10 Screenwriting Lessons We Can Learn from…BOOGIE NIGHTS (1997)
Like much of Paul Thomas Anderson’s work, the BOOGIE NIGHTS screenplay has an odd structure, divergent POV and a hefty length, yet every page of it is full of worthwhile …
Craft
Craft-based articles.
Should Screenwriters Write “Omnisciently”?
To write omnisciently as a screenwriter often entails, for better or worse, including elements that may never show up onscreen: jokes in descriptions or insights into characters’ thoughts and histories …
10 Screenwriting Lessons From ANGEL HEART (1987)
ANGEL HEART Alan Parker’s ANGEL HEART is an odd blend of genres, taking noir, psychological thriller and horror to a three-way shotgun wedding. The screenwriting lessons it can teach us …
10 Thriller Screenplays You Should Read
Thriller Screenplay Power As a genre, ‘thriller’ tends to gently caress several others, namely horror, sci-fi, and drama. As such, thriller screenplays provide a goldmine of various narrative and structural …
Why Screenwriters Should Consider a Second Act Subplot
While first and third acts pose their own challenges, it’s in the weeds of the second act that many scripts (and movies for that matter) go astray. Introducing a second …
GENIUS CHARACTER REVEALS: Annie Wilkes
In this series we look at scenes and moments where a film or TV show has revealed a great deal of character information in a short amount of screen time. …
How to Give EXPERT Script Notes: 10 ESSENTIAL Tips
No matter what part of the filmmaking process your job role fits within, there’ll likely be a time when you’ll be expected to give script notes on a project. Across …
10 Minor Characters Who Still Have a Great ARC
One facet of screenwriting which causes writers enormous headaches is conveying a lot with a little. Studying great minor characters is one way of learning this kind of efficiency. Minor Characters To …
GENIUS CHARACTER REVEALS: Jim Donovan (BRIDGE OF SPIES)
In this series we look at scenes and moments where a film or TV show has revealed a great deal of character information in a short amount of screen time. …
Unresolved Plot Threads: Magic or Madness?
Endings are crucial. The feeling an ending gives an audience is the feeling they leave the cinema with. It’s the feeling that will colour their perception of their whole experience …
10 Commandments of the Accountable Screenwriter (Download)
There are two kinds of rugby player”, the legendary Scottish coach Jim Telfer told his players, “there are the honest ones, and there’s the rest. The honest player gets up in …
10 Films That Make You Invested in The Protagonist’s Goal
In 9/10 cases the protagonist is the driving force of a successful film narrative. We invest in their story because we identify with their goal and become invested in it; …
GENIUS CHARACTER REVEALS: Kate Mercer
In this series we look at scenes and moments where a film or TV show has revealed a great deal of character information in a compressed amount of screen time. Writer-director …
OPINION: Screenplay Anachronisms Can Bring the Past to Life
Films that are set in the past are often judged for their authenticity. The “goofs” section of IMDb is overrun with anachronisms: this porcelain wasn’t made until six years later; or …
14 Ways a TV or Movie Setting Was Used To Enhance a Screenplay
When a TV or Movie Setting IS A Character In the Narrative… Ask yourself this: what is a TV or movie setting? Really think about it. Is it just a …
25 Francis Ford Coppola Quotes For Writers & Filmmakers
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola is one of the greatest writer-directors to come out of the so-called “New Hollywood” wave of filmmaking, having made THE GODFATHER, THE GODFATHER PART …
How to Write “Mythically” but Avoid Cliche – PDF Guide
Writing mythically with cliché is relatively easy: watch a couple of films, read a couple of books then regurgitate the obvious stuff: quasi-religious story world, the quest, the mentor, initiation, …
20 Great James Cameron Quotes on Storytelling
20 Great James Cameron Quotes on Storytelling With a filmography that boasts the likes of THE TERMINATOR, ALIENS, and THE ABYSS, James Cameron is undoubtedly one of the finest genre …
10 Almost-Great Screenplays
An almost-great screenplay can be more frustrating than a really bad one. The potential is strong and the execution is almost there, but something went wrong at the final hurdle. …
15 Genius Inciting Incidents by Screenwriters
15 Genius Inciting Incidents by Screenwriters You’ve created a fully developed character or series of characters and are now pondering their motivation through the narrative you’ve started to develop. Inciting …
The Insider Interviews: Michael Kuhn
THE INSIDER INTERVIEWS: MICHAEL KUHN The Insider Interviews series started in 2010 as a set of recorded interviews, featuring the likes of Tom Hiddleston, Gareth Unwin, who produced THE KING’S SPEECH, Ben Wheatley and Hossein Amini, the …
20 Great Ingmar Bergman Quotes on Storytelling
One of the most influential auteurs of all time, Ernst Ingmar Bergman was born in Sweden and worked as a director, producer and writer across and theatre and screen. He …
10 Classic Mid-Film Plot Twists by Screenwriters
10 Great Mid-Film Plot Twists by Screenwriters Too often when watching a film, especially for those of us who have seen many of them, you can read where the story …
OPINION: Support Your Supporting Characters
While it’s true that the star system is not what it once was, actors can still have tremendous power. Many actors have their own production companies, partly as a route for finding interesting …
GENIUS CHARACTER REVEALS: Young Adult
In this series we look at scenes and moments where a film or TV show has revealed a great deal of character information in a short amount of screen time. …
In Screenwriting terms, what is ‘tracking’?
In screenwriting terms, ‘tracking’ refers to being able to follow or ‘track’ the logic of a premise smoothly. The moment the audience starts to think that the story does not …
10 Classic Secondary Characters in THE BIG LEBOWSKI
The Coen Brothers‘ ability to create amazing, ultra-memorable secondary characters with only a few lines of writing is something that all screenwriters can learn from. Consider the giant sea of …
GENIUS CHARACTER REVEALS: Tallahassee
In this series we look at scenes and moments where a film or TV show has revealed a great deal of character information in a short amount of screen time. …
15 Classic John Ford Quotes about Storytelling
The legendary director John Ford enjoyed a remarkably long and successful career, working on over 140 films and winning four Academy Awards for Best Director. His most well known films …
10 Moments Where Problem Upon Problem Hits the Protagonist
Conflict is essential in every great story. The amount and complexity of the situation can obviously vary greatly depending on the scope, settings and characters involved. In some cases, loading …
OPINION: The Art of Misdirection
** SPOILER ALERT: this article reveals key plot points from THE WITCH and THE PRESTIGE ** Holed up alone and away from the world, it can be too easy for …
GENIUS CHARACTER REVEALS: Jay Cavendish
Genius Character Reveals: Jay Cavendish In this series we look at scenes and moments where a film or TV show has revealed a great deal of character information in a …
GENIUS CHARACTER REVEALS: Geoffrey Tennant
Genius Character Reveals Welcome to the first of our new series: GENIUS CHARACTER REVEALS. In this series we’ll look at scenes and moments where the film or TV screenwriter/director has …
OPINION: Scope, Scale and Stakes
OPINION: Scope, Scale and Stakes ** SPOILER ALERT: this article reveals key plot points from 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE ** Scoped Out 10 CLOVERFIELD LANE is an object lesson in the …
10 Great Empire Magazine Articles For Screenwriters
Empire Magazine has been a staple in the film industry for many years. The magazine, and now the website, is seen as one of the world’s leading authorities on film-related content …
Unheralded Scene: V FOR VENDETTA (2006)
In our “Unheralded Scene” series, our consultants nominate a classic film or TV scene, which in their view hasn’t received the admiration it deserves. It might be a scene from …
Writing Characters That FASCINATE – The Ultimate PDF Guide
The key is writing characters that – crucially – fascinate… Writing great, multi-dimensional characters is one of the hardest – and most important – facets to successful screenwriting. The …
The Insider Interviews: Bradley Quirk
THE INSIDER INTERVIEWS: BRADLEY QUIRK The Insider Interviews series started in 2010 as a set of recorded interviews, featuring the likes of Tom Hiddleston, Gareth Unwin, who produced THE KING’S SPEECH, Ben Wheatley and Hossein Amini, …
How to Write a Film or TV Treatment
Putting A Film or TV Treatment on the Couch Treatments are misunderstood and undervalued. It’s time to investigate why they’re an invaluable tool in the screenwriter’s toolbox. Imagination can be …
Unheralded Scene: THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012)
Focus On: THE WOMAN IN BLACK (2012) As a direct contrast to last month’s Unheralded Scene from FALLEN, this month we look at a scene that’s completely without on-screen dialogue. The …
Check out this Reader who passed on THE INBETWEENERS script!
About THE INBETWEENERS script Before we get into the cases “for” and “against” both the script reader and their report on THE INBETWEENERS script, let’s just remind ourselves what …
OPINION: Choosing Your Protagonist
The critical acclaim, awards nominations and profoundly-felt audience reaction to ROOM highlight one of the most powerful tools in the screenwriter’s armoury – your choice of protagonist. Whether you’re writing …
Unheralded Scene: TANGERINE (2015)
In our “Unheralded Scene” series, our consultants nominate a classic film or TV scene, which in their view hasn’t received the admiration it deserves. It might be a scene from …
How to Create Intrigue in Screenplays – PDF Guide
How to Create Intrigue – The Screenwriter’s “Golden Goose” To create intrigue is one of the greatest things a screenwriter can achieve. Be it via an urban rom-com, a micro-budget horror, …
Writing Science Fiction Screenplays
Writing Science Fiction Screenplays Sci-Fi is one of those odd genres – like the Western – that among script theorists often stimulates more argument about ‘defining your terms’ than it …
Writing Horror Screenplays: How to Write Teen Horror
Writing Horror Screenplays: How to Write Teen Horror From 1974’s BLACK CHRISTMAS – rightly credited with being the god-monster of the modern mainstream genre – through to every postmodern twist …
Writing Horror Screenplays: How to Write Occult Horror
Writing Horror Screenplays: How to Write Occult Horror Occult literally means ‘hidden’ so all Horror could be described as occult in the sense that all Horror deals with things that …
Writing Horror Screenplays: How to Write Supernatural Horror
Writing Horror Screenplays: How to Write Supernatural Horror Supernatural Horror is perhaps the most writer-friendly of all Horror sub-genres because its effectiveness really does live on the page, rather than being hostage to practical …
Unheralded Scenes: MONSTERS (2010)
In our “Unheralded Scene” series, our consultants nominate a classic film or TV scene, which in their view hasn’t received the admiration it deserves. It might be a scene from …
OPINION: When Is It The Right Time For Voice-Over?
Using Voice-Over At the beginning of a screenwriter’s career, it is likely they will be hit by a deluge of information pertaining to offer the rules of how to write a script. Not …