Go Into The Story

Interview (Video): Stella Meghie

Conversation with the writer-director of the upcoming film The Photgraph.

Daily Dialogue — February 9, 2020

Lew Harper: [placing a crank call to his wife, imitating English accent into phone] Mrs. Harper? Mrs. Lewis Harper? Susan Harper: [puzzled…

Script Analysis: “Parasite” — Part 6: Takeaways

Read the script for the award-winning foreign film and analyze all week.

2019 Spec Script Deals Analysis: First-Timers

As we continue our analysis of spec script sales in 2019, today we check out the first-timers, writers who broke into the business by…

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Taxi

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 4,286 consecutive days and counting.

THR 2020 Screenwriters Roundtable

A 50-minute conversation with the screenwriters of Bombshell, Harriet, Hustlers, Jojo Rabbit, Just Mercy, and The Two Popes.

Daily Dialogue — February 8, 2020

Easy Rawlins: What do you prefer to use… as your weapon? Daphne: Why don’t you search me and find out?

I want to highlight two sides of dialogue. First, father to son:

You know what kind of plan never fails? No plan. No plan at all. You know why? Because life cannot be planned. Look around you. Did you…

Script Analysis: “Parasite” — Part 5: Dialogue

Read the script for the award-winning foreign film and analyze all week.

Spec Script Deals Analysis 2019: Top Sales

Continuing our week long analysis of spec script deals from 2019, today we look at the biggest payoffs (at least as reported by various…

Writing and the Creative Life: The Curse of Shiny Object Syndrome

“It’s not quite ADD/ADHD. It’s more that a new idea captures your imagination and attention in such a way that you get distracted from the…

Daily Dialogue — February 7, 2020

Joe has just found out that Mike was sleeping with his wife.

An obvious theme is The Haves vs.

The Park family is wealthy and because of their wealth, they have a skewed perspective of reality. They live in cloistered comfort and…

Script Analysis: “Parasite” — Part 4: Themes

Read the script for the award-winning foreign film and analyze all week.

2019 Spec Script Deals Analysis: Agents & Managers

We continue our week-long analysis of spec script deals in 2019. Today: Agents and Managers.

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything You Wanted to Know About Specs [Part 19]

“There’s every reason for you to have a goal of writing a spec script and selling it. Take that dream, make it your own and use it to fuel…

Daily Dialogue — February 6, 2020

“Mr. March, we’re going to play a game. It’s called ‘shut up unless you’re me.”

6 Old Grammar Rules That Are Finally Going Out of Style

Writers should feel free to write stories how the stories need to be told.

Script Analysis: “Parasite” — Part 3: Characters

Read the script for the award-winning foreign film and analyze all week.

2019 Spec Script Sales Analysis: Buyers

Yesterday, we looked at 2019 spec script deals by genre. Today, we break down the numbers per major studios, mini-majors, subsidiaries…

Great Scene: “True Grit”

A snakebit girl. A wounded lawman. A flagging horse. A desperate ride.

Daily Dialogue —February 5, 2020

Perry: My $2000 ceramic Vektor my mother got me as a special gift. You threw in the lake next to the car. What happens when they drag the…

I remember when I watched Parasite that when Mun-Kwang, the housekeeper who had been fired, shows…

I checked my watch in the theater and noted it was around the 60+ minute mark: precisely midway through the film.

2019 Spec Script Deals Analysis: Genres

By my count, Hollywood studios, production companies, and financiers acquired 32 spec scripts in 2019. During this week, I’ll be breaking…

Script Analysis: “Parasite”— Part 2: Plot

Read the script for the award-winning foreign film and analyze all week.