What Do I Write About?
After a lengthy absence from screenwriting, I got back into the game and finished a script I had been working on for a good number of years. I received a lot of great feedback and decided to solicit some managers.…
Category Screenwriting Tips
Breakfast Club Sculpture
The Breakfast Club sculpture: file this one under closing image masterclass. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen the Breakfast Club. It’s not one of my favorites but it’s been on my radar for at least thirty years. My…
What’s the Climax of Good Will Hunting?
People email questions from time-to-time. I’ve always answered these questions. I’ve also always deleted every single one of them within 60 seconds of hitting the send button. Never thought to post the questions until today. This one deals with my…
How Horror Movies Became a Money Making Machine
I’ve had friends tell me to write a horror movie. I just can’t resonate with that genre as I have others, as I have been told times repeatedly, with less “commercial potential.” This video made me think about my favorite…
Do Not Try To Sell Your Screenplay
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…
Analyzing a Premise Test
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…
Making An Incredible Character Arc Credible
[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…
No Second Act = No Story
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…
How Is Act Two-A Different from Act Two-B?
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.…
