Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — March 10, 2020

Sergeant Tom Hannon: Hey, where the hell are you going, Shaft? John Shaft: To get laid, where the hell are you going?

Screenplays Are Stories, Not Formulas

“If you go in with formula, you come out with formula.”

2020 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 9

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Script Analysis: “Avengers: Endgame” — Part 1: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown

Read and analyze the script for the hit Marvel superhero movie.

On Writing

“I say this a lot, but being a writer is almost entirely about perseverance. Life is going to continuously try to keep you from writing or…

Daily Dialogue — March 9, 2020

Bob Hauk: You going to kill me, Snake? Snake Plissken: Not now, I’m too tired. [pause] Maybe later.

M = Mentor.

There can also be False Mentors and False Attractors.

The Theology of Cinema: Temptation

“By extracting the notion of temptation from its conventional religious trappings, we open it up for all sorts of uses in our storytelling…

Go Into The Story Interview: Karen McDermott

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

2020 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 8

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Interview (Written): Eleanor Catton

A Q&A with the screenwriter who adapted the Jane Austen novel Emma.

Daily Dialogue — March 8, 2020

“You can’t bring drugs into the library.”

2020 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 7

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity

Interview (Part 6): Karen McDermott

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Action Hero.

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 4,314 consecutive days and counting.

Interview (Written): Bong Joon Ho and Kelly Reichardt

A conversation between two uniquely independent filmmakers who admire each other’s work.

Daily Dialogue — March 7, 2020

“Andy was as good as his word. He wrote two letters a week instead of one. In 1959, the state senate finally clued in to the fact they…

The Present-Past Approach to Writing a Biopic

This narrative framework enables a writer to focus a biopic on the most critical moments in the featured character’s life.

Interview (Part 5): Karen McDermott

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.

2020 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 6

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Writing and the Creative Life: 4 Tips On Creativity From The Creator Of Calvin & Hobbes

I saw this article in Fast Company a while back and in reading it, I realized how important comic strips have been in my adult life…

Daily Dialogue — March 6, 2020

“Pages eighty-three to one forty-two.”

2020 Zero Draft Thirty March Challenge: Day 5

One month. FADE IN to FADE OUT. Creativity meets Productivity.

Spec Script Deal: “The Pinkerton”

Warner Bros. acquires supernatural western spec script “The Pinkerton” written by Daniel Casey. From Deadline:

Interview (Part 4): Karen McDermott

My interview with the 2019 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting winner.