Go Into The Story

There are LOTS of great stories in movie theaters and via streaming services.

Find your indie film movie theater and support those movies. That’s the way to grow the market for compelling, different stories.

Screenwriting News (December 3 — December 9, 2018)

Dave Callaham writing tentpole movie “Shang-Chi” for Marvel Studios, Inc.

Spec Script Deal: “The Best Friends”

TriStar Pictures acquires comedy spec script “The Best Friends” written by Chad Kultgen and Amy Rhodes. From Deadline:

Great Scene: “Rocky”

How budget issues helped to create the memorable ice rink scene.

Interview (Video): Barry Jenkins

A 75-minute master class and a 35-minute interview with Jenkins and cast members of the new film If Beale Street Could Talk.

Daily Dialogue — December 9, 2018

“Great moments… are born from great opportunity. And that’s what you have here, tonight, boys. That’s what you’ve earned here tonight. One…

Same here, Roo, although I have to say I am constantly amazed at how time seems to ‘stretch’ when…

Funny, I just remembered a friend whose house I visited years ago. A writer, I saw her study and she had tacked up at her desk in big black…

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 370th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other…

Writing Goals: 2019 [Parts 1–5]

10 part series for writers to consider what we did in 2018 and will do in 2018.

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Profession of Love

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 3,859 consecutive days and counting.

Interview (Video): Brad Bird

A 75-minute conversation with the writer-director of Incredibles 2.

Daily Dialogue — December 8, 2018

Larry: [Larry jogs out to the mound to break up a players’ conference] Excuse me, but what the hell’s going on out here? Crash Davis: Well…

“The Lady Hero’s Journey”

A whimsical take on a female iteration of the Hero’s Journey.

Writing Goals: 2019 [Part 5] — Going Public

10 part series for writers to consider what we did in 2018 and will do in 2019.

Video: Screenwriters provide writing tips

Insights into the craft from Variety’s 2018 “Ten Screenwriters to Watch.”

Writing and the Creative Life: Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling (Part 2)

“The intriguing thing here is that while we, as writers, are thinking about emotions and psychology, much of it apparently boils down to a…

Daily Dialogue — December 7, 2018

Coach Bud Kilmer: [to the trainer, at halftime in the trainer’s room, with Wendell on the table] Give him the shot! Mox: If you give him…

I get more the point you’re making.

I know a couple of professional script readers whose judgment I respect and feel comfortable recommending to provide not only a qualified…

Jessica, congratulations on your double good news re twins.

With twins, I’m sure all bets are off for getting much writing done for the first few / several months, as they should be. Parenting comes…

Reader Question: What guidelines are there for using scene headings / primary slug lines?

“If you read, say, 20 screenplays by working, contemporary screenwriters — and you should be reading scripts anyhow! — you will note…

Writing Goals: 2019 [Part 4] — Practical Matters

10 part series for writers to consider what we did in 2018 and will do in 2019.

The Business of Screenwriting: Sweepstakes Pitching, Prewrites and One-Step Deals

“You need to prepare yourself for all aspects of the craft, good and bad. That said writers have been dealing with things like this in one…

Daily Dialogue — December 6, 2018

“Be on the five in field minutes.”

Setting goals is really important.

Here’s to your writing and rewriting projects in 2019!

Reader Question: How to handle the passage of time in a script?

Time management can be a big concern in a screenplay.