Go Into The Story (Page 734)

Screenwriting 101: Akiva Goldsman

“Writing is both a pleasure and a struggle. There are times when it’s really aversive and unpleasant, and there are times when it’s wonderful and fun and magical, but that’s not the point. Writing is my job. I’m not a believer of waiting for the muse.

Daily Dialogue — October 27, 2015

VIPER: I don’t understand what Master Oogway was thinking. The poor guy’s just gonna get himself killed. CRANE: He is so mighty! The Dragon Warrior fell out of the sky on a ball of fire. MANTIS: When he walks the very ground shakes. TIGRESS: One would think that

Zero Draft Thirty: What Are You Afraid Of?

T minus 6 days. On November 1, the Zero Draft Thirty challenge kicks off! Zero Draft is what some writers call the vomit draft… or muscle draft… the just-get-the-damn-thing-done draft. And thirty is… well… the number 30 which is… oh, yeah… the number of days

Zero Draft Thirty: Let’s chat!

I wanted to create an open forum to discuss the best way to facilitate the Zero Draft Thirty challenge. At its most basic level, I envision a really simple thing: Every day I will do a ZD30 post. It will include some sort of inspirational / informational writing quote and perhaps

Interview (Part 1): Amy Koppelman and Paige Dylan

The movie I Smile Back is rolling out in select theaters this week. Starring Sarah Silverman in a breakout dramatic starring role, I had the opportunity to talk with Amy Koppelman, who wrote the novel upon which the movie is based, and co-writer of the screenplay adaptation along with

Movie Analysis: “Back to the Future”

Another in our bi-weekly series in which we analyze movies currently in release. Why? To quote the writing mantra I coined over 5 years ago: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. You will note which one comes first. Here are my reflections from that post about the importance of

Video: David Hare meets Thomas Eccleshare

BAFTA has a new series called Guru Encounters in which established writers meet with younger writers to share their wisdom. Here is David Hare, whose film credits include The Hours and The Reader, in conversation with playwright Thomas Eccleshare. “One of the things you’ve got to do in the

On Writing

“In the end, you either have the cojones to write and keep writing, or you don’t. No amount of good advice will make a damn bit of difference. It’s like exercise. There are health experts everywhere who will tell you what you need to do, but unless you

Daily Dialogue — October 26, 2015

Billy Kramer: Hi. Phyllis Bernard: Hi. Billy Kramer: What’s your name? Phyllis Bernard: I’m Phyllis Bernard. Billy Kramer: Who? Phyllis Bernard: I’m a friend… uh, business associate of your father’s… dad. In the bedroom. Ted Kramer: Oh, Jesus. In the hallway. Billy Kramer: Do you like

Zero Draft Thirty: Write a Script in a Month Challenge

T minus 7 days. That’s right, one week from today on November 1, the Zero Draft Thirty challenge kicks off! Zero Draft is what some writers call the vomit draft… or muscle draft… the just-get-the-damn-thing-done draft. And thirty is… well… the number 30 which

Go Into The Story Week In Review: October 19-October 25, 2015

Links to this week’s most notable posts: 31 Days of Feminist Horror Movies Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Embarrassment Go Into The Story Script Analysis: The Wolf of Wall Street Great Scene: Annie Hall Interview (Video): Richard Curtis Interview (Written): Matt Charman (Bridge of Spies) Next week’s

Screenwriting News (October 19-October 25, 2015)

Robert Festinger writing drama “Hampstead” for Ecosse Films. Gary Graham adapting science fiction novel “Railhead” for Warner Bros. Lauren Graham adapting drama romance novel “The Royal We” for CBS Films. Jhan Harp writing horror “Lockbox” for AWOL Studios. Christopher Hollier writing fantasy adventure “Jason and the Argonauts” for Paramount Pictures.

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: The Wolf of Wall Street

This week, we have been reading, analyzing, and discussing the script and movie The Wolf of Wall Street. Screenplay by Terence Winter, book by Jordan Belfort. IMDb plot summary: Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to

Interview (Video): Richard Curtis

2013 BAFTA screenwriting lecture by Richard Curtis (Love Actually, Bean, Notting Hill). From BAFTA.

Daily Dialogue — October 25, 2015

“Then I saw it. I saw a mom who would die for her son, a man who would kill for his wife, a boy, angry and alone, laid out in front of him, the bad path. I saw it and the path was a circle, round and round. So I

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Embarrassment

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Embarrassment. A Fish Called Wanda (1999) Consecutive days of Daily Dialogue posts: 2,718. Embarrassing moments on film. Surely we can come up with 7 great suggestions! The usual drill: * Copy/paste dialogue from IMDb Quotes or some other transcript source. * Copy/paste

Zero Draft Thirty: Write a Script in a Month Challenge

T minus 8 days. On November 1, the Zero Draft Thirty challenge kicks off! Zero Draft is what some writers call the vomit draft… or muscle draft… the just-get-the-damn-thing-done draft. And thirty is… well… the number 30 which is… oh, yeah… the number of days

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 209th installment of Saturday Hot Links. ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Fans Blast Movie Ticket Sites for Presale Crashes. ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’ Shatters Ticket Sales Records. Please Don’t Pay $400 for Star Wars Tickets: Tales of the Force Awakens Ticketpocalypse. A Handy Guide to

Rod Serling on Writing: Parts 1–16

16 videos with excerpted writing quotes from a master storyteller. Ever since I launched Go Into The Story, I have regularly gone down the Internet’s rabbit hole in search of unique video clips featuring renowned writers. In 2010, I hit the Mother Lode: A series of 16 clips featuring

Interview (Written): Matt Charman (“Bridge of Spies”)

An Awards Daily interview with Matt Charman, screenwriter, Bridge of Spies. Awards Daily: How did Bridge of Spies happen? Matt Charman: I feel like it’s a bit of a miracle in my life. I’m a bit of a history buff, especially for the Cold War and Kennedy Administration.

Daily Dialogue — October 24, 2015

“You stay. I go. No following.” — The Iron Giant (1999), screenplay by Tim McCanlies, screen story by Brad Bird, book by Ted Hughes The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Selflessness. Trivia: Excluding the yells and groans, the Iron Giant only said a total of 53 words. Dialogue On Dialogue:

Go Into The Story Movie Analysis: “Back to the Future”

Starting Monday, the classic film in our bi-weekly Go Into The Story Movie Analysis series: The 1985 movie Back to the Future. What a great excuse to watch this movie again, which you can do here for as little as $2.99. But I’ll bet you own a

Zero Draft Thirty: Story Prep — Script Diary

T minus 8 days. On November 1, the Zero Draft Thirty challenge kicks off! Zero Draft is what some writers call the vomit draft… or muscle draft… the just-get-the-damn-thing-done draft. And thirty is… well… the number 30 which is… oh, yeah… the number of days

Script Analysis: “The Wolf of Wall Street” — Part 5: Takeaways

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Characters Thursday: Themes Friday: Takeaways Today: Takeaways. This week,

Rod Serling on Writing: Part 16

Part 16 of a 16 part series featuring the master storyteller on video. Ever since I launched Go Into The Story, I have regularly gone down the Internet’s rabbit hole in search of unique video clips featuring renowned writers. In 2010, I hit the Mother Lode: A series of