Go Into The Story

Script Analysis: “La La Land” — Part 3: Characters

Read the script for the Oscar nominated movie and analyze it all this week.

Melinda, that’s a great take on the major plotline points.

Re who is the Protagonist: Let’s get into that in today (part 3: characters). It’s a great one. Can look at it as a Dual Protagonist or, I…

Katrin, it’s possible to look at the story structure in three acts with the traditional approach to…

Boy and Girl meet

Great Scene: “Rushmore”

What a terrific movie Rushmore (1998) is. Co-written by Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson, who also directed the film, it’s a stellar follow-up…

Daily Dialogue — February 22, 2017

ZURG: Surrender, Buzz Lightyear. I have won. BUZZ: I’ll never give in. You killed my father! ZURG: No, Buzz, I am your father. BUZZ…

2017 Writers Guild Awards

Select videos of the event held on Sunday, February 19th.

Zero Draft Thirty: Story Prep Fun With Index Cards!

Writers continue to step up to the Zero Draft Thirty 2017 Spring Challenge: In March, write a draft of an original movie or TV script. Some…

Script Analysis: “La La Land” — Part 2: Plot

Read the script for the Oscar nominated movie and analyze it all this week.

Screenwriting 101: Darren Aronofsky

“First you start with an idea, then you start to flesh out the structure, and that’s a long process. I think that’s where we spend a lot of…

Daily Dialogue — February 21, 2017

“We chose. In the cellar, all that shit we were playing with. They made us choose. They made us choose how we die.”

Reading the script, then the scene-by-scene breakdown, I can’t help but be struck — again — the…

It reminds me what I felt when I walked out of the theater watching the movie the first time: I loved the movie. And in part I did because…

It’s surprising to me, too.

Also there is a sweet spot for historical dramas which can be made for a budget $25M and less, especially if they have a clear primary…

Scene Description Spotlight: Express Your Voice

On February 27, I’ll be offering a terrific one-week online class. It’s called Scene Description Spotlight which sounds super practical…

Catching up with Black List lab writers

Reflections of writers who participated in 2013–2016 Black List labs.

Zero Draft Thirty: Story Prep

Writers continue to step up to the Zero Draft Thirty 2017 Spring Challenge: In March, write a draft of an original movie or TV script. Some…

Script Analysis: “La La Land” — Part 1: Scene By Scene Breakdown

Read the script for the Oscar nominated movie and analyze it all this week.

On Writing

“Do not pay any attention to the rules other people make. They make them for their own protection, and to Hell with them.”

Daily Dialogue — February 20, 2017

“There is no spoon.”

The next Go Into The Story Read and Analysis Script: “La La Land”

Read the script for the hit movie musical and analyze it next week.

2016 Spec Script Deals

Analysis of all the spec script deals in 2016.

Screenwriting News (February 13-February 19, 2017)

This week’s writing deals and movie project news.

Read 2017 Oscar nominated screenplays

Download 9 of the 10 nominated scripts

Interview (Written): Susannah Grant

WGA Paul Selvin Award winner for her script “Confirmation”.

Daily Dialogue — February 19, 2017

“Dearest Cecilia, the story can resume. The one I had been planning on that evening walk. I can become again the man who once crossed the…

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Elevator

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