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Where Did The Romcom Go? I have a question. Where did the romcom go, please? Has anyone seen it of late because I seek and ye does not find? Let’s be honest, the sh*t has hit the fan worldwide recently and it’s not a fan of the kind of cinematic
15 Inspiring Ava DuVernay Quotes for Writers & Filmmakers As the first black woman nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Director, Ava DuVernay is ushering in a new era for black filmmakers. Initially starting as a journalist with a CBS internship, DuVernay quickly became disillusioned with the field
What’s Your Personal Writing Process? In screenwriting, sometimes the biggest challenge is discovering the most effective writing process That Works For You. For example, each and every writer has a different approach to how they: summon key plot points establish characters use subtext utilize themes generate dialogue control pacing optimize
20 Great Patty Jenkins Quotes for Writers & Filmmakers Filmmaking didn’t come easily to Patty Jenkins. After many years working as a painter she realised her true passion was film. She then spent 8 years working as an assistant cinematographer on commercials and music videos. After years of hard
How to Nail Your Movie Theme: What is Your Screenplay Actually About? What is your screenplay about? What is your movie’s theme? These may seem like obvious questions. But many experienced script consultants will tell you that a common frustration in reading hundreds of screenplays professionally is that often
One of the world’s most popular screenwriting books, Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat has brought clarity and a sense of direction to thousands of screenwriters, many of whom were looking for the logical extension of Syd Field’s work. If you’re not familiar with it, the book delivered a structural screenwriting roadmap: not quite a full-blown
This month’s featured industry guest at The Insider Interviews is Rob Sprackling. A screenwriter known for his work on THE QUEEN’S CORGI (2019) and GNOMEO AND JULIET (2011) 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,
This month’s featured industry guest at The Insider Interviews is Tom Daley of eOne Entertainment. 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 Oscar-nominated writer of DRIVE and THE TWO
ORIGINAL CHARACTERS Series: Part 1 Welcome to Original Characters, an ongoing series of articles that will examine the most original characters to appear in both TV and film. What is an Original Character? What is an original character? It’s a character that sticks with you even when they’re
15 Inspiring Russo Brothers Quotes for Filmmakers The career of the Russo Brothers has been anything but conventional. From independent cinema, through award-winning TV to shattering box office records with the second half of the Avengers series, this American directing duo have constantly shown that quality and the possibility
In our Genius Character Reveals series we examine scenes and moments where a film or TV show reveals a tremendous amount of character information in a compressed amount of screen time. This instalment focuses on Nick Dunne (Ben Affleck), the neglectful husband accused of murder in the Gillian Flynn, David
This month’s featured industry guest at The Insider Interviews is Doug Mankoff of Echo Lake Entertainment. 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 Oscar-nominated writer
Legendary writer-director John Hughes was responsible for a string of iconic teen films from the 1980s onward. And yet without the characters feeling like real teenagers (with Cameron Frye in particular, to the fore), the films wouldn’t work. The audiences wouldn’t care. People still argue that in PRETTY IN PINK
BACK TO THE FUTURE Video Essay Not content with dominating blockbuster filmmaking as a director, the ’80s saw Steven Spielberg become a producing powerhouse. He brought his Amblin touch to the generation-defining likes of GREMLINS, POLTERGEIST, THE GOONIES and also BACK TO THE FUTURE. After several box office failures,
There are so many stories of wunderkinds and overnight successes that it can become dispiriting for filmmakers still plugging away. However, some of the world’s most renowned filmmakers didn’t start early, whether they pursued other careers first or toiled away at lower levels of the industry. For many of them,
15 Great Paul Feig Quotes Paul Feig has had a unusual career. He created the cult comedy FREAKS & GEEKS, where many of the Judd Apatow stable (James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel) first appeared. For a while, he continued as a TV producer and director (THE OFFICE, ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT,
LA CONFIDENTIAL LA CONFIDENTIAL put a modern spin on the hard-boiled noir, reinvigorating the genre and leading to an Oscar win for Brian Helgeland and Curtis Hanson for Best Adapted Screenplay. The world they create on screen is partly familiar – Hollywood of the 1950s. But the story mostly takes
15 Great Spike Lee Quotes Spike Lee, with 32 years of film experience, is a figure that any aspiring writer and filmmaker can learn from. His breakthrough debut film SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT, a lighthearted comedy, exceeded all box office expectations giving Lee future creative freedom. He chose to dive
Christopher McQuarrie After an inauspicious few years working at a detective agency, Christopher McQuarrie broke out as a screenwriter with two collaborations with director Bryan Singer. PUBLIC ACCESS won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, but it was soon eclipsed by THE USUAL SUSPECTS, for which McQuarrie
Taylor Sheridan Taylor Sheridan got his start as an actor, his most notable role arriving in the form of Deputy Chief of Police David Hale in SONS OF ANARCHY. He transitioned this experience into screenwriting. Over a few years, he wrote SICARIO, HELL OR HIGH WATER, and SICARIO: DAY OF
Vince Gilligan Vince Gilligan got his start as a writer for THE X-FILES, but these days he’s best known as the creator, showrunner, writer and director of BREAKING BAD and its spin-off, BETTER CALL SAUL. Following the rise and fall of meek science teacher turned meth kingpin Walter White (Bryan
In our Genius Character Reveals series we examine scenes and moments where a film or TV show reveals a tremendous amount of character information in a compressed amount of screen time. This instalment focuses on Jim Hopper (David Harbour), the chief of the police department in the sleepy town of Hawkins, from
Ryan Murphy Quotes Ryan Murphy is one of the few super-producers working in TV, along with the likes of Shonda Rimes and Greg Berlanti. His run of hit shows includes NIP/TUCK, GLEE, AMERICAN HORROR STORY, AMERICAN CRIME STORY, and FEUD. On the feature film side, he’s written and directed RUNNING WITH
In our Genius Character Reveals series we examine scenes and moments where a film or TV show reveals a tremendous amount of character information in a compressed amount of screen time. This instalment focuses on Martin Brody (Roy Scheider), the police chief of Amity island in Steven Spielberg‘s JAWS. Martin
Jason Blum founded Blumhouse Productions in 2000, but it wasn’t until 2009 that it started getting its reputation for making some of the most profitable films of all time. The model: find a strong, high-concept but micro-budget horror concept or script, pair with a director with vision, and market the
The 10 Best Literary Agents for Writers & Filmmakers As a screenwriter, it can be confusing navigating the multitude of literary agents out there. Big or small, almost all literary agents won’t accept unsolicited material. Many specify that unsolicited material will be returned or destroyed unread, in order to
12 Quotes about the Importance of Networking No matter if you are a producer, writer or director, a would-be executive or talent agent, if you want to crack film and TV you have to make yourself known. There is no escaping the necessity of attending events, arranging meetings and introducing yourself
Hossein Amini Interview Industrial Scripts is pleased to announce the release of our first “Reflection Series” mini-courses, with a unique Hossein Amini interview. These weekly email sequences contain exclusive interview content from high-end filmmakers and screenwriters. First Reflection Series Our first Reflection Series is with DRIVE, THE WINGS OF THE
20 Must Know Hollywood Literary Management Companies Figuring out how to get a bona fide literary management company to represent you is complicated, especially if you’re new(ish) to the entertainment industry. Unlike most things, Googling “literary managers” won’t instantly answer your questions. It’s a confusing marketplace, due, in part,
Hollywood Films and British IP The wider British public are usually treated, once-a-year or so, to a slick piece of PR spin usually including the phrase “British film is booming” and citing major Hollywood releases as contributing to said boom. But the next time you sit down to watch a
I’ve spent the week in LA, (City of Angels & Devils) As I have previously mentioned, many times, I love LA and this time was no exception. I ate dinner on a table exactly next to Gwyneth Paltrow (she drank martini and wine, and did not order the ‘steamed vagina’),
30 Quotes about Screenwriting from A-List Directors & Actors Whether they produce films, direct them, write them, or star in them, these iconic figures all agree on one thing: the importance of the screenplay. Here are thirty quotes about screenwriting, from people who would really, really know best… The Quotes
All Screenwriters LOVE Moaning Because there’s been quite a lot in the press lately about the plight (or otherwise) of women screenwriters, I’ve been thinking a bit lately about whether I think I’m hard done by because of my sex (sex as in female, not sex as in, I’ve been trying
Most screenwriters would cite a moment in their careers that proved critical. It might be the day they signed with an influential literary manager, or the moment a key producer spotted something in their spec screenplay that piqued his or her interest. Of course, it might be more spectacular than that, and
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 Oscar-nominated writer of DRIVE and THE TWO FACES OF JANUARY. You can watch these here. The Insider Interviews now exist as live monthly events in central London, which is a
PT Anderson A man who, remarkably, made a film of the quality of BOOGIE NIGHTS at just 27 years of age, PT Anderson has won a host of admirers over a two-decade career for his own, original brand of cinema. Like a kind of thematically-souped-up Tarantino, Anderson’s films and scripts
Michael Mann Michael Mann started out writing for TV in the 1970s but made his feature directorial debut with THE JERICHO MILE in 1979. Several films later he finally struck gold in 1984, creating the long-running TV show MIAMI VICE which made Don Johnson a household name and pastel clothing
Where There’s a Will There’s a Way They say where there’s a will, there’s a way and if ever a profession needed to believe this mantra, it’s that of screenwriting. So pump yourself up, splash some cold water on your face and, as infamous ENTOURAGE uber-agent Ari Gold would say: “strap
With the arrival of GODZILLA at your local multiplex you might be thinking it’s time to get writing some monster movies of your own — how hard can it be, right? But while GODZILLA may have roared onto screens large and small over 200 times since the mid 60s, quantity
The World’s Highest Paid Screenwriters Screenwriting can mean seriously big money for those at the top. After all, screenplays usually account for around 1-3% of a film’s budget, and when a budget soars (as Hollywood tentpoles and Netflix originals often do)…well…get your calculator out. Some screenwriters can start breaking
Beneath the murky waters of the western film industry, the odyssey towards equality is ongoing, and according to ‘Celluloid Ceiling’ – an industry consensus conducted by the Centre for Women in Film and Television – the beast of gender-bias has, once again, reared its ugly head. The report revealed a two
10 British Screenwriters Who Broke Into Hollywood Our own screenwriting talent is well known on these shores – Simon Beaufoy, Richard Curtis, David Hare, Abi Morgan, Tom Stoppard, Peter Morgan, William Nicholson… the list is impressive. But what about Brit talent working in Hollywood? Industrial Scripts looks at British Screenwriters
Burning Bright Becoming a professional screenwriter is one thing, but staying at the top of the Hollywood screenwriters game is quite another. After last week’s look at Screenwriters Who Broke In Late, Industrial Scripts looks at those Hollywood screenwriters who hit the big time, but whose star gradually faded.
Despite the image of the wunderkind screenwriter a-la Orson Welles or Diablo Cody, many screenwriters broke in late to the game, with a wealth of wisdom and life experience to fuel their writing. As an encouragement to those who remember a time before the internet, or to those who are
Mid-Budget Movies Fading After Spielberg and Lucas’ dire warnings on the future of the film industry and the growing box office prominence of high budget tentpole releases, many audience members are asking; where are the mid-budget movies classics of yesteryear? Industrial Scripts breaks down the reasons behind the loss of
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