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35 Movie Tropes and How to Avoid Them in Screenwriting Most audiences can agree that movies often lose their impact when writers cut corners and rely on cliches and overused movie tropes. But what exactly is a movie trope? A movie trope is a commonly used device or motif
15 Cunning Red Herring Examples in TV and Film Surprise is one of the most important elements in movies and tv. Knowing how to write a killer plot twist is an important skill in your writer’s tool box. And in screenwriting, a red herring can serve as a great
16 Powerful Plot Devices To Use in Your Screenplay It’s a term that gets thrown around a lot but what exactly is a plot device? A plot device is any technique in a narrative used to move the plot forward. Plot devices are basically the methods you use throughout
15 Phoebe Waller-Bridge Quotes Writers & Filmmakers Can Learn From Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s career is an inspiring tale of talent, perseverance and ultimate success. Starting her career primarily as an actor, she made waves on the theatre circuit in 2013 with her one-woman show Fleabag, which she wrote and starred in.
15 Examples of Bad Writing in Really GOOD Movies and Shows If you pay even a sliver of attention to people’s critiques of TV and film, then you understand that great screenwriting isn’t necessarily a given, even for shows and movies that have made it all the way to
15 Crafty Exposition Examples: How to Get Exposition Right Exposition is an essential part of any screenplay. However, there is a fine line between pulling it off smoothly and making it feel too obvious to audiences. Learning how to write good exposition is a key step in learning how
Your First Draft : 9 Essential Steps to Getting it Right It might not be what you want to hear after months, maybe years, of painstaking screenwriting work. But your first draft is almost certainly only the first stage in the evolution of your screenplay. Your screenplay’s first draft
201 Character Archetypes Writers MUST Have in Their Armoury Every screenwriter knows that writing a great screenplay takes more than just a good plot or good world building. It relies heavily on constructing memorable characters. Understanding character archetypes are an important step in this endeavor. Character archetypes are broad
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
Bold Screenplay Structure: 10 Great Examples A great script requires great dialogue, great characterization and layered conflict. One of the most crucial elements however, screenplay structure, is occasionally taken for granted. Effective screenplay structure is the axis around which the rest of the story revolves, yet it can drift
15 Genius Foreshadowing Examples in Film and TV Foreshadowing is typically used to enhance the audience’s experience of the intended themes and messages of the movie or TV show they are watching. Foreshadowing definition : a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is
10 Fantastic Internal Conflict Examples Internal conflict is a powerful and absolutely essential tool used by writers and filmmakers in drama. These ten examples, as well as the internal conflict definition below, definitively prove it. Most, if not all, of the great TV shows and films are rife with
15 Fascinating & Eye Watering Screenwriting Salaries It may seem hard to believe in the tricky early years of the screenwriter but it’s undeniably true: if you can build it well enough, they’ll come. Screenwriting at the highest level usually means big, big money. Screenwriting salaries can come in
25 Great David Lynch Quotes Screenwriters and Filmmakers Can Learn From A master of surrealism, David Lynch is very much the king of crazy within Hollywood. His enigmatic 1977 cinema debut ERASERHEAD is still to this day one of the most shocking, experimental body horrors ever made. He then
19 Awesome Denis Villeneuve Quotes About His Creative Process Denis Villeneuve began his career as a film-maker in his native Canada, as part of the National Film Board of Canada to produce a series of self-shot documentaries. He has had a career that has spanned 29 Years and has
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
15 Great Frederick Forsyth Quotes Writers and Filmmakers Can Learn From Frederick Forsyth Quotes Frederick Forsyth is a celebrated English author, journalist, former spy and political commentator. Having been the youngest pilot to qualify with the RAF, a journalist in East Berlin during the Cold War and travelled the
15 Great Ryan Coogler Quotes Ryan Coogler’s career path is the envy of many aspiring filmmakers. Off of the success of a festival-acclaimed indie drama, FRUITVALE STATION, he brought his own personal touch to back-to-back blockbuster hits CREED and BLACK PANTHER. If he has any filmmaking tips to share,
15 Great Mike Judge Quotes After gaining a Physics degree from the University of California, Mike Judge put his science career on hold. The Ecuadorean-born American would go on to create some of the most influential American animated comedies of the 90s, including BEAVIS AND BUTTHEAD and KING OF THE
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 Alfred Hitchcock Quotes The Master of Suspense, Alfred Hitchcock was a genius who needs no introduction. He cut his teeth in the UK with early thriller masterpieces like THE 39 STEPS, but the move to Hollywood brought bigger budgets and more prestige. REAR WINDOW, VERTIGO, NORTH BY NORTHWEST
This guide has been divided into the best free screenwriting software and the best paid screenwriting software, for the benefit of writers strapped for cash. It’s important to find screenwriting software that suits your approach to screenwriting. This will make the writing process that much smoother, as the software takes
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,
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
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
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
Already one of the key, iconic actresses of the American indie scene, appearing in the likes of FRANCES HA, MISTRESS AMERICA and 20TH CENTURY WOMEN, Greta Gerwig made her solo directing debut with LADY BIRD, a warm and moving story of a mother-daughter relationship in 2002 Sacramento. It was nominated
Jordan Peele, one half of the sketch comedy duo KEY & PEELE, burst onto the cinema scene with the highly acclaimed and successful “social thriller” GET OUT, which he wrote and directed. At the 90th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay and Best
Script Coverage is Needed The times they are a’ changing, as Bob Dylan once said. Who’d have thought a few years ago that full blown movie stars would be appearing on TV? And within the most important part (screenwriting) of the whole process, script coverage now occupies a completely different
Screenwriter and director Dee Rees’ debut feature film PARIAH was met with positive critical acclaim and since then, her Emmy Award-winning HBO series BESSIE and her feature film MUDBOUND have impressed both audiences and critics alike. Here are 15 of the best Dee Rees quotes to inspire all screenwriters and filmmakers….
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
Cinematic Scenes of People, Arguing and/or Laughing It sounds like a dull writing exercise. Put your characters in a room and see what happens, arguing or laughing. But here are 10 great, cinematic scenes that prove being stuck in one room doesn’t have to mean being stuck in a boring
31 Writing Lessons From Iconic Author Kurt Vonnegut With his deceptively simple prose style, novelist, playwright and essayist Kurt Vonnegut, jr. (1922 – 2007) bridged sci-fi and literary fiction. Novels like Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat’s Cradle and Breakfast of Champions didn’t exactly open readers to new worlds as new ways of thinking. Perhaps this is why
15 Edgar Wright Quotes for Screenwriters & Filmmakers Edgar Wright quotes aren’t hard to find: the celebrated writer-director is as open about his process, inspiration and influences as any Hollywood director in the business. A master Genre-Blender (see our article: “What species of screenwriter are you?”), Wright has made his
Alongside an eclectic filmography that includes vampires in NEAR DARK, surfing in POINT BREAK, and war in THE HURT LOCKER (though as yet fails to combine them), Kathryn Bigelow is the first (and, as of yet, only) woman to win either an Oscar or a BAFTA for Best Director. Her
15 John Carpenter Quotes Writers & Filmmakers Can Learn From John Carpenter entered film wanting to make cowboy films. He claims that horror as a genre found him, not the other way round. Ironically, though, his enormous career hasn’t featured a single feature length cowboy film, with Carpenter establishing himself as a “brand”
Defiance is a Rule to Live By Screenwriting often runs the risk of turning into plate-spinning – following narrative rules; trying to appeal to an audience; trying to appeal to a producer; trying to be original; trying to meet genre expectations (but not too much); pandering to multiple outside opinions
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 techniques. These may well be films you’ve seen; it’s just that some of them might not have left you desperate
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; but some goals are more easily conveyed than others. Convincing an audience to root for a character fighting an evil
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 backdrop on which to stage the events of your story? A static playground, conveying only time and place? Or can
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 II, THE CONVERSATION, and APOCALYPSE NOW all before reaching the age of 40. Nowadays, largely satisfied with his Hollywood filmography,
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 filmmakers and storytellers the film industry has ever seen. “There are many talented people who haven’t fulfilled their dreams because
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. Of course, it’s easy to pick out flaws in retrospect or to credit (or blame) the writer for something that
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 incidents come in all shapes and sizes, so you should try to think of something clever, inspirational or at least interesting
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 directed over sixty films and documentaries, most of which he also wrote, and directed 170 plays. His most well-known films
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