Question: How to handle multiple protagonists? An Open Forum question from Violet: Any advice for handling multiple protagonists? This is actually something that came up as I was re-writing my logline for the GITS Club Logline board. I’m trying to write a logline/summary of my idea for a script called Portraits of Ophelia,
“How To Stop Resisting & Learn To Love the Outline” From a post by Jonathan at The GITS Club in the Plotting forum: The title of the thread is somewhat misleading. I’m not really going to try telling anyone who loathes outlining how to stop resisting. But perhaps if a number of us share our fondest experiences with outlines,
Rod Serling: On how he wishes more writers would put themselves to the test GITS reader David A sent me a link to an amazing set of videos, a sit-down conversation with TV and screenwriter Rod Serling. Most well-known for the long-running TV anthology series “The Twilight Zone” (148 episodes, 1959–1964), has over 70 writing credits including the screenplays for
“How Writers Create Their Fiction”: Michael Cunningham I uncovered this month-long NPR series “How Writers Create Their Fiction”, originally run in November 2006. I found many of the ideas presented by the various writers to be informative and inspirational, so we’ll be featuring one writer from the series per day during February. Today’s writer
Hollywood Tales “At times Irving Thalberg [first great Hollywood producer] seemed to hate his very dependence on writers and his frustration that he could not perform their functions. During one heated script session he said almost contemptuously, ‘What’s all this business about being a writer? It’s just putting one word
Daily Dialogue — February 16, 2010 “Professor, there’s a big lizard back there and he’s heading this way. Now get aboard!” — Tuck (James Franciscus), The Valley of Gwangi (1969), screenplay by William Bast Daily Dialogue theme this week: Monster movie dialogue suggested by GITS reader Patrick Sweeney. Comment Archive
Exclusive interviews with cast members of “Lost” Clif Armstrong sent me a note with more exclusive interviews with cast members of “Lost”: Terry O’Quinn Zuleikha Robinson Daniel Dae Kim
Reader Question: Do screenwriters get a percentage of the back end? An reader question via email from tcsp: Hi Scott, love the site. If I managed to sell my spec script, would I possibly get a percentage on the back end, or are those days over? What can we expect, realistically? Cheers. It’s standard practice for a screenwriter to get
Character flaws (cont’d) Recently we had this discussion re character flaws initiated on our peer review site The GITS Club. That spawned a comment from cfan: Interesting timing on this one. I’m going through a 2nd draft on a spec script I’m working on. It’s got the feel of a
Rod Serling: Are writers born or made? GITS reader David A sent me a link to an amazing set of videos, a sit-down conversation with TV and screenwriter Rod Serling. Most well-known for the long-running TV anthology series “The Twilight Zone” (148 episodes, 1959–1964), has over 70 writing credits including the screenplays for
“How Writers Create Their Fiction”: M.T. Anderson I uncovered this month-long NPR series “How Writers Create Their Fiction”, originally run in November 2006. I found many of the ideas presented by the various writers to be informative and inspirational, so we’ll be featuring one writer from the series per day during February. Today’s writer
On Writing “Do not put statements in the negative form. And don’t start sentences with a conjunction. If you reread your work, you will find on rereading that a great deal of repetition can be avoided by rereading and editing. Never use a long word when a diminutive one will do.
Daily Dialogue — February 15, 2010 “We’ll be fine. The egg won’t hatch so long as no one moves this knob here, which would raise the temperature in this room above this level on the meter here.” — Dr. Jess Rogers (Hans Conreid), The Monster That Challenged the World (1957), writer Pat Fielder, story by
“Screenwriters Talk Up, The Hurt Locker, Precious, Up in the Air, Star Trek” Anne Thompson with this feature: Every writer on this year’s annual Santa Barbara Film Festival “It Starts with a Script” panel wrote a screenplay that was personal, on some level — even Up writer-director Pete Docter and Star Trek‘s Alex Kurtzman. And they all mixed up their genres,
“Awards Watch: Major categories” THR has this article which should serve as inspiration: Not long ago, Lee Daniels received a phone call out of left field: George Lucas had seen his film “Precious” and wanted the director to come to his Skywalker Ranch for a visit. Daniels flew up north, had lunch with Lucas
Rod Serling: On the value of “know thyself” GITS reader David A sent me a link to an amazing set of videos, a sit-down conversation with TV and screenwriter Rod Serling. Most well-known for the long-running TV anthology series “The Twilight Zone” (148 episodes, 1959–1964), has over 70 writing credits including the screenplays for
“How Writers Create Their Fiction”: Blue Balliett I uncovered this month-long NPR series “How Writers Create Their Fiction”, originally run in November 2006. I found many of the ideas presented by the various writers to be informative and inspirational, so we’ll be featuring one writer from the series per day during February. Today’s writer
Billy Mernit:”Million Dollar Screenplay Tips” Sound advice from Billy Mernit: Tip # 1: Selling screenplays are clearly, vividly rooted in their star role’s point of view. Tip # 2: Selling screenplays are aimed at a specific audience. Tip #3: Scripts that sell are models of form and brevity. Tip #4: Scripts that sell speak to universal
Profile: The Coen Brothers (Part 3) Here is Part 3 of Trevor Hogg’s profile of writer-directors Joel and Ethan Coen. An excerpt that deals with the cult favorite The Big Lebowski: Combining a case of a mistaken identity with a staged kidnapping, the Coen brothers produced a film which has established its own cult
Rod Serling: Do you outline or just take off and write? GITS reader David A sent me a link to an amazing set of videos, a sit-down conversation with TV and screenwriter Rod Serling. Most well-known for the long-running TV anthology series “The Twilight Zone” (148 episodes, 1959–1964), has over 70 writing credits including the screenplays for
“How Writers Create Their Fiction”: Jodi Picoult I uncovered this month-long NPR series “How Writers Create Their Fiction”, originally run in November 2006. I found many of the ideas presented by the various writers to be informative and inspirational, so we’ll be featuring one writer from the series per day during February. Today’s writer
Daily Dialogue — February 13, 2010 “One day about a month ago, I really hit bottom. Ya know I just felt that in a Godless universe I didn’t wanna go on living. Now I happen to own this rifle, which I loaded believe it or not, and pressed it to my forehead. And I remember
The GITS Club Logline Spotlight: “I.O.Lou” — Day 5 The last several days, we have considered a logline that writer Terrance Ellis posted over at The GITS Club. Here it is: Desperate for cash to save his family home, a slacker sets out to collect on all his childhood IOUs from his now adult debtors. My bottom line assessment
Breaking: “Abduction” spec sells Yesterday Deadline Hollywood reported bidding war brewing over spec “Abduction”: The sluggish spec script marketplace will get a jolt today as Hollywood majors battle over a drama that has Hollywood’s highest paid and hardest working teen Taylor Lautner attached to star. I’ve learned the new lit agency Verve
