Go Into The Story

What is the deal with rom-coms and opposites attract?

My first question to you is what romantic comedy movies feature the most dramatic example of opposite personalities falling in love? With the remake of Arthur out, I’m reminded of the mismatched coupling of Arthur (Dudley Moore) and Linda (Liza Minnelli). But just off the top of my head,

Is my script big enough to be a movie, Part 1: Story Concept

“Is my script big enough to be a movie?” This is a fundamental question screenwriters must ask themselves at all stages of a screenplay’s development and writing. Why? Because it’s a question movie studio execs will ask as one of the key determining factors whether to say ‘yes’

Popcorn Fiction: “The Bootlegger” by Jesse Zigelstein

Another short story from the excellent site Popcorn Fiction, hosted by screenwriter and novelist Derek Haas: I’m always interested in worlds I knew nothing about…even in genre short fiction. This story by television writer Jesse Zigelstein focuses on bootlegging in Toronto during World War II, as the criminal

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 11

You know that whole thing on the Web where people show two photos of celebrity types, noting similarities in appearance under the heading “Switched At Birth?” Well, this story literally is switched at birth: SAO PAULO — Two years back, Dimas Aliprandi and Elton Plaster didn’t know of each other’

On writing

“Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.”   — Neil Gaiman Comment Archive

Midnight musings

It is January, 1991. The day my son Will is born. After thirty-six hours of labor… And an emergency C-section… My wife Rebecca is exhausted. She’s had a few hours to bond with Will. Share the joy with family members. But now she requires sleep. Which means…

Is ‘Hop’ a one-off success or the beginning of a talking-animal comeback?

The LAT asked the question in the post title last week: Even seasoned box-office observers were caught off guard this weekend when “Hop” came out of nowhere not only to win the weekend but also to top the opening of every other 2011 release with an estimated $38.1

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 10

All right, this is just bizarre: Meet the woman without fear: A woman known only as SM is walking through Waverly Hills Sanatorium, reputedly one of the “most haunted” places in the world. Now a tourist attraction, the building transforms into a haunted house every Halloween, complete with elaborate decorations,

The Wrap: March a “monster month” for spec script market

So it’s not just me braying about heightened activity in the spec script market. Jason Scoggins, whose It’s On The Grid is now part of The Wrap empire, reports even bigger numbers than me: Those aren’t typos below — March was a monster month in the spec market:

The periodic table of storytelling

I have no idea what this means, but it sure looks cool: What do you think? And if you haven’t discovered tvtropes.org, you are missing out on perhaps the greatest single time-suck site on the web. For more, go here. Thanks to @opedr — a recurring source of

R.I.P.: Sidney Lumet (1924–2011)

News out that famed director Sidney Lumet has died. Some of the movies he directed: Twelve Angry Men, Serpico, Dog Day Afternoon, Network, Equus, The Verdict. He also was a screenwriter, some of his writing credits: Prince of the City, Q&A, Night Falls on Manhattan. His daughter Jenny

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 9

What if scientific research awakened a sleeping something connected to Stonehenge: LONDON — Scientists scouring the area around Stonehenge said Thursday they have uncovered a circular structure only a few hundred meters (yards) from the world famous monument. There’s some debate about what exactly has been found. The survey team

Written Interview: Seth Lochhead (“Hanna”)

Nice feature in the Vancouver Sun about native son screenwriter Seth Lochhead who co-wrote the screenplay for the movie Hanna. Some excerpts: “It’s always about the script for me. Do I socialize and build my career that way or do I write a really f — -king great script

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Presidential speeches vs. stoned banter

Okay, I’ve randomly selected two themes submitted by members of the GITS community, one representing the high road (fictional Presidential speeches suggested by CWilGoWrite) and the low road (drunken / stoned banter suggested by The Unknown Lyricist). I have a feeling I know which one is going to win this

Tool: “Forty Six & Two”

For those who want an interesting take on the concept of the shadow, here is a song by Tool called “Forty Six & Two” complete with commentary and lyrics that feature some of C.G. Jung’s ideas: If you look at a movie as a Protagonist’s psychological journey,

Original screenplays vs. other sources for movies

Just to put things in perspective, the website The Numbers breaks down the number of movies per their source from the last 17 years: Top-Grossing Movie Sources 1995 to 2011 MoviesTotal GrossAverage GrossMarket Share1Original Screenplay3,996$89,141,677,446$22,307,72749.38%2Based on Book/Short Story1,

Movie Story Types: Contained Thriller

As I noted in this post, several ‘contained thrillers’ have sold lately: Hyde Park Entertainment nabs thriller spec “Killer” written by Kenny Golde. This post from Peter Sciretta at slashfilm.com: Hyde Park Entertainment and Parkes/MacDonald Productions have acquired Kenny Golde’s spec screenplay Killer. The contained thriller was

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 8

Do any of you follow non-scripted TV? If so, you’ll know there is a sub-genre of programming known as “blue collar jobs.” Series like “Deadliest Catch” (lobstermen), “Ax Men” (loggers), “Ice Road Truckers” (truck drivers). Those are the rural shows. Then there are the urban ones like

Great Character: Rupert Pupkin (“The King of Comedy”)

Rupert Pupkin is perhaps one of the most interesting roles Robert DeNiro has ever played: Plot summary for The King of Comedy from IMDB: Rupert Pupkin is obsessed with becoming a comedy great. However, when he confronts his idol, talk show host Jerry Langford, with a plea to perform on

Daily Dialogue — April 8, 2011

The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is double entendres suggested by Danny.  Trivia: The victim, Mr. Dietrichson, is an oil company executive. Screenplay writer Raymond Chandler was an oil company executive before he became a writer. Comment Archive

Joe Eszterhas is back!

Man, the spec script market must really be on the rebound. Per THR: The man who turned sexual thriller into its own genre with films such as Basic Instinct and brought sizzle to the screen with movies ranging from Flashdance and Jagged Edge to Sliver and Showgirls, has written Lust,

Your questions for screenwriters Jeremiah Friedman & Nick Palmer

You may recall the sale of the spec script “Family Getaway” last year: Per THR, Warner Bros. buys action spec “Family Getaway from newcomers Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer: In the story — akin to a Jason Bourne movie crossed with “Little Miss Sunshine” — a man’s Thanksgiving at his parents’

Star Wars the Musical

From Salon: Two weeks ago, we brought you a snapshot of “Star Wars the Musical,” a 1996 production conceived and created entirely by students in California. Up until now, the entire opera — which combined music from “Les Miserables,” “Tommy” and “Godspell” (among others) — had only been witnessed by those lucky

Movie Story Types: Time Travel

Time travel has inspired storytellers for centuries and Hollywood hasn’t slacked off in that department either. Here is a short list of time travel movies: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1949): A singing mechanic from 1912 finds himself in Arthurian Britain. The Time Machine (1960): A

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 7

Let’s go creepy with this story: Broadmoor Mental Hospital: Home to some of Britain’s most notorious criminals: The asylum hosted some of the British Empire’s most notorious criminals. Roderick MacLean, who shot at Queen Victoria at Windsor Station, was sent here in 1882 after being found “not