
The Business of Screenwriting: Movies don’t owe anybody a living This is actually a lesson I learned before I became a screenwriter. After I graduated with an M.Div. from Yale and turned my back on an academic career — although I didn’t know it at the time, only thought I was taking a year off before I went on
Daily Dialogue — September 6, 2012 MCKEE: Anyone else? Kaufman timidly raises his hand. MCKEE: Yes? KAUFMAN: You talked about Crisis as the ultimate decision a character makes, but what if a writer is attempting to create a story where nothing much happens, where people don’t change, they don’t have any epiphanies. They struggle
Year 1: Black List & Go Into The Story — The Definitive Spec Script Sales List [1991–2012] As part of our week long celebration of the 1-year partnership between the Black List and Go Into The Story, I thought it would be interesting to review some of the more notable initiatives, series and posts that emerged during the last 12 months. This next project emerged from
Q&A: Franklin Leonard One year ago, Go Into The Story became the official Screenwriting Blog of the Black List. As part of the celebration this week, Franklin Leonard kindly offered to answer some questions, many provided by GITS readers. Today two more Q&A’s: One of the most significant changes in
Dispatch from The Quest: Rob Pilkington Last week as we did here on GITS, the Quest writers focused on the subject of Theme. Today’s dispatch: Rob Pilkington confesses some trepidation: I’m a little uncomfortable talking about theme. It certainly seems like something to me that should only be parsed academically, while holed away in
Q&A: Elgin James (“Little Birds”), Part 3 Recently I had the opportunity to interview Elgin James who wrote and directed his debut movie Little Birds. Here is some background: Elgin James’ first screenplay, “Little Birds,” was accepted into both the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the Sundance Directors Lab. In 2009, James was awarded a Time Fellowship Grant
Go On Your Own Quest, Week 8: Time “The Quest” has entered Week 8! 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: “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters” 15 years after their traumatic gingerbread-house incident, siblings Hansel and Gretel have become a formidable team of bounty hunters who track and kill witches all over the world. Tommy Wirkola (screenplay), Dante Harper (screenplay) IMDB site Release Date: 11 January 2013 (USA) Comment Archive
There’s no right way to write: Part 3 There is no right way to write. No one way. No single approach, paradigm, theory or magic formula. No easy path. There is only the writer. Their creativity. Their stories. And lots of hard work. This week I’ve decided to feature the words of four screenwriters each day to
Script To Screen: “Raising Arizona” The 1987 movie Raising Arizona, written and directed by the Coen brothers has one of the most inventive openings I’ve ever seen, a delightful, yet efficient 10-minute preface. Setup: Introducing the two main characters. This is an excerpt of the opening: OVER BLACK: VOICE OVER My name is
Daily Dialogue — September 5, 2012 Nun: Let me get this straight: you don’t believe in God because of “Alice in Wonderland”? Loki: No, “Through the Looking Glass”. That poem, “The Walrus and the Carpenter,” that’s an indictment of organized religion. The walrus, with his girth and his good nature, he obviously represents either
Year 1: Black List & Go Into The Story — 1, 2, 7, 14 As part of our week long celebration of the 1-year partnership between the Black List and Go Into The Story, I thought it would be interesting to review some of the more notable initiatives, series and posts that emerged during the last 12 months. Here is something I posted
Q&A: Franklin Leonard One year ago, Go Into The Story became the official Screenwriting Blog of the Black List. As part of the celebration this week, Franklin Leonard kindly offered to answer some questions, many provided by GITS readers. Today the first two Q&A’s: Are the screenplays you read nowadays
Tuesdays with Tom Benedek: Reboot of the Year/Fourth Wall in TV Screenwriter Tom Benedek (Cocoon) is back with another guest column today: Long ago, I watched The Three Stooges on TV after every school day. A new feature film version of this epic comedy entertainment of my youth was not something I really cared much about. I finally watched it on
Dispatch from The Quest: Brandon Cohen Last week as we did here on GITS, the Quest writers focused on the subject of Theme. Today’s dispatch: Brandon Cohen muses about porn stars, solar systems and themes… not necessarily in that order: I have an emotional connection to all of my favorite movies. I can’t tell
Q&A: Elgin James (“Little Birds”), Part 2 Recently I had the opportunity to interview Elgin James who wrote and directed his debut movie Little Birds. Here is some background: Elgin James’ first screenplay, “Little Birds,” was accepted into both the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the Sundance Directors Lab. In 2009, James was awarded a Time Fellowship Grant
Go On Your Own Quest, Week 8: Time “The Quest” has entered Week 8! 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: “Rust & Bone” Put in charge of his young son, Ali leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. Ali’s bond with Stephanie, a killer whale trainer, grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident. Screenplay by Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain, story by Craig
There’s no right way to write: Part 2 There is no right way to write. No one way. No single approach, paradigm, theory or magic formula. No easy path. There is only the writer. Their creativity. Their stories. And lots of hard work. This week I’ve decided to feature the words of four screenwriters each day to
Screenwriting 101: Callie Khouri “It wasn’t meant to be a literal ending [Thelma & Louise], you know what I mean? It was them kind of flying off into the mass unconscious. We purposely did not show the smoke coming up from the bottom of the canyon or the car tumbling down the side
Daily Dialogue — September 4, 2012 “Few people on this planet know what it is to be truly despised. Can you blame them? I earn a living fronting an organizing that kills one thousand two hundred human beings a day; twelve hundred people. We’re talking two jumbo jet plane loads of men, women, and children.
How to develop your writing style Knowing the ins-and-outs of script format is one thing, developing your own approach to writing style is quite another. Beginning next Monday, September 10, I will be teaching Core IV: Style, a 1-week online screenwriting class in which you will learn key principles related to style that
Happy 1st Anniversary: The Black List and Go Into The Story! One year ago this week, this humble little blog became the official Screenwriting Blog of the Black List. It was a partnership born out of the similar sensibilities and interests Franklin Leonard and I have: To honor screenwriters, uplift good screenwriting, and push to see more original movies. In my
Dispatch from The Quest: Ben Odgren Last week as we did here on GITS, the Quest writers focused on the subject of Theme. Today’s dispatch: Ben Odgren analyzes a movie that didn’t do well at the box office, but is a favorite of his in large part due to how it handled its themes:
