Go Into The Story

How To Read A Screenplay

If you’re serious about learning the craft, here is a 7-part series to give you tools to make the most of your script-reading and analysis.

Movie Analysis: “In Bruges” — Part 5: Dialogue

Watch this critically acclaimed indie movie and analyze it all week.

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 27

This is the 9th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

Writing and the Creative Life: Possibility Thinking, Practicality Thinking

You can not overestimate the value of a great idea as the basis of a story. Here are some quotes from a pair of established screenwriters…

Daily Dialogue — April 27, 2018

“AK-47. The very best there is. When you absolutely, positively got to kill every motherfucker in the room, accept no substitutes.”

Carl Jung on the structure of dreams

Subconscious stories revealed in our sleep in four acts.

Movie Analysis: “In Bruges” — Part 4: Themes

Watch this critically acclaimed indie movie and analyze it all week.

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 26

This is the 9th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs

Part 12: Serendipity.

Daily Dialogue — April 26, 2018

“It was not my intention to do this in front of you. For that I’m sorry. But you can take my word for it, your mother had it comin’. When…

Chris, your thoughts got me thinking about science v.

I think that’s why I was drawn to the AI God having a crisis of faith. Logic and rationality are fine, but not the necessarily the path…

Mark, I totally agree with your archetype alignment of the characters in the movie.

Your observations about Marie convinced you’re right: She DOES play the role of an Attractor, her pregnancy evocative of the young life Ray…

“Get the damn thing done!”

The one unalterable truth about writing a first draft.

Movie Analysis: “In Bruges” — Part 3: Characters

Watch this critically acclaimed indie movie and analyze it all week.

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 25

This is the 9th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

Script To Screen: “Excalibur”

A key early scene in the 1981 movie Excalibur, screenplay by Rospo Pallenberg and John Boorman, book by Thomas Malory.

Daily Dialogue — April 25, 2018

“Oh, you believe in Jesus now, huh, bitch? Good, ’cause you ’bout to meet him!”

Some thoughts on the plot of In Bruges:

The Opening: Another movie which drops us into the story in media res. A hit has already taken place and Ray and Ken have made their way to…

Reader Question: How to keep from getting stuck in Act Two?

The answer is almost always this: Spend more time in story prep learning about your characters!

Movie Analysis: “In Bruges” — Part 2: Plot

Watch this critically acclaimed indie movie and analyze it all week.

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 24

This is the 9th year in a row I’ve run this series in April.

Screenwriting 101: Justin Marks

“I really think the mark of experience isn’t the ability to write a lot of good pages, it’s the ability to generate shitty pages faster…

Daily Dialogue — April 24, 2018

Jules: You read the Bible, Brett? Brett: Yes. Jules: Well, there’s this passage I got memorized, sorta fits the occasion. Ezekiel 25:17…

Thanks for this, Mark.

Thanks once again for doing the breakdown for In Bruges.

Mark, I concur: In Bruges is a gem of a movie.

It also has that McDonagh ‘thing’ whereby he deftly combines drama, conflict, and violence with humor. A completely engaging movie which…