Screenplay Blog

One Free Entry to Shore Scripts Screenwriting Contest

May 29, 2016 By William Robert Rich Leave a Comment

Getting your script into the hands of producers, managers, and agents is a huge stepping-stone for any writer. Shore Scripts is a UK based screenwriting competition that was set up to do just that. Shore Scripts goal is to discover new writing talent from around the world, and with their roster of talent and industry contacts, they have positioned themselves in an expert position to help kick-start your writing career.

Shore Scripts has 33 OSCAR, BAFTA, GOLDEN GLOBE, EMMY & CANNES award winning Judges on-board to read this year’s winning screenplays. These include writers of such films and shows as The Walking Dead, The Constant Gardener, The Sopranos, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, House, Sherlock, Doctor Who and countless others.
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Do Not Try To Sell Your Screenplay

February 15, 2016 By William Robert Rich 2 Comments

If you’re really, really smart, you don’t go into it. This is not for really, really smart people. You gotta be dumber than that if you wanna succeed in creative expression. You gotta be a little crazy.

Richard Walter
UCLA
Associate Dean, Student Affairs; Area Head, MFA Screenwriting Program

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The Force Hits the Snooze Button: My Thoughts on The Force Awakens

December 20, 2015 By William Robert Rich 13 Comments

[pullquote align=”right” color=”#e65652″ class=”” cite=”” link=””]The Force Awakens extends beyond homage. Plot-wise, Awakens and A New Hope are cloudy reflections of each other.[/pullquote]

The Force Awakens did a fantastic job paying homage to the original trilogy. I loved trying to catch all the call backs as they flew by: Luke’s saber in the snow, the Jedi mind tricks, force chokes, Death Stars, Mos Eisley’s cantina and creatures, Hoth’s icy terrain, the Millennium Falcon, X-Wings, Tie Fighters, stormtroopers, Admiral Ackbar, Solo’s costumes, even Luke’s vision/nightmare of battling Vader on Dagobah — all of these were real treats for the OT diehards. It extends beyond homage, though; Plot-wise, Awakens and A New Hope are cloudy reflections of each other. I walked out of the theater having enjoyed myself, even with all the scenarios I knew had fallen short. Only in hindsight, after my Star Wars high faded, did I realize how weak the story really was. The filmmakers expertly packaged all the nostalgia fit for generations of fans into a new car with shiny paint job, but ultimately sold us a lemon…that we will all undoubtedly pay to see again and again.
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Red Letter Media’s Conversation with Max Landis

December 4, 2015 By William Robert Rich Leave a Comment

Whether you like Max Landis or not, he’s a guy that has essentially been immersed in the industry since conception. He’s outspoken. He’s opinionated. He hurls so many damn darts that he’s guaranteed to cluster a bullseye every now and then. But please don’t mistake any of this blabber for enmity — I really like him. I love watching his enthusiasm hold pace with his ADHD. He’s a blowhard one second, the next, so humble and self-effacing that you just can’t help but hope that he writes a self-help column for failed writers; A column where he pens each and every question long after his hypomania plunges into the deepest recesses of his soul. If you aspire to write for the screen, taking note of a working screenwriter scrutinizing the current state of the industry, and his place in it, isn’t a bad idea. Seriously, Max — we need more of you. Like yesterday.

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For Your Consideration Scripts 2015

October 6, 2015 By William Robert Rich Leave a Comment

A24

Ex Machina

While We’re Young

Slow West

The End of the Tour

Mississippi Grind

Remember
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The Difference Between a Script and a Movie

August 2, 2015 By Matt Lazarus Leave a Comment

Some people say that a script is a sketch for other artists to color in, that most of the work of rendering a story ought to be left to directors, actors, art departments, or others. I disagree.

To me, a script is its own thing, a document that exists to provide proof of concept that you know what you’re doing and deserve a meeting, a job, a sale. To this end, it needs to do a few things that a movie doesn’t have to.
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Analyzing a Premise Test

June 24, 2015 By Matt Lazarus Leave a Comment

Screenwriting is about two things, imagining and communicating. The trouble is, people have a tendency to gloss over that latter part, and act like the reader is psychic. By and large, we’re not. We can’t envision anything unless it’s clearly stated.

A redditor, /u/zombdi, asked me to analyze a premise test for free. I agreed, on the condition that I could use it as a public example.
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Making An Incredible Character Arc Credible

June 22, 2015 By Steve Lam Leave a Comment

[pullquote align=”right” color=”#e65652″ class=”” cite=”” link=””]In Hollywood, the story is king, and the story is driven by the main character.[/pullquote]

Let’s admit it. Superhero stories are our modern versions of the Greek myths. We have larger than life characters coupled with amazing feats of heroism and strength. However, they’re more than that. Present day superhero films need a strong character journey. In order for a story to be successful, the audience needs to relate to the protagonists. With goals and conflicts, fictional characters can be brought to life as real as any object in our reality.
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No Second Act = No Story

June 9, 2015 By Matt Lazarus Leave a Comment

GUY: Here’s my pitch: A guy must bond with his gambler father to get closure on his childhood.
ME: Great. What’s the second act?
GUY: Well, it’s whatever happens between page 25 and page 90.
ME: Right, but how is this explored? So he needs to bond with his father. Do they bond by surfing? Kidnapping a girl? Planning a casino heist.
GUY: No!
ME: But they could, right? You see how each avenue of exploration changes the genre, tone and visuals of the movie. How is yours explored?
GUY: I don’t know.
ME: Then you only have half an idea.

The second act is the exploration of the idea. It’s the money part.

The three act structure tends to trip people up. People are either way too into it, or they’re way too dismissive of it. While it’s true that many professional writers don’t set out to neatly color within the lines as they’re writing their work, it’s also true that the three act structure is a useful teaching tool for people who are looking for something, anything to hang an understanding off of as they’re starting out.

I’ve heard of college classes where they read each other’s screenplays, but only the second act. That’s apocryphal, but I love that idea, because the second act is the movie.[1] [Read more…]

How Is Act Two-A Different from Act Two-B?

June 1, 2015 By Matt Lazarus Leave a Comment

The midpoint is the most arguable of the story points in the classic three act structure. It’s the axis upon which the second act revolves, it clarifies the arc, the stakes, and the tone of the exploration of the script. Midpoints are incredibly useful, so they’re worth talking about.

The second act takes up 50% percent of a scripts length. You want this second act to showcase what you can do with a concept. It’s been said that a second act is what the story is about. The midpoint separates act two into two parts. Proponents of three act structure often talk about act one, act two a, act two b, and act three. Sometimes people ask why it’s the three act structure and not the four act structure. This is a fair question. Someday, someone is going to to write a book called “MASTERING THE FOUR ACT STRUCTURE” or similar, and everyone will argue about this more, but for now, let’s use the three act structure, which is widely accepted, well documented, and useful.

Your basic three act structure:

ACT 1 (25%): Set up the world and characters, explain how we got to the events of the story.
ACT TWO (50%): Explore what’s cool about the premise and the characters in an active, memorable and visceral way that both entertains and shows off why you deserve to be a professional writer.
ACT THREE (25%): Resolve the goal of the story, illustrate how the second act changed the character to a version of himself that can succeed at his goal.
So act two = exploration, where the premise of the movie is explored via a series of genre beats in a way that creates specific and memorable entertainment. If you’re using a midpoint, it’s going to split that second act into two roughly equal chunks, act two a and act two b.

This raises a simple question: how is act two a different from act two b? [Read more…]