Great Character: Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow (“The Avengers”) The Great Character theme for the month: Action Heroines. Today: Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow from the 2012 movie The Avengers. Scarlett Johansson has been known for not just unanimous sex appeal, but for keeping her acting resume diverse and intriguing. She has already earned four Golden Globe nominations three years
Daily Dialogue — August 29, 2014 Dr. Harvey Kelekian: You have cancer. Miss Bearing, you have advanced metastatic ovarian cancer. Vivian Bearing: Go on. Dr. Harvey Kelekian: You are a professor, Miss Bearing. Vivian Bearing: Like yourself, Dr. Kelekian. Dr. Harvey Kelekian: Why, yes. Now then, you present with a growth that unfortunately went undetected… in
September: Classic 70s Movie Month In December 2013, we had a series called Classic 80s Movies Month in which I invited readers to select noteworthy movies from the decade of the eighties and provide a condensed overview of it. That resulted in this: A list of links to movies you should know about. Then in
2011 Screenwriters Roundtable, Part 4: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Jeremiah Friedman, Nick Palmer, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam As something of an elder member of the screenwriting community, one of the wonderful experiences I have had since I started the blog is to get to know dozens of writers who I think would be fair to describe as ‘Young Turks’. Not necessarily young in terms of their age,
Infographic: Anatomy of Films Here it is! Your guide to formulaic writing! Now go out and write some formulaic scripts! …just kidding.
Movie Trailer: “Unbroken” Screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen and Richard LaGravenese and William Nicholson, book by Laura Hillenbrand A chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II. IMDB Release Date: 25 December 2014 (USA)
Free Screenwriting Resource: Dialogue! Dialogue! Dialogue! If you need some inspiration writing dialogue, boy, have we got you covered! Every single day this blog has been in existence, I have featured a post called Daily Dialogue. We are talking well over 2,000 posts spotlighting notable movie dialogue. You can check out the posts year by
Daily Dialogue — August 28, 2014 Olive: [going over eye test pamphlets] Mom, Dwayne’s got 20/20 vision! Sheryl: I bet he does… Olive: Now, let’s see if you’re colorblind. [opens the pamphlet] What’s the letter in the circle? Dwayne looks confused. Olive: No in the circle. The letter… in the circle?
Reader Question: How do you determine if a script is good? Question from 14Shari: In one of your posts you advice to have at least three scripts in your portfolio. how do you decide which ones are good examples? Are there any measurements or standards one can use? This is a great question, Shari. At a basic level, you’d like
2011 Screenwriters Roundtable, Part 3: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Jeremiah Friedman, Nick Palmer, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam As something of an elder member of the screenwriting community, one of the wonderful experiences I have had since I started the blog is to get to know dozens of writers who I think would be fair to describe as ‘Young Turks’. Not necessarily young in terms of their age,
Video: “Scripted Life” Go Into The Story development assistant Wendy Cohen forwarded this to me, a commercial that aired during the recent Emmy Awards broadcast on NBC: While the message at the end may take a swipe at scripts, the more remarkable point is this: Consider how widespread the awareness is nowadays about
Major Hollywood Studios Current Business Approach: Big Budget Franchise and Low-Budget Genre I have written about the bifurcated business approach currently in vogue with Hollywood’s major studios: Big budget franchise movies on the one end, low budget genre films on the other. This Variety article from last week — “Universal Veers From Superhero Trend for a Monster Plan” — is further proof of
Movie Trailer: “Wild” Written by Nick Hornby, memoir by Cheryl Strayed A chronicle of one woman’s 1,100-mile solo hike undertaken as a way to recover from a recent catastrophe. IMDB Release Date: 5 December 2014 (USA)
Free Screenwriting Resource: How to Read a Screenplay There is reading a screenplay. And there is reading a screenplay. If you really want to understand a script — story structure, characters, themes, the whole enchilada — I posted a 7-part series providing an immersive approach to do just that. Part 1: The First Pass Part 2: The Scene-By-
Script To Screen: “American Pie” The infamous apple pie scene. A scene from the 1999 movie American Pie, written by Adam Herz. Plot Summary: Four teenage boys enter a pact to lose their virginity by prom night. Here is the scene in the script: INT. JIM'S HOUSE - KITCHEN - DAYJim enters his house, slinging
Daily Dialogue — August 27, 2014 Tyrell: I’m surprised you didn’t come here sooner. Roy: It’s not an easy thing to meet your maker. Tyrell: What can he do for you? Roy: Can the maker repair what he makes? Tyrell: Would you like to be modified? Roy: [to J. F. Sebastian] Stay here.
Reader Question: Are movies featuring LGBT leads destined to be relegated to indie film permanently? Question from j_midtown: While we mourn Robin Williams’ untimely passing [last] week, among the more frequently mentioned of his credits was The Birdcage. Released way back in 1996, The Birdcage ranks as the highest-ever grossing LGBT-themed movie at $124M domestic and was released by MGM. Paramount had
2011 Screenwriters Roundtable, Part 2: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Jeremiah Friedman, Nick Palmer, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam As something of an elder member of the screenwriting community, one of the wonderful experiences I have had since I started the blog is to get to know dozens of writers who I think would be fair to describe as ‘Young Turks’. Not necessarily young in terms of their age,
2014 Emmy Winners: Writers Congratulations to all the nominees and winners from last night’s Emmy Awards: Writing For A Drama Series Breaking Bad,” Ozymandias,” Moira Walley-Beckett (writer) — WINNER Breaking Bad, “Felina,” Vince Gilligan (writer) Game Of Thrones, “The Children,” David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (writers) House Of Cards,”Chapter 14,” Beau
Movie Trailer: “The Captive” Written by Atom Egoyan, David Fraser Eight years after the disappearance of Cassandra, some disturbing indications seem to indicate that she’s still alive. Police, parents and Cassandra herself, will try to unravel the mystery of her disappearance. IMDB
Free Screenwriting Resource: 30 Days of Screenplays Reading scripts. One of the single most important things you can do to learn the craft of screenwriting. And in my experience, this is one area many aspiring screenwriters fail to embrace. At bare minimum, you should be reading one script per week. But if you really want a jump-
Screenwriting 101: Stephany Folsom “Don’t worry about getting an agent or a manager. When you have enough quality work under your belt, the agencies and management companies will come calling. Worry about telling stories you’re passionate about. Because the doors are wide open to everyone, it means you really have to care
Daily Dialogue — August 26, 2014 Diane: So, what’s the special occasion? Adam: I wanted to tell you something, but… I need you to promise you’re going to stay calm. Diane: Oh, Adam, don’t be so overdramatic — Adam [cutting her off]: Mom, just promise, okay? Diane: Okay, I promise. Always make me out
Style = Voice How you approach screenwriting style is a reflection of your writing voice. This is the case whether you are intentional about it or not. A professional script reader, who plows through hundreds of scripts per year, will pick up on a script’s sense of style — or lack thereof — from
2011 Screenwriters Roundtable, Part 1: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Jeremiah Friedman, Nick Palmer, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam As something of an elder member of the screenwriting community, one of the wonderful experiences I have had since I started the blog is to get to know dozens of writers who I think would be fair to describe as ‘Young Turks’. Not necessarily young in terms of their age,
