OPINION: Beginning With A Bang
Importance of Beginning With A Bang One of the most over-stated maxims when it comes to screenplays and screenwriting lies in the importance of the first ten pages. Not only …
All Articles
Browse over 700 blog posts on every area of screenwriting you can imagine.
Use the search bar, category breakdowns and tag clouds in the sidebar to find the topic you’re interested in, and then dive in!
We hope you enjoy them!
These are the Only Screenwriting Tips Worth Keeping
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 …
The Agony of Screenwriting Success
Screenwriting Success Hurts Some years ago I wrote a film that eventually I called ALBATROSS and subsequently it has been my own private albatross. I was incredibly fortunate. A series of …
Hossein Amini Interview Series Launches…
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 …
10 Fee-Charging Screenwriting Contests, their Likely Profits and Prestige
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
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 …
10 Hollywood Films Made from British IP
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” …
Genius Hitchcock Decisions at Screenplay Stage
What hasn’t been written about Hitchcock already? From Francois Truffaut and Raymond Durgnat, to every casual message board user on IMDb, great swathes of humankind have discussed at length the …
10 Reasons Every Writer Should Explore The BBC Writers Room
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 Hierarchy of an Executive’s Script Pile
A couple of months ago I had a friend round for dinner who just so happens to be the Head of Development at one of the best TV companies around. In …
Lessons From Timing the Death Sequence in PREDATOR
Way back when… For much of the 80’s and into the 90’s, “Schwarzenegger” was a byword for a movie with a high body count. The box office was peppered with …
The Top 8 Crowdfunding Pitch Movies on Indiegogo
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 …
5 Bits of Famous Writing Advice You Should Ignore
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 …
Script Coverage Templates & Samples for Download
What is Script Coverage? Whether you’re a screenwriter or a director, a producer or a distributor, a financier or a development executive, script coverage is something that the lion’s share …
Unheralded Scene: WEST OF MEMPHIS (2012)
Unheralded Scene: WEST OF MEMPHIS (2012) In our “Unheralded Scene” series, our consultants nominate a classic film or TV scene, which in their view hasn’t received the admiration it …
Unheralded Scene: TOGETHERNESS (2015)
Unheralded Scene: TOGETHERNESS (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 …
Unheralded Scene: DECONSTRUCTING HARRY (1997)
Unheralded Scene: DECONSTRUCTING HARRY (1997) 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 …
Unheralded Scene: THE FISHER KING (1991)
Unheralded Scene: THE FISHER KING (1991) In our “Unheralded Scene” series, our consultants nominate a classic film or TV scene, which in their view hasn’t received the admiration it …
Unheralded Scene: NOTES ON A SCANDAL (2006)
Unheralded Scene: NOTES ON A SCANDAL (2006) In our “Unheralded Scene” series, our consultants nominate a classic film or TV scene, which in their view hasn’t received the admiration …
Unheralded Scene: PI (1998)
Unheralded Scene: PI (1998) 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 …
Unheralded Scene: RUNNING ON EMPTY (1988)
Unheralded Scene: RUNNING ON EMPTY (1988) 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 …
Unheralded Scene: O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000)
Unheralded Scene: O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? (2000) In our “Unheralded Scene” series, our consultants nominate a classic film or TV scene, which in their view hasn’t received the admiration …
Unheralded Scene: THE MACHINE (2013)
Unheralded Scene: THE MACHINE (2013) 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 …
Unheralded Scene: GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997)
Unheralded Scene: GOOD WILL HUNTING (1997) In our “Unheralded Scene” series, our consultants nominate a classic film or TV scene, which in their view hasn’t received the admiration it …
Unheralded Scene: PULP FICTION (1994)
Unheralded Scene: PULP FICTION (1994) 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 …
Unheralded Scene: BOILER ROOM (2000)
Unheralded Scene: BOILER ROOM (2000) 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. …
The Film Producer Salary & A Pocket Full of Dollars
Let’s be blunt about it: the financial outlook isn’t great for Film Producers at the moment. A Film Producer Salary is firmly not what it once was… I remember the …
Unheralded Scene: THE GODFATHER (1972)
Unheralded Scene: THE GODFATHER (1972) 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 …
Unheralded Scene: FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998)
Unheralded Scene: FEAR & LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS (1998) In our “Unheralded Scene” series, our consultants nominate a classic film or TV scene, which in their view hasn’t received the admiration …
Unheralded Scene: GATTACA (1997)
Unheralded Scene: GATTACA (1997) 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 …
Unheralded Scene: THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
Unheralded Scene: THE WILD BUNCH (1969) 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. …
Unheralded Scene: LORD OF WAR (2005)
Unheralded Scene: LORD OF WAR (2005) 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. …
12 Things Screenwriters Can Learn from Musicals
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 …
15 Great Scorsese Quotes on Storytelling
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 …
Cutting Out the Middle Man in Film Distribution
The Berlin International Film Festival was distinctly different this year. Sure, there was the typical melee of execs taking pictures around remnants of the Berlin Wall. And yes, as per …
The Smell of Fear in LA
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 …
9 Observations about Aaron Sorkin’s THE NEWSROOM
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 …
My Pain At Being “Replaced” as a Screenwriter
Being “Replaced” A couple of years ago, I became that person: a replaced screenwriter. It was a screenplay I dearly loved and had put my heart and soul into and, …
Swerving Development Hell in the New Dawn of Crowdfunding
Welcome and hello to the thousands of you who visit the IS website every week. By way of an introduction, I’m Miranda Fleming, and I’m thrilled to be starting this …
31 Screenwriting Books You MUST Own
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 …
10 Signs That You, My Friend, Are A Writer…
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 …
Script Reader Jobs: Your Complete Guide
Like it or lump it, the role of the industry script reader is becoming increasingly important in film and TV. With the volume of scripts increasing year-on-year, the challenge for …
How to Write a Screenplay: Your 30-Step Guide
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 …
Read It And Weep
“Will you read my script for me?” Gah. Five words to strike fear into the heart of anyone with eyes. As a former Development Exec, it’s something I hear an …
30 Quotes about Screenwriting from A-List Directors & Actors
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 …
Five Screenwriting Rules You Can Break and Five You Can’t
Even the notion of screenwriting rules gets some people into a serious tizz, and it’s this controversial topic I want to explore this week. I’ve spent the last three weeks …
The Brit List Scripts 2014
The Brit List Scripts 2014 The votes are in for the Brit List Scripts 2014! Out of the 140 scripts that were submitted, 34 scripts made the cut. For a …
Why Women Screenwriters should Stop Moaning and Just WIN
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 …
My Search for a Screenwriting Truth
In Screenwriting, the truth matters… Today we’re going to talk about The Truth. Not this sort of truth. Or this. Or even this. We’re going to talk about the kind …
What I’ve Learnt about Screenwriting: Part I, The Idea
What I’ve Learnt about Screenwriting: Part 1, The Idea So I’ve been doing this for a while now, and for some reason I feel a powerful, hubristic, intimations-of-mortality urge to …