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THR: “Market for Original Screenplays Heating Up”

We have already dug into the subject here, but it’s interesting to see it picked up in the trades. Here are some key excerpts from today’s article in THR: It’s a sign of just how far the spec market has fallen that even a glimmer of activity

The Business of Screenwriting: Net profits = zilch

The Business of Screenwriting: Net profits “Net profit participation” sounds so nice, but… Whenever you sell a screenplay, set up a pitch, or get a writing assignment at a Hollywood studio, you will end up with a big ass contract. And toward the back of that big ass contract, there

Reader Question: What exactly is a “script polish”?

“I’ve always heard the term, but no one I’ve asked before seems to know the answer.” A question from The Z: Could you delve into what exactly a polish is for a script? What is looked at, rewritten, added, deleted, etc. I’ve always heard the term, but

New HBO series: “Game of Thrones”

Who’s geeked about the new HBO series “Game of Thrones”? Check out this article in Hero Complex (LAT): Gargantuan dire wolves, frozen tundras, corrupt royals, brutal deflowerings, gullets slit wide open — oh, and don’t forget the debauched dwarf. The chilling slogan “Winter Is Coming” only hints at the

Alternate Takes: “Black Swan”

Found a really interesting site: Alternate Takes. Their mission: Welcome to Alternate Takes, a place for exciting and in-depth discussions of all aspects of cinema. Unlike other film review sites, we review the new films not once, but twice. The first review is essentially an evaluation, giving away as

Dialogue & Rhythm

There’s a nice feature in the Sunday New York Times about Tom Stoppard, noted playwright and screenwriter (Brazil, Shakespeare in Love). In it, there is an interesting bit of business about dialogue: “When you write, it’s making a certain kind of music in your head,” he [Stoppard] explained.

Screenwriting 101: Stirling Silliphant

“The writing is the easiest part of it. The trying period is the period of conceptualization, followed by research. This prewriting time can take anywhere from six months to ten years. But once I know everything there is to know about my characters, the actual writing of the script switches

Reader Question: Is it necessary to have scene description before dialogue in a scene?

Reader Question: Is it necessary to have scene description before dialogue? Another supposed screenwriting ‘rule’ bites the dust! From Jake Gott: Hey Scott, loved your posts about the Social Network.  I have a question about scene openings. When you start a new scene, is it necessary to say what the

Writing Question: What type of chair do you sit in when you write?

Somebody asked me this the other day and it occurred to me it’s a really important consideration. I mean one of the best definitions of writing I’ve seen is from Oliver Stone who said, “Writing equals butt on chair.” So what about your writing chair? Did you drop

See Simon Pegg and Nick Frost’s Shot-for-Shot Star Wars Remake

Per Vulture: Pure aweseomeness!

Analysis: Character archetypes in “Wall Street”

Yesterday I posted a response to a reader question from Annika W: Does a Mentor character always have to be right? In comments, a discussion arose about the movie Wall Street, so I figured it would be interesting for us to analyze that movie per its character archetypes. For background

Hollywood Tales

“I attribute success to having the background of just loving the great stories of the world — and that’s what makes the most successful films — combined with my trashy, vulgar appreciation of all that is modern Hollywood.” — Screenwriter Leslie Dixon (Outrageous Fortune, Mrs. Doubtfire)

Finish that spec script!

A week from today, Tom Benedek and I will be starting another round of 10-week writing workshops through Screenwriting Master Class — Pages I: The First Draft and Pages II: Rewriting Your Script. Participating in a structured, professional environment like one of these online workshops could be precisely what you

Reader Question: Does a Mentor character always have to be right?

What if the Protagonist has to turn away from logic and follow their heart? A question from Annika: In your five archetypes that populate almost every movie, does the Mentor always have to be right? If the issue at hand came down to heart versus head and the protagonist should

Why we say no thanks: One book editor’s top ten list

It seems to me many of the same reasons book editor Marian Lizzi lists as reasons to pass on a book apply to Hollywood’s approach to screenplays. The ten reasons are: 1. Too much competition. 2. Too similar to a particular book already on our list.  3. Too small

Spec Script Frenzy? 6 specs set up in 1 week!

By my count, there were 6 spec script deals last week in Hollywood. They are: March 7: The Nameless March 8: The Last Witness March 9: Scavengers March 10: Monsters of the Midway March 11: Agent OX March 11: The Last Drop That is 8 spec script deals in March

On writing

“If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.”  — Anonymous

Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Insults!

So the winner of our runoff is insults [suggested by Jason] and that will be the DD theme this week. We also had some good suggestions for understatements [suggested by Phil], therefore we’ll run with that next week. Your suggestions for movie insults welcome! As always, it’s super

Movies You Made: “The Ghost Paraphraser”

From GITS reader Sean Cameron: I have a new two minute parody of Ghost Whisperer online called Ghost Paraphraser. It always annoys me how the ghost tells Jennifer Love Hewitt want to say to the living and she never uses their exact words so I made this: Comment Archive

Profile: Martin Scorcese (Part 2)

Our friend Trevor Hogg has another profile at Flickering Myth, this one on Martin Scorcese. Noted as one of America’s most distinctive directors, Scorcese also has 14 film writing credits including Mean Streets, Goodfellas, and Age of Innocence. Here is an excerpt from Part 2 of the profile: “It’

Spec Script Sale: “The Last Drop”

Mandate Pictures buys dramedy spec “The Last Drop” from writers Brandon Murphy & Phillip Murphy. Per THR: Mixing comedy and drama, Drop tells the story of a charming writer who is a fully functioning alcoholic by day, turned horribly dysfunctional by cocktail hour. While on assignment for The New Yorker,

SXSW 2011: Day 1 reports

The SXSW festival being held in Austin, TX from March 11–20. Here is the first online report: Moviefone: Everybody loved Attack the Block which screened at midnight. Joe Cornish’s ‘Attack the Block’ absolutely killed at the midnight Alamo Drafthouse screening. Think ‘Critters’ meets ‘The Warriors’ — Cornish described the

Update: “I Am” by Tom Shadyac

Last December, I posted this: The documentary recounts what happened to the filmmaker after a cycling accident left him incapacitated, possibly for good. Though he ultimately recovered, he emerged a changed man. Disillusioned with life on the A-list, he sold his house, moved to a mobile home community, and

Documentary: “Dreams On Spec”

We’ve already featured an excerpt with screenwriter Stephen E. de Souza, but here’s a chance to watch for free (courtesy of SnagFilms) the entire documentary on screenwriting Dreams on Spec (2007). Written and directed by Daniel Snyder, here’s the IMDB summary of the movie: “Dreams on Spec”

Daily Dialogue theme runoff: Insults vs. Understatements

The votes are in and we have two possibilities: Insults [suggested by Jason] and understatements [suggested by Phil]. So it’s a runoff. Whichever gets the most suggestions goes next week. As always, it’s super helpful if you copy/paste from IMDB quotes. And major good karma if you