Go Into The Story

Great Scene: “Bottle Rocket”

It’s a heist gone awry in this funny scene from the 1996 movie co-written Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson, who also directed the film.

Interview (Video): Zach Cregger

An hour-long conversation with the writer-director of the surprise horror hit film Barbarian.

Page One: “The Artist” (2011)

Written by Michel Hazanavicius

30 Days of Screenplays — Day 5: “The Shawshank Redemption”

Read 30 movie scripts in 30 days.

Celebrate Your Victories

Based on my experiences as a screenwriter in Hollywood, there are many things I can advise you to do that are not particularly enjoyable…

Great Scene: “Bonnie and Clyde)

The famous — and bloody — ending of the groundbreaking 1967 film.

Interview: Parker Finn

Conversations with the writer-director of the hit horror film Smile.

Page One: “The Aeronauts” (2019)

Screenplay by Jack Thorne, story by Tom Harperand Jack Thorne, inspired by the book by Richard Holmes

30 Days of Screenplays — Day 4: “Fargo”

Read 30 movie scripts in 30 days.

How to Use Go Into The Story

Blog resources to support your growth as a screenwriter in five areas: Watch Movies. Read Scripts. Write Pages. Study the Craft. Learn the…

TED Talk: J.J. Abrams

In 2007, J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Super 8) gave a TED Talk. I’m sure some of you have seen it. However, like many great presentations…

Writing and the Creative Life: Boundaries of Space, Boundaries of Time

“What if in the face of our hectic lives, we claimed our creative time to be our own ‘sacred space’?”

Page One: “The Theory of Everything” (2014)

Screenplay by Anthony McCarten, book by Jane Hawking

30 Days of Screenplays — Day 3: “American Beauty”

Read 30 movie scripts in 30 days.

The Spirit of the Spec

The creative empowerment of writing a spec script.

Spec Script Formatting Primers

An amazing resource for TV writers provided by the Writers Guild Foundation.

The Business of Screenwriting: OWA

Three little letters: OWA. But they mean big things for Hollywood screenwriters. What do these letter stand for?

Page One: “Terms of Endearment” (1983)

Screenplay by James L. Brooks, novel by Larry McMurtry

30 Days of Screenplays — Day 2: “Witness”

Read 30 movie scripts in 30 days.

Writing a Story = Wrangling Magic

The very fact writers create something seemingly out of nothing is a special kind of magic.

An Argument Against Screenplay Formulas (Part 1): They are selling you a lie

“Instead of thinking about Story as a sort of paint-by-numbers formula, we are best served by starting here: Characters.”

Great Scene: “Good Will Hunting”

The bar scene. Will’s classic putdown. And a spin on the ‘meet cute’.

Page One: “The Tender Bar” (2021)

Screenplay by William Monahan, based on the memoir by J.R. Moehringer

30 Days of Screenplays — Day 1: “The Sixth Sense”

Read 30 movie scripts in 30 days.

Negative Fear, Positive Fear

“Fear of writing, understandable, but a negative influence. However, fear of NOT writing and what that prospect could mean, that can be a…