Go Into The Story

Interview: Daniel Kunka (2014, 2015 Black List)

One of the best ways to learn the craft is read what professional screenwriters have to say about it. To that end for the next few weeks, I will be featuring interviews I have conducted with Black List screenwriters. Today: Daniel Kunka wrote the 2009 movie 12 Rounds, two Black

47th Annual Willamette Writers Conference

A guest post from Waka Brown: Hi, GITS readers! It’s me, Waka Brown from Scott’s 2013 Quest Initiative. I’ve been having a great time keeping up with you, participating in Zero Draft 30 (um, more like Zero Draft 84 for me, give or take a few), and

Classic 30s Movie: “All Quiet on the Western Front”

May is classic 30s movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Michael Waters. Movie: All Quiet on the Western Front Year: 1930 Writers: Erich Maria Remarque (book), Maxwell Anderson, George Abbott, Del Andrews Lead Actors: Lew Ayres (Paul), Louis Wolheim (Kat) Director: Lewis Milestone, Won the Oscar for best

Writing and the Creative Life: “Twelve Things You Were Not Taught in School About Creative Thinking”

From Psychology Today: 1. You are creative. 2. Creative thinking is work. 3. You must go through the motions of being creative. 4. Your brain is not a computer. 5. There is no right answer. 6. Never stop with your first good idea. 7. Expect the experts to be negative.

Daily Dialogue — May 20, 2016

“Zion, hear me! It is true what many of you have heard. The machines have gathered an army, and as I speak, that army is drawing nearer to our home. Believe me when I say we have a difficult time ahead of us. But if we are to be prepared

“So I enter an airport bar…”

I was flying home from a business trip yesterday when this happened [actual text message I sent to my family, slightly edited to correct some typos]: So I am at O’Hare and I figure I will grab a quick drink before my flight. Find a seat at a crowded

Interview: Justin Kremer (2012, 2013 Black List)

One of the best ways to learn the craft is read what professional screenwriters have to say about it. To that end for the next few weeks, I will be featuring interviews I have conducted with Black List screenwriters. Today: Justin Kremer has written scripts which have made the Black

Analysis: The Psychological Connection of Rey and Kylo Ren in Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens

In my current Write a Worthy Nemesis class, we have been exploring Carl Jung’s theory of the shadow. Here is an extended excerpt from Lecture 2: Shadow vs. Light: Let me present to you what may be a startling concept, one that suggests a Nemesis — who they are, how

Classic 30s Movie: “The Women”

May is classic 30s movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Liz Clarke. Title: The Women Year: 1939 Writers: Anita Loos, Jane Murfin, Clara Booth Luce (Stage Play), F. Scott Fitzgerald (Uncredited) Stars: Norma Shearer, Rosalind Russell, Joan Crawford Director: George Cukor IMDb Plot Summary: A study of the

The Business of Screenwriting: Who does what in a writer-representative relationship?

Let’s assume you get a manager and/or agent to represent you. Then what? What are their responsibilities as a representative? What are yours as a writer? Who does what in a writer-representative relationship? Every writer is different. Every rep is different. So obviously, working relationships between writers,

Daily Dialogue — May 19, 2016

“You make my dreams come true.” — (500) Days of Summer (2009), written by Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Celebration. Trivia: In the first draft of the screenplay, the film was set in San Francisco. Dialogue On Dialogue: Tom’s Greatest Day Ever, a

Lorene Scafaria on building a career as a screenwriter

Lorene Scafaria has established herself as a writer, TV and movie director with such films as Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist, Seeking a Friend for the End of the World and The Meddler, starring Susan Sarandon which is currently in theaters. In this Co.Create feature, Scafaria reflects on

Interview: Lisa Joy (2013 Black List)

One of the best ways to learn the craft is read what professional screenwriters have to say about it. To that end for the next few weeks, I will be featuring interviews I have conducted with Black List screenwriters. Today: Lisa Joy got her start as a Hollywood writer working

Interview (Video): Shane Black (“Nice Guys”)

A HitFix interview with Shane Black writer-director of the upcoming movie Nice Guys and such notable movies as Lethal Weapon, The Last Boyscout, and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Kaltura Embed Player iFrameEdit descriptioncdnapi.kaltura.com A trailer for the movie: Interview via HitFix. Comment Archive

Classic 30s Movie: “Gunga Din”

May is classic 30s movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Steve Huerta. Title: Gunga Din Year: 1939 Writers: Joel Sayre, Fred Guiol, Ben Hecht, Charles McArthur, William Faulkner, Lester Cohen, John Colton, Vincent Lawrence, Dudley Nichols, Anthony Veiller, from the poem by Rudyard Kipling. Actors: Cary Grant, Douglas

Script To Screen: “Wall Street”

A scene from the 1987 movie Wall Street. IMDb plot summary: A young and impatient stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing. Here is the

Daily Dialogue — May 18, 2016

“Everybody’s there, and I mean everybody. And the strange thing is, there’s not a sad face to be found, everyone’s just so happy to see you.” — Big Fish (2003), screenplay by John August, novel by Daniel Wallace The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Celebration. Trivia: As

Reader Question: What does a good treatment look like?

Open forum question from Lalithra Fernando: What do you think a good treatment looks like? I posted something about the distinction between a treatment and an outline here, so that might be worth checking that out. If your question is about what makes an effective treatment, that’s simple: Tell

Interview: Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman (2012 Black List)

One of the best ways to learn the craft is read what professional screenwriters have to say about it. To that end for the next few weeks, I will be featuring interviews I have conducted with Black List screenwriters. Today: Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman wrote the script Draft Day

Movies You Made: “Hala”

Hala, a short film by Black List screenwriter lab alumna Minhal Baig: A Muslim American teenager struggles to reconcile desire with family obligations. Hala is a proof-of-concept for a feature-length film that explores coming-of-age as a Muslim American. From Yasmeen Gharnit’s review of Hala

Classic 30s Movie: “Bringing Up Baby”

May is classic 30s movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Melinda Mahaffey. Title: Bringing Up Baby Year: 1938 Writers: Dudley Nichols & Hagar Wilde, story by Hagar Wilde Lead Actors: Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn Director: Howard Hawks IMDb Plot Summary: While trying to secure a $1 million

Screenwriting 101: Albert Brooks

“I got so good at writing to a budget, my brain was restricting myself. I’d write, It’s a stormy night. Then I’d cross out stormy. I’d write: It’s a calm night. Then I’d cross out night. It’s noon. Because you know how much

Daily Dialogue — May 17, 2016

“Phone call for you, Agent Starling.” — The Silence of the Lambs (1991), screenplay by Ted Tally, novel by Thomas Harris The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Celebration. Trivia: The Silence of the Lambs was inspired by the real-life relationship between University of Washington criminology professor and profiler Robert

Happy 8th Birthday, Go Into The Story!

That’s right, Go Into The Story is 8 years old today! I launched the site on May 16, 2008 with this humble post. Since that time, I’ve uploaded over 19,000 entries and the blog has had nearly 10 million unique visits. Talk about penetration in social media,

Interview: Brad Ingelsby (2008, 2012 Black List)

One of the best ways to learn the craft is read what professional screenwriters have to say about it. To that end for the next few weeks, I will be featuring interviews I have conducted with Black List screenwriters. Today: Brad Ingelsby is a busy writer with several projects in