Some upcoming writing events In November and December, a lot of people were inquiring about my Screenwriting Master Class schedule for 2015. It’s finally locked down. For the entire list of classes by Tom Benedek and myself, go here. I want to spotlight three upcoming writing events: READY TO WRITE THAT FIRST DRAFT?
Comparing WGA’s 101Greatest Screenplays with IMDb Top 250 Films Michael Hennessy did something interesting: I put together the following list to show the overlap (sixty-four screenplays) between the WGA’s 101 Greatest Screenplays and IMDb’s Top 250 Films (as of January 1st, 2015). (I also created a Pinterest board here with poster images to represent all the
The Toughest Scene I Wrote: Nicolas Giacobone and Alexander Dinelaris (“Birdman”) Once again, Vulture does screenwriters a solid: Over the next few weeks, Vulture will speak to the screenwriters behind 2014’s most acclaimed movies about the scenes they found most difficult to crack. Which pivotal sequences underwent the biggest transformations on their way from script to screen? In this article,
Movie Trailer: “The Walk” Screenplay by Robert Zemeckis & Christopher Browne, book by Philippe Petit The story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s attempt to cross the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974. IMDb Release Date: 2 October 2015 (USA)
Classic 60s Movie: “The Pink Panther” January is Classic 60s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Will King. Movie Title: The Pink Panther Year: 1963 Writers: Maurice Richlin, Blake Edwards Lead Actors: David Niven, Peter Sellers, Capucine, Claudia Cardinale, Robert Wagner Director: Blake Edwards IMDb Plot Summary: Bumbling and conceited French police inspector Jacques
Great Character: Bernard Berkman (“The Squid and the Whale”) The Great Character theme for the month: Struggling Artist. Today: Bernard Berkman from The Squid and the Whale (2005), written by Noah Baumbach. Here is Jason Cuthbert’s weekly Great Character post: Wes Anderson’s The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou and Fantastic Mr. Fox co-writing partner Noah Baumbach
Daily Dialogue — January 2, 2014 “Ah, I shoulda known you was at this party, and ya know, with all that Jheri Curl juice you got in your hair, you better not Ever do a crime! The police won’t have any problem finding you! ‘Follow the drip, follow the drip!’” — House Party (1999), written by
My wishes for you in 2015 This blog exists for many reasons and a primary one is to try to elevate the quality of the scripts that funnel into Hollywood and other filmmaking centers worldwide. We deserve better movies. And that starts with a screenplay. In that spirit, here are some wishes I have for each
Interview (Audio): Billy Wilder (Rare 1975 recording) What a great way to start off the New Year! This rare 1975 minute audio interview with the brilliant writer-director Billy Wilder (Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd., The Apartment, Some Like It Hot) just surfaced 3 days ago! As many of you know, Wilder is my all-time favorite filmmaker,
The Toughest Scene I Wrote: James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) Once again, Vulture does screenwriters a solid: Over the next few weeks, Vulture will speak to the screenwriters behind 2014’s most acclaimed movies about the scenes they found most difficult to crack. Which pivotal sequences underwent the biggest transformations on their way from script to screen? In this article,
Movie Trailer: “Little Boy” Written by Alejandro Monteverde, Pepe Portillo A young American boy struggles to achieve the impossible…bring his father back from World War II. IMDb Release Date: 27 February 2015 (USA)
Classic 60s Movie: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” January is Classic 60s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Neil Spagna. Movie Title: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Year: 1969 Writer: William Goldman (Winner of Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay 1969) Lead Actors: Paul Newman (Butch Cassidy), Robert Redford (Sundance Kid), Katharine Ross (Etta Place)
Daily Dialogue — January 1, 2014 Russell Hammond: I am a golden god! [crowd cheers] I am a golden god! [crowd cheers] William Miller: Russell, whatever you do, don’t jump. Russell Hammond: And you can tell Rolling Stone magazine that my last words were… [beat] I’m on drugs! Crowd cheers. William Miller: Russell! I
Daily Dialogue 2015 All of the Daily Dialogue posts from 2015. January 1 — Almost Famous: “I am a golden god!” January 2 — House Party: “The police won’t have any problem finding you! ‘Follow the drip, follow the drip!’” January 3 — American Beauty: “OK honey, I won’t be weird. I’ll be
60s Movies I asked Go Into The Story readers to post about a favorite movie from the 60s with two goals: To provide background and analysis on movies from this decade, and to inspire you to watch movies which is critical to learning the craft of screenwriting. 2001: A Space Odyssey Blow-
TCM Remembers 2014 Every year, TCM does an elegant visual memoriam for many of those involved in the film business who have died during the previous 12 months. Here is the 2014 edition: A lot of talent passed away this year. But they left us with some amazing memories and cinematic moments. Godspeed
Video: “Final Cut 2014 — Movie Mashup” An awesome supercut of 2014 movies, 330 of them! Edited by Nick Bosworth. HT to /film for the link.
The Toughest Scene I Wrote: Gillian Robespierre and Elisabeth Holm (“Obvious Child”) Once again, Vulture does screenwriters a solid: Over the next few weeks, Vulture will speak to the screenwriters behind 2014’s most acclaimed movies about the scenes they found most difficult to crack. Which pivotal sequences underwent the biggest transformations on their way from script to screen? In this article,
Movie Trailer: “Terminator Genisys” Written by Laeta Kalogridis & Patrick Lussier The year is 2029. John Connor, leader of the resistance continues the war against the machines. At the Los Angeles offensive, John’s fears of the unknown future begin to emerge when TECOM spies reveal a new plot by SkyNet that will attack
2014 Lists As you mentally and spiritually prepare for your New Year’s Eve festivities, why not take a few moments to get in touch with your inner listicle by clicking on these year-in-review items I’ve aggregated during the last few weeks. The 24 most unforgettable movie quotes of
Script To Screen: “Do the Right Thing” Latent anger turns to hostility into violence in this intense scene from the 1989 movie Do the Right Thing, written by Spike Lee. IMDb plot summary: On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone’s hate and bigotry smolders and
Daily Dialogue — December 31, 2014 “I put a spell on you. And now you’re mine.” — Hocus Pocus (1993), screenplay by Mick Garris and Neil Cuthbert, story by David Kirschner and Mick Garris The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Party. Today’s suggestion by Will King. Trivia: The script was written as a Disney
Go Into The Story: 2014 in Review As the year draws to an end, I thought it would be fitting to look back on some of what we’ve accomplished on this blog during the last 12 months. I say “we” because beyond the oftentimes spirited conversations and insightful analysis we get into in the comments section
Reader Question: Are there differences between a ‘selling script’ and a ‘shooting script’? Reader question in comments from mrchristf01: Scott, Thank you for the post. I didn’t really get what you were talking about until I saw the line: “Yu uses every weapon that’s available against Jen but none are any match for the Green Destiny.” Then it hit me: it’
Update: Award season screenplay downloads (NEW: Nightcrawler) It’s that time of year again when studios make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season. As in years past, we will be tracking them and posting links as they become available. If you want to get these scripts first, come here. No one posts them faster than
