Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — July 8, 2011

Pyle: Hi, Joker. Joker: Are those live rounds? Pyle: 762 millimeter. Full metal jacket.  Joker: Leonard, if Hartmann comes in here and catches us, we’ll both be in a world of shit. Pyle: I AM. IN A WORLD. OF SHIT.   — Pyle (Vincent D’Onofrio), Joker (Matthew Modine), Full Metal

Reader Question: How do you read a script?

More importantly, how does a Hollywood reader asses YOUR script? Alandre Drakes asks: I have asked this question elsewhere but I would really like your feedback on it. How do you read scripts? Do you still print them out or do you read them directly off of a device (PC,

In praise of “Treme”

I wanted to write something profound and deep about my favorite TV series “Treme,” now that Season 2 is over, but others have cut significant trail on this front. First Emily Nussbaum at Vulture who writes Why You Should Have Been Watching “Treme” Instead of “The Killing”: As it happens,

The bottom line on query letters

Scott from the fine blog Screenwriting from Iowa had this recent post about query letters. You should read the entire post, but let me excerpt the response Scott received from Chris Lockhart, Story Editor at WME and host of the blog The Inside Pitch: Your query letter: This is just

The Business of Screenwriting: Premieres!

It’s one of the perks of working in the business: Attending movie premieres. Presumed Innocent, The Shawhank Redemption, Waterworld, Raising Arizona, In the Line of Fire — these are just a few of the movie premieres I’ve attended throughout the years. And I must confess no matter how jaded

Daily Dialogue — July 7, 2011

“Welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: you DO NOT talk about Fight Club! Third rule of Fight Club: if someone yells “stop!”, goes limp, or taps out, the fight is over.

Reader Question: How much does a top screenwriter get paid for a rewrite?

From Erich: Hi Scott, Love your site (read the RSS feed daily). Had a few questions today while talking with someone, and I figured I’d ask you… How much does a top screenwriter (say, David Koepp as an arbitrary example) get paid to do a page one rewrite of

“Super 8,” emotional logic, and rational logic

A few weeks back I posted this: I have been emailed by a bunch of GITS readers asking my reaction to the movie Super 8. I want to make sure folks have a chance to see it before providing any analysis so they can screen it with a clean slate.

Plots, Plots, and More Plots!

You want plots? Here are some plots: Turning from the pulps to the slicks, we meet Charles Simmons. Like so many others, he was inspired by Polti’s 36 to conduct his own research. But Simmons did not study isolated plot elements. Instead, he sat down with a big stack

“A Pixar Animator’s Inspirational Letter About Persistence”

HT to Alex Billington at First Showing for a heads-up on this: When it comes to careers in Hollywood, while many will say it’s a dream come true to work in this town, it’s veryhard work and a lot of it. Breaking into the animation world, where

Script to Screen: “Jerry Maguire”

A fired sports agent… a goldfish… and a personal assistant make a defiant, if awkward exit. Here is a memorable scene from the screenplay “Jerry Maguire,” written by Cameron Crowe. Setup: Jerry [Tom Cruise] has been fired from his job at a big sports agency. Dorothy [Renée Zellweger] has been

Daily Dialogue — July 6, 2011

“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”  — Walsh (Joe Mantell), Chinatown (1974), written by Robert Towne http://movieclips.com/e/hbwi/ The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is movie titles suggested by Nathalie.  Trivia: The original script was over 300 pages. Comment Archive

Reader Question: What to do with treatments for reality TV series?

Tweet from @Sunnylarue17: I wrote 2 treatments 4 reality tv & a comedy script how do I get them n2 the right hands Re treatments for reality / non-scripted TV series, your best bet is to approach an established production company and try to partner with them. As a rule,

Interviews: Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon

Screenwriters Robert Ben Garant and Thomas Lennon were on NPR this AM, promoting their new book “Writing Movies for Fun and Profit: How We Made a Billion Dollars at the Box Office and You Can, Too!” Their movie credits include The Pacifier and Night at the Museum. Here is an

Soliciting more movie franchise ideas… dumb or otherwise!

So the other day I posted this: Snow White and the Huntsman may have more to overcome than just one clash with the Evil Queen. Producer Joe Roth tells EW that he plans on making the folktale action-adventure movie into a trilogy. “It’s meant to be the first

Welcome to GITS (redux)!

[I am posting this again today because yesterday was July 4th and a slower traffic day than usual]. I’ve had a spike in traffic on the site the last month or so. And seeing as it’s mid-year, I figure it’s time to do my semi-regular

Screenwriting 101: Bo Goldman

“What I think my talent is — it’s knowing what a thing is, knowing what the dramatic possibilities for a thing are and recognizing what it means to life. I approach writing the way Michelangelo approached a big block of marble or granite from which a statue was trying to

Reader Question: If my story is based on an actual event, do I need permission of participants?

A Tweet from @@MsDavinaRenae: I’m writing a script that was inspired by an actual event. Do I need 2 get approval from ppl involved b4 I submit 2 an agent it’s a personal event not a world event. My situation does involve a dancer/celeb/public figure. Usual

“Film School Students Aplenty, but What About Jobs?”

From today’s NYT, an interesting article on the state of film schools: LOS ANGELES — One after another, touring groups of prospective students and their parents stopped late last month to pose for pictures around a bronze Douglas Fairbanks, who wields his sword in a courtyard fountain here at the

Movie Review: “Delhi Belly”

Its theme song, “Bhaag Bhaag DK Bose,” has already become a rebellious anthem for young Indians giddy about the expletive hidden in its lyrics. And the first three minutes of Delhi Belly make it clear that this is not a family film: Viewers bothered by butt cracks, the F-word,

Welcome to GITS!

I’ve had a spike in traffic on the site the last month or so. And seeing as it’s mid-year, I figure it’s time to do my semi-regular GITS tour. So go ahead and get on the virtual tram. I’ll be your driver. Watch that

On writing

“So sure as there is any worth in these pages, so sure am I saved…”  — Knut Hamsun HT to Michael L for the quote

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Movie title in dialogue

By consensus, the choice is Nathalie’s idea: Dialogue that features the movie’s title. This is a special challenge for a writer: How to use the title in a way that is not contrived? So what are some good examples of movie titles in dialogue? You know the drill:

The 5 indie films you must see this July

Indie Wire has 5 films you must see this July: 1. The Interrupters (July 29; The Cinema Guild) What’s The Deal? “Hoop Dreams” director Steve James gives audiences one of the most acclaimed films to come out of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival in “The Interrupters.” Capturing a period

“‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ Planned as First of a Trilogy”

This how frenzied Hollywood is about franchises: They’re turning Snow White into one. Per EW: Snow White and the Huntsman may have more to overcome than just one clash with the Evil Queen. Producer Joe Roth tells EW that he plans on making the folktale action-adventure movie into