15 Great Alfred Hitchcock Quotes
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 …
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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 …
This guide (updated for 2021) 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 obviously …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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, …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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; …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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 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 …
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 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 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
It goes without saying that reading a script does not have the same sensory effect on a human being as watching a film or TV show. That’s because there are …
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 …
We all know that most good characters undergo some kind of change over the course of their story. Whether it’s a change in perspective, circumstance or goal, WE as the …
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 …
In a giant sea of screenwriting tips and advice, where does one begin? It’s almost as bad as dieting these days. Cranberries are bad for you. No, scrap that, we’ve …
You’ve rewritten, redrafted, typed ‘Fade Out’ more times than you can count. You’re finally satisfied that your script, the one you’ve poured months maybe even years into writing, is finished. …
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 …
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” …
What is the BBC Writers Room? Writing may be a solitary task and, frankly, that’s often one of the things that appeals to those of us who do it, but …
The crowdfunding pitch film is the campaign’s secret weapon. The pitch film sits at the forefront of your ask for the crowd to fund you. The pitch film literally should …
You’re no stranger to getting advice if you’re a writer. Thousands of books, hundreds of films, and even entire college majors have been dedicated to the art of honing the …
12 Things Screenwriters Can Learn from Musicals I recently ventured from my comfortable world of screenwriting into completely new territory. No, I’m not acting– I’m working on a stage musical. The process …
Scorsese and Storytelling Martin Scorsese needs little introduction. The visionary director behind a lengthy list of iconic films from Taxi Driver to Raging Bull, Goodfellas, and through to The Wolf of Wall Street has inspired generations …
THE NEWSROOM This post started as a tweet, developed into a Facebook status and is now finding full expression as a blog post. recently I finished, in a double-bill, The …
When I say “screenwriting books you MUST own”, I’ll be honest: the MUST is for effect. You don’t have to do anything, particularly buying screenwriting books in such volume that …
Do These Signs Match Your Habits? Someone tells a tragic family story that has taken them years to open up about and you unwittingly shout “DIBS ON THAT” the second …
So – you want to learn how to write a screenplay. You think about it constantly. Whenever you watch a movie you annoy your friends, going on about how you …
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 …
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