Go Into The Story

If you are trying to learn the craft of screenwriting, isn’t it better to seek out the insights of professional screenwriters who have worked on the front lines of the business in Hollywood, rather than some screenwriting ‘guru’ who has no movie credits? That’s my working thesis and

October is classic international movies month. Today’s guest post comes from Melinda Mahaffey Icden. Movie Title: Kolya Year: 1996 Writers: Screenplay by Zdenek Sverák, story by Pavel Taussig Lead Actors: Zdenek Sverák, Andrey Khalimon, Libuse Safránková Director: Jan Sverák IMDb Plot Summary (sort of): Louka is a cellist, confirmed

In a recent blog post, James Clear cites a short 1940 guide written by James Webb Young called “A Technique for Producing Ideas”. In it Young contends that “innovative ideas happen when you develop new combinations of old elements.” To that end, he posits 5 steps to generating creative ideas:

In prepping today’s Daily Dialogue post which features a scene from the lovely movie Chocolat, I watched two video clips — a Series of Shots and a Montage. They’re both great and provide some good takeaways for screenwriters. First, just to be clear: There is no set definition in

In order to work as a screenwriter in Hollywood, you have to immerse yourself in the world of movies. Based on suggestions from the GITS community, here is a ‘poor’ person’s version of film school, a list of resources in five subject areas you can use to do precisely

October is classic international movies month. Today’s guest post comes from Paul Graunke. Movie Title: Un Prophète (A Prophet) Year: 2009 Writers: Thomas Bidegain, Jacques Audiard, Abdel Raouf Dafri, Nicolas Peufaillit Lead Actors: Tahar Rahim, Niels Arestrup, Adel Bencherif, Reda Kateb Director: Jacques Audiard Awards: Grand Prize of the

One of the great things about my new position as an assistant professor at the DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts is the talent in evidence here, both students and faculty. Case in point: My colleague Meghann Artes, an award-winning filmmaker and animator who has worked with Sesame Street,

Two weeks ago, I shared the story of a low-budget indie film script I wrote called “Snowbirds”. You can read that post here. Using a set of production guidelines (e.g., 90 page script, 4–5 week shoot, no more than 10 actors, 1 primary location), I wrote a

October is classic international movies month. Today’s guest post comes from John Henderson. Movie Title: OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (French title: OSS 117: Le Caire, Nid d’espions) Year: 2006 Writers: Written by Jean-François Halin; Based on the ‘OSS 117’ novels by Jean Bruce; Adaptation by

If you want to work as a screenwriter in Hollywood, you’d be smart to familiarize yourself with one way creatives there think of stories: They look at them as Genres (e.g., Action, Comedy, Drama), Cross Genres (e.g., Action-Comedy, Drama-Thriller), and Sub-Genres (e.g., Romantic

October is classic international movies month. Today’s guest post comes from Wally Marzano-Lesnevich. Movie Title: Reprise Year: 2006 Writers: Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt Lead Actors: Anders Danielsen Lie, Espen Klouman Hoiner, Viktoria Winge, Sigmund Saeverud Director: Joachim Trier IMDb Plot Summary: Two competitive friends, fueled by literary aspirations