Go Into The Story

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 23: Unity of Action

As I’ve been interviewing screenwriters, I typically ask what some of their influences are. One book title comes up over and over again…

Videos: Academy Originals Screenwriter Interviews

Featuring John August, Ava DuVernay, Eric Roth, Aline Brosh McKenna, David Seidler, Dustin Lance Black, and more.

Page One: “Doubt” (2008)

Screenplay by John Patrick Shanley, play by John Patrick Shanley

Thanks for your comments, Steven.

The lesson I took away from the Legacy experience was to embrace that mantra - "There's always another way" - in my writing, especially…

Andrew Stanton TED Talk: “Clues to a Great Story”

A 10-part series analyzing the Pixar writer-director’s TED Talk.

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 22: Word Choice

As I’ve been interviewing screenwriters, I typically ask what some of their influences are. One book title comes up over and over again…

The Business of Screenwriting: There is always another way

Between writing assignments, I wrote a spec script. It’s a contained thriller called “Legacy,” about a child psychiatrist who ends up on a…

Page One: “The Double” (2013)

Written by Richard Ayoade and Avi Korine, story by Avi Korine, novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Andrew Stanton TED Talk: “Clues to a Great Story”

A 10-part series analyzing the Pixar writer-director’s TED Talk.

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Parts 20+21: Language and Words

As I’ve been interviewing screenwriters, I typically ask what some of their influences are. One book title comes up over and over again…

Script To Screen: “A Serious Man”

Leave it to the Coen brothers (Joel and Ethan) to come up with a denouement in their 2009 movie A Serious Man that resolves virtually…

Page One: “Dope” (2015)

Written by Rick Famuyiwa

Script To Screen: “A Quiet Place”

The terrifying opening incident is a master class in demonstrating how to use paragraphs of scene description to suggest individual camera…

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 19: Thought and Diction

As I’ve been interviewing screenwriters, I typically ask what some of their influences are. One book title comes up over and over again…

Screenwriting 101: George Axelrod

“Writing is such a mysterious process for me. For example, I don’t use a computer, because I like the manual feeling of building something…

Page One: “Don’t Worry Darling” (2022)

Screenplay by Katie Silberman, story by Carey Van Dyke & Shane Van Dyke and Katie Silberman

“Don’t let the facts get in the way of the story”

Reflections on a Hollywood axiom and the power of emotional logic.

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 18(D): Chorus

As I’ve been interviewing screenwriters, I typically ask what some of their influences are. One book title comes up over and over again…

On Writing

“One thing that helps is to give myself permission to write badly. I tell myself that I’m going to do my five or 10 pages no matter what…

Page One: “Doctor Sleep” (2019)

Screenplay by Mike Flanagan, novel by Stephen King

Great Scene: “King of Hearts”

In a fundamental way, screenwriting is scene-writing, so the more we learn about this aspect of the craft, the better.

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 18(C): Multiplicity of Plots

As I’ve been interviewing screenwriters, I typically ask what some of their influences are. One book title comes up over and over again…

Script To Screen: “The Abyss”

One of the most dramatic scenes from the 1989 movie The Abyss, written by James Cameron.

Page One: “Disclosure” (1994)

Screenplay by Paul Attanasio, novel by Michael Crichton

Script To Screen: “Adaptation”

A memorable scene from the 2002 movie Adaptation, screenplay by Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman, book by Susan Orlean.