Go Into The Story

Daily Dialogue — October 10, 2019

Pat Pemberton: Mrs. Beminger, if you could possibly lift the needle from that long-playing phonograph you keep in your face… [forcing Mrs…

Spec Script Deal: Untitled Elliott San Project

New Line Cinema acquires untitled Elliott San spec script. Via Deadline:

Successful Screenwriters Have A Consistent Daily Routine

A 6-minute video featuring… me, reflecting on the importance of a writer locking down a specific time of day to get feedback from readers.

Great Scene: “Zorba the Greek”

First… disaster. Next… dancing. And then… Nietzsche.

Daily Dialogue — October 9, 2019

Carl Spackler: So I jump ship in Hong Kong and I make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas…

Make Words Your Friend

“Putting one right word after another” — that is so right. When you bust it all down, writing is about choosing words. A writer can choose…

Script to Screen: “Zombieland”

The very beginning of the movie Zombieland (2009), screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.

Screenwriting 101: Jessica Bendinger

“There are three different movies, as the saying goes. There’s the one you write, the one you shoot, and the one you cut. They’re all…

Daily Dialogue — October 8, 2019

Roy ‘Tin Cup’ McAvoy: Well, I tend to think of the golf swing as a poem. Clint: Ooh, he’s doing that poetry thing again. Roy ‘Tin Cup’…

The Importance of Persistence in a Writer’s Life

“PERSIST on telling your story. PERSIST on reaching your audience. PERSIST on staying true to your vision.”

Reader Question: What if you fall out of love with a script?

“What about a script you fall out of love with after 2–3 drafts, and just can’t finish? Put it aside for now or just push through?”

On Writing

“It’ll be bad before it’s good. Keep writing through the bad.”

Daily Dialogue — October 7, 2019

“Put your eyes on Bobby Jones. Look at his practice swing, almost like he’s searchin’ for something. Then he finds it. Watch how he settle…

The Coen Brothers and the Long Shadow of Authority Figures

If there is one thing about the craft writers hear ad nauseam, it’s this: There is no drama without conflict. And there is no story…

Movie Story Type: Buddy Picture

In Hollywood movie circles, there are genres like Horror or Science Fiction, cross genres like Action-Thriller or Drama-Comedy, and…

Interview (Video): Taika Waititi

From TIFF Talks:

Daily Dialogue — October 6, 2019

Student: [V.O.] One fine day… I went out with an old man. He’s studied noodles for 40 years. He was showing me the right way to eat them.

Character Type: Orphan

“Without parents to help shape the child’s sense of self, the Orphan grows into adulthood with a pronounced need to answer the question at…

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Golf

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 4,160 consecutive days and counting.

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: How To Begin [Part 1]

“A good beginning, the value of which appears to have been sadly underrated by most amateurs, makes a photoplay nearly as salable as a good…

Daily Dialogue — October 5, 2019

“Fuck, yeah.”

2019 Austin Film Festival & Writers Conference Schedule

The annual event in Austin, Texas runs from October 24 through October 31 and I’ll be there for my 5th appearance.

Non-Linear Storytelling in ‘Pulp Fiction’

“Tarantino, whether intended it or not, hit upon non-linearity as the only way he could tell one particular storyline involving the fates…

Writing and the Creative Life: What to do when you feel out of touch with your creative energy

When a creative spark seems so very far, far… FAR… away…

Daily Dialogue — October 4, 2019

“Mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and bliss shall kiss one another. Man, in his weakness and shortsightedness believes he…