Top 5 Aaron Sorkin Screenwriting Tips From His Reddit AMA
The Internet has many interesting, strange rabbit holes. And Reddit -- the user-curated social network -- is just one of them. Reddit, in case you're not familiar, is like the Star Wars cantina -- only scarier. (There weren't many Russian spambots next to Greedo.) But...
How Script Analysis Actually (Frickin’) Works
There may be no more confusing concept in screenwriting – aside from why people keep giving Adam Sandler the chance to make movies – then that of script analysis. Does script analysis relate to close study of a screenplay by a screenwriter to better learn the form and...
5 Things Every Screenwriter Can Learn From the Original Star Wars
It's hard to say anything NEW about the most famous/profitable/legacy-building science-fiction story of all time, Star Wars. And though George Lucas is revered as a filmmaker -- and action-figure guru -- he's not always appreciated for his merits as a screenwriter,...
5 Horror Screenwriting Hacks Every Writer Can Steal (Borrow) From “The Wolf Man”
The Wolf Man from 1941 represents not only Universal Studios at the height of its classic horror period, but its a film that literally "wrote the book" on werewolf lore. (There ain't no "silver bullets" and "full moon" wolf-y stuff without this movie.) And though The...
Are Screenplay Contests a Total F&$#in Ripoff?
In this edition of "Screenwriting Q&A" we tackle that most vexing and controversial of topics: are screenplay contests a great way to boost your career...or a total waste of frickin' money. Find out the surprising answer about screenplay contests below. (And if...
Screenwriting Q&A: What Do Ya Do If You Can’t Finish Your Screenplay?
In this edition of Screenwriting Q&A we cover that most perilous issue: what do you do if you just can't (no matter what you do) finish your screenplay? The screenwriting gurus will tell you that you GOTTA finish every script you start. (But this isn't always the...
4 Things Every Screenwriter Can Learn (Steal) From “Ghostbusters”
Originally conceived as a side project for Dan Aykroyd and his SNL castmate John Belushi - that would have been awkward - "Ghostbusters" was the most commercially successful comedy of the 1980s. But its commercial success obscures that this film is a smart, focused...
The Screenwriting Process of an Oscar Winner
Dustin Lance Black is not only an Oscar-winning screenwriter ("Milk"), but he's also one of the few film scribes who can articulate his screenwriting process in a way screenwriting newbies can understand. (And hopefully emulate.) Now, as Black explains in the video,...
How to Get Screenplay Agents to Read Your Damn Script
Getting screenplay agents (or their receptionist) to return your call is hard enough...but how do you get them to read your script. (Or even possibly buy the damn thing.) Here are 7 film-industry insiders offering their most sage-like advice on how to get screenplay...
5 Screenwriting Hacks You Can Steal From Buster Keaton
Everybody knows Buster Keaton was a silent-film legend - and a genius at physical comedy. But can this Charlie Chaplin rival - and master of Vaudeville performance - actually teach us anything about screenwriting? (Especially since he SO MUCH of his work was in the...