Tales of evil spirits and witches existed long before the invention of the written word, let alone the invention of cinema. Horror is a well-tread genre, with strong antecedents in …
A blank page. A blinking cursor. Text: right-aligned. Font: courier new. FADE IN: Every movie, and therefore every screenplay, has transitions. Every change in time is a transition; every scene …
Feeling exhausted from writing? Struggling to tap into the imagination you once had? Questioning going back to the job you earned your college degree for because your parents are on …
He’s one of the biggest directors in Hollywood and a giant of the comedy world. So we take a look at 15 Adam McKay quotes in order to get an …
What does it take to write one of the best screenplays ever written? You’re probably already familiar with the key elements that constitute a cohesive and compelling screenplay. A basic …
What are the most common screenwriting mistakes that a screenwriter will likely make? What mistakes will be all too familiar to screenplay readers and development executives? Some mistakes are forgivable …
What are Scene Prompts? Scene prompts are there to help writers get their creative juices flowing. Say a screenwriter finds themselves stuck during a script, unsure of how to add …
Writing your first screenplay is an exciting but daunting challenge. You have so many great ideas in your head but don’t know how to correctly write them down to create …
Everyone who has an interest in movies has probably tried to analyze a film at least once. Maybe you analyzed films for your own pleasure or maybe you needed to …
He’s one of the most charismatic contemporary American directors; someone who manages to craft intriguing and intimate stories with big stars attached. But what makes David O. Russell tick creatively? …
Short stories can seem like unlikely source material for some of the best and most compelling feature films. They may be limited in their length but often it’s the confines …
This latest iteration of our long-running Insider Interviews series is with William Nicholson, the prolific screenwriter behind such hits as Gladiator, Shadowlands, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Breathe, amongst many …
Comedy writer, director and actor Ricky Gervais has been bracing our screens since the early 2000s. Often outspoken and straight-talking, Gervais has conquered the comedy genre with his broad array …
What is a MacGuffin? A MacGuffin is a type of plot device that is essential to driving the plot but not necessarily important within the story as a whole. Story …
Rejection is inevitable. To live is to face rejection. Whether it’s rejection from a potential employer, from friends or an unreciprocated love. Everyone has to deal with rejection of some sort. …
Where do you start with Aaron Sorkin? His screenplays are the best way to get to know why he is so revered as a screenwriter. However, we’ve compiled some Aaron …
With films like When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail, Nora Ephron became creative queen of the rom-com, reinventing the genre and creating films that audiences …
We are able to identify the distinct writing styles of our favorite screenwriters. Styles that make us love their stories. Quentin Tarantino‘s masterful monologues. Aaron Sorkin‘s long sequences of quick-paced …
Every screenwriter needs advice. Put simply, a career won’t progress without listening and taking heed of the right advice. Writers advice can be easy to find. But great advice, well …
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 …
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 …
How many times have you heard someone describe a film as “it’s something meets something”? Unoriginal, or the keys to producers’ bank vaults? Industrial Scripts examines how to improve …
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