Go Into The Story

The Business of Screenwriting: There’s a green light…

I’m attending a fundraiser for my son’s elementary school. It’s an alternative private school on the Westside, an institution that prides itself on its “diversity”… which I’ve discovered pretty much means they have parents who are agents and directors, entertainment lawyers and producers, studio execs and

Tom Benedek: “The Next Golden Age of the Original Screenplay”

My Screenwriting Master Class partner screenwriter Tom Benedek has an article in this month’s Script magazine. It’s a must read. Here’s his frame: When will the next Golden Age of the original screenplay appear? Every day as I am working on a new script, it feels like

Spec Script Sale: “The Slackfi Project

Sony buys action spec “The Slackfi Project” from writer Howard Overman. Per Deadline: A hapless and brokenhearted barrista is visited by two bad-ass soldiers from the future who tell him mankind is doomed unless he alone can save them. Overman is repped by UTA and The Agency. By my

And so it begins

WGA v. AMPTP, Round One: The Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers announced in a joint statement that talks on a new three-year contract would begin Thursday. The guild’s current contract expires May 1. How about these negotiating points: WGA negotiators

In advance of next year’s Academy Awards…

At the recent Academy Awards, there were four Oscars given to actors: Melissa Leo (Best Supporting Actress, The Fighter), Christian Bale (Best Supporting Actor, The Fighter), Natalie Portman (Best Actress, Black Swan), and Colin Firth (Best Actor, The King’s Speech). I reviewed each of their acceptance speeches and put

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

Screenwriting 101: Michael Mann

“All right, let me try an example. A story about a guy who’s been a bootlegger and a gunman who’s retiring to a rural part of the Midwest. There were some political conflicts in this area; an interesting alignment of forces between the KKK and mine owners on

Welcome to GITS!

GITS has had a recent spike in traffic and I see a lot of new names in comments, so how about a quick tour of the site. First and foremost, GITS is about screenwriting. It’s about honoring the craft and those who practice it which is why I post

Exclusive GITS Q&A: John Swetnam (“Evidence”)

Exclusive Go Into The Story Q&A: John Swetnam On January 21st of this year, I posted this: Bold Films buys spec crime thriller “Evidence” from screenwriter John Swetnam. Per Deadline: Police arrive at an abandoned gas station following a brutal massacre. The only evidence at the crime scene

“The Sequence”

This is pure awesomeness! http://www.channel101.com/js/player-licensed.swf Comment Archive

Cliches for Aspiring Writers (Rafael Yglesias)

A terrific column from author Rafael Yglesias which ties in nicely with the preceding post. An excerpt: “Always try the cliché first,” Roman Polanski said to me when I confessed I didn’t know how to approach a particular scene. “It usually works. That’s why it’s a cliché.

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

Hollywood Tales

“I began to notice that some of the women, and a couple of the men, would occasionally jerk their heads backward, a sudden ticlike movement, as if they were trying to avoid a collision.”  — Producer Art Linson describing the first screening of Fight Club for horrified 20th Century Fox executives

Reader Questions

I think it’s time to open things up for your questions. If you have an issue, large or small, about the business or craft of screenwriting, I’ll be happy to give my thoughts. Not saying I’m an expert, just a guy who’s been at this since

Spec Script Sale: “Line of Sight”

Spec Script Deal: “Line of Sight” Warner Bros. buys action thriller spec script “Line of Sight” from writer F. Scott Frazier. Per THR: Plot details are being kept out of sight, but it is described as a high-concept action film set around a large-scale threat on American soil.

Spec Script Sale: “Something Cliqued”

Walt Disney Pictures buys comedy spec script “Something Cliqued” from writer Karen Bloch Morse. From THR: Giving a spin on the body-swapping genre, the story centers on Penny Talbot, a girl who after a terrible day wishes she was a somebody in her high school, specifically the most popular

What Producers Do: Explaining The Social Network’s Social Network

Last night when The King’s Speech won an Oscar for Best Picture, you saw this big group of people bound on stage and three men — Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin — give their acceptance speeches. These were the producers of the movie.  But what did they do to deserve

Popcorn Fiction: “Bucket List Killer Meets Dan Patrick” by Jack Walker

Another short story from the terrific site “Popcorn Fiction,” hosted by screenwriter Derek Haas: One of the things I’ve loved about editing this site over the last 2 years is getting to discover new talent, new voices…authors with whose work I wasn’t familiar. After reading the title,

There’s no right way to write: Part 1

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

On writing

“The real writer is one who really writes.”  — Marge Piercy

What are your Oscar picks?

Here are my predictions: Best Original Screenplay: David Seidler, The King’s Speech Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, The Social Network Best Picture: The King’s Speech Best Director: David Fincher, The Social Network Best Actor: Colin Firth, The King’s Speech Best Actress: Natalie Portman, Black Swan Best Supporting

Video Interview: Anne Rosellini (“Winter’s Bone”)

Today’s interview is with the co-screenwriter and co-producer of Winter’s Bone: The Talk Cinema Lincoln Center audience enjoyed a preview of Winter’s Bone at Talk Cinema Lincoln Center on April 25, 2010 at the Walter Reade at Lincoln center. The Talk Cinema host who conducted

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Saying I love (without actually saying it)

Per Annika W, next week’s theme is saying” I love you” without saying those actual words. I have a feeling this is going to be tough category to fill, so I’m challenging GITS readers to bring it on!  We’ve got two suggestions already, one from Annika, another

Old hippies to save the movie industry?

Okay, after a week of posting this and that analysis re the state of the movie business, this serendipitous NYT article crystallizes one big, fat, honking point: Hollywood and older Americans have never had much use for each other. The 50-plus crowd doesn’t go to opening weekends or

Written Interview: Bob DeRosa

Today’s written interview is with screenwriter Bob DeRosa (The Air I Breathe, Killers) and is hosted at myPDFscripts.com: Q: I know Ted Griffin took a pass or two on Killers, so, as a screenwriter, what’s it like to know that your work is being rewritten? Should writers