Go Into The Story

Script To Screen: “Charade”

If you haven’t seen the 1963 movie Charade [screenplay by Peter Stone, story by Peter Stone and Marc Behm], you really should, a terrific combination of mystery, romance, and comedy. Setup: Dyle [Cary Grant] is led up to the rooftop by Scobie [George Kennedy], he of a metal claw

Daily Dialogue — August 1, 2012

Sarah sits by herself at a table for two. Borden ENTERS with a swagger, Olivia beside him, Fallon behind. The MAITRE D’ hurries over, signaling WAITERS. Sarah looks up. UNCOMFORTABLE. SARAH: I didn’t know we’d be joined for dinner. BORDEN: Absolutely. We’re celebrating. The Waiters spirit another

Eight Essential Screenwriting Principles

Many things are converging just now: The Quest, Go On Your Own Quest. Plus starting next Monday, I will be teaching Core II: Concept, the second of eight Core classes through Screenwriting Master Class on a bi-weekly basis through November 11. One of the most important lessons we all

Genre Essentials: Comedy

The idea: If you want to write in a genre, you should know [at least] the essentials of that genre. Dynamics, themes, tone, pace, feel, atmosphere, characters, dialogue, scenes, memes, tropes, and so on. So we are dutifully compiling lists of essentials for every major movie genre. For those who

Tuesdays with Tom Benedek: “Large Spartacus / Small Spartacus”

The latest guest post from screenwriter (Cocoon) and long-time friend Tom Benedek: Right now, I am working on an adaptation of a non-fiction book. I am trying to stay true to the spirit and facts of the story, but I am also seeking to elevate the drama. This

Dispatch from The Quest: Meet Brandon Cohen

Over the course of the 24 weeks I will be working with the writers in “The Quest,” I will be posting ‘dispatches’ from them to the GITS community. There are several reasons for this, the main one being educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding

Go On Your Own Quest — Week 3: Character

“The Quest” has entered Week 3! 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: “Middle of Nowhere”

Written by Ava DuVernay IMDB site Release Date: 12 October 2012 (USA) Comment Archive

How They Write A Script: Walter Bernstein

Walter Bernstein was born 1919 and thankfully is still with us, a screenwriter with a lengthy career in which he managed to survive 4 years in the Army during World War II and a stint during which he was blacklisted. Notable films for which Bernstein received credit: Fail-Safe (1964)

Screenwriting 101: Ted Elliott

“When I hear aspiring screenwriters who talk about, ‘Yeah, I saw Godzilla and it was terrible. I can write better than that.’ My feeling about that is, no, go watch The Godfather or Casablanca or Ghostbusters, and say, ‘Holy crap! That was great, I want to write something that good!

Daily Dialogue — July 31, 2012

MAYA: Can I ask you a personal question? MILES: (bracing himself) Sure. MAYA: Why are you so into Pinot? It’s like a thing with you. Miles laughs at first, then smiles wistfully at the question. He searches for the answer in his glass and begins slowly. MILES: I don’

Genre Essentials: Action

The idea: If you want to write in a genre, you should know [at least] the essentials of that genre. Dynamics, themes, tone, pace, feel, atmosphere, characters, dialogue, scenes, memes, tropes, and so on. So we are dutifully compiling lists of essentials for every major movie genre. For those who

Dispatch From The Quest: Meet Jordan Earls

Over the course of the 24 weeks I will be working with the writers in “The Quest,” I will be posting ‘dispatches’ from them to the GITS community. There are several reasons for this, the main one being educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding

Go On Your Own Quest — Week 3: Character

“The Quest” moves into Week 3! From over 1500 entrants, I selected these eight writers to participate in a 24-week screenwriting workshop under my guidance — for free. The first eight weeks, the Questers and I will delve into screenwriting theory, a different subject area and principle each week, a

Movie Trailer: “Jayne Mansfield’s Car”

Written by Billy Bob Thornton, Tom Epperson IMDB site.

How They Write A Script: Garson Kanin

Garson Kanin (1919–1999) was a Broadway actor and director, but best known as a screenwriter. His most renowned movies: A Double Life (1948); Adam’s Rib (1949); Born Yesterday (1950), based on his stage hit; The Marrying Kind (1951); Pat and Mike (1952); and It Should Happen to You

On Writing

“Writing is like meditation or going into an ESP trance, or prayer. Like dreaming. You are tapping into your unconscious. To be fully conscious and alert, with life banging and popping and cuckooing all around, you are not going to find your way to your subconscious, which is a place

Daily Dialogue — July 30, 2012

ALVY: (pointing toward the apartment after a short pause) So, did you do shoot the photographs in there or what? ANNIE: (Nodding, her hand on her hip) Yeah, yeah, I sorta dabble around, you know. Annie’s thoughts pop on the screen as she talks: I dabble? Listen to me-

Patton Oswalt gets it!

Several people sent me links to Patton Oswalt’s keynote address at Montreal’s “Just For Laughs 2012” event. His address is comprised of two open letters, the first to “all of the comedians in the room,” the second to “gatekeepers in broadcast and cable executive offices, focus groups, record

GITS Script Reading & Analysis: “The Social Network” — Tweet-Cast Transcript

On Wednesday, July 25, we had a live Tweet-Cast of The Social Network. What’s a Tweet-Cast? At 8PM Pacific, people from around the world pushed Play on an electronic device and watched the movie, then commented on it on Twitter. Involved in the commentary were professional screenwriters

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Character On The Screen [Part 1]

“Every character in the story of the scenarist should be established as an individual — a living, breathing, real person.” If you are a screenwriter, you should know about Anita Loos. Loos was one of the most influential writers in the early stages of American cinema, associated with 136 film projects

Screenwriting News (July 23–29, 2012)

Fax Bahr and Harry Dunn sell pitch “De-Friended” to Sony. Wes Ball and T. S. Nowlin set up “Ruin” to 20th Century Fox based on Ball’s 8-minute animated short. Dustin Lance Black writing “Earthquake” for Universal and Bad Robot. Michael Elliott writing “Getting to Normal” for Fox

Daily Dialogue — July 29, 2012

Scarlett: Rhett! [runs down the stairs after Rhett] Rhett, Rhett! [catches him as he’s walking out the front door] Scarlett: Rhett… if you go, where shall I go, what shall I do? Rhett Butler: Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn. [Rhett walks off into the fog]

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Subtext

As we round out a week’s worth of famous last words [thanks to Vic Tional for that], it’s time to move onto our next Daily Dialogue them: Subtext [suggested by lizswan]. If subtext is everything, why? And what are some sterling examples of it in dialogue? That’s

Movie Trailer: “Cloud Atlas”

Screenplay by Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, and Lana Wachowski, novel by David Mitchell IMDB site Release Date: 26 October 2012 (USA) Comment Archive