Go Into The Story

Hollywood Tales

“Virginia. 1990. I’m thirty-five years old, married with two very young kids. No one’s asking, but I get an idea for a love story where the…

Screenwriting News (November 20-November 26, 2017)

The week’s writing deals and movie project news.

Script To Screen: “Beavis and Butt-Head Do America”

One of countless scenes of inspired stupidity in the 1996 animated comedy Beavis and Butt-Head Do America.

Interview (Video): Michael Arndt

In conversation with the late Syd Field.

Daily Dialogue — November 26, 2017

CLEMENT MATHIEU: You must know a song, right? MONDAIN: Yeah, but… CLEMENT MATHIEU: But what? MONDAIN: You won’t like it. CLEMENT MATHIEU…

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Airplane

Join the Daily Dialogue crew: 3,481 consecutive days and counting.

Script To Screen: “Batman”

The Final Struggle in the 1989 movie Batman.

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 317th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other…

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Transcribe Screenplays

If it worked for Johann Sebastian Bach and F. Scott Fitzgerald…

Interview (Audio): Dee Rees

Conversation with writer-director of Netflix movie “Mudbound”.

Daily Dialogue — November 25, 2017

DREY: How come you’re not eating with the teachers? DAN: Just… I felt like being alone. DREY: I know what you mean. DAN: You do? DREY…

Reader Question: How to raise the stakes in the plot?

One suggestion: Focus on and elevate the Protagonist’s psychological stakes.

Update: 2017 Award Season Screenplay Downloads — 1 New Script, 18 Total!

Get these PDFs now before the links disappear.

Interview (Audio): Greta Gerwig and Saoirse Ronan

Conversation with the writer-director and star of ‘Lady Bird’.

Script To Screen: “Barton Fink”

The opening scene from the 1991 movie Barton Fink, written by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen.

Writing and the Creative Life: To Write, Stop Thinking

Think character. Think plot. Think theme. But when you sit down to write, don’t think… feel.

Daily Dialogue — November 24, 2017

“So like, right now for example. The Haitians need to come to America. But some people are all, ‘What about the strain on our resources?’…

Update: 2017 Award Season Screenplay Downloads — 1 New Script, 17 Total!

Get these PDFs now before the links disappear.

Interview (Written): James Mangold

An in-depth conversation with the co-writer/director of ‘Logan’.

Spec Script Deal: “Meat”

Assemble Media acquires horror spec script “Meat” written by Logan Martin. From Deadline:

Script To Screen: “Badlands”

A memorable scene from the 1975 movie Badlands, written and directed by Terrence Malick.

Planning on watching “Tangerine” with my family after Thanksgiving dinner tonight.

Glad to see the movie inspired you, Jonathan, to get out there and start making your stories come into being!

Daily Dialogue — November 23, 2017

“Listen, kids. Fereshteh couldn’t jump well because of her shoes. One of the most important things is sneakers. And I see, unfortunately…

Reader Question: How do I know which version of my story to write?

If a story can go in myriad directions, how do we know which way to go?

Screenwriter Roundtable: Fatih Akin, Darren Aronofsky, Emily V.

Part of The Hollywood Reporter’s annual sit-downs with Hollywood players.