Logline It! · 5 min

Logline it! – Black List – Week 10

Writing loglines is an essential skill for screenwriters, from early development through to the pitch. In this section, we review the loglines and short synopses of…

Movie Reviews · 2 min

Mini Review – Oblivion

Oblivion  Mercifully Short Review by Jonathan Empson Earth has been devastated while fighting off alien invaders, and the human race has decamped to Titan. A few…

Movie Reviews · 2 min

Mini Review – Warm Bodies

Warm bodies  Mercifully Short Review by Jonathan Empson Bad title, good premise: the zombie apocalypse from a zombie’s point of view. R – that’s as much…

Story & Structure · 1 min

[Video]: Neill Blomkamp’s Empty Universe

Auteur filmmaker Neill Blomkamp - writer/director of the upcoming futuristic action drama Elysium and the hugely successful District 9 - has a knack for writing powerful,…

Script Perfection · 3 min

The Most Common Dialogue Errors In Screenplays

After decades in the biz, I see the same dialogue errors over and over again. Don't make these mistakes. by David Trottier 1. Obvious exposition. Husband:…

Story & Structure · 6 min

Why You Should Steer Clear Of Dual Protagonists

When I see beginning writers trying to wrangle two (or more) protagonists, first I frown. Soon after, I mostly cringe. Yet, some of the greatest movies…

Best of the Web · 2 min

Best of the Web 7 April

Story & Structure :: How to Write a Screenplay in 9 (Not So Easy) Steps :: Creating a Screenplay Narrative in the Absolute Present Tense ::…

Logline It! · 4 min

Logline it! – Black List 2012 – Week 9

Writing loglines is an essential skill for screenwriters, from early development through to the pitch. In this section, we review the loglines and short synopses of…

Story & Structure · 1 min

[Video]: JJ Abrams Time Interview

Jeffrey Jacob Abrams, the rapidly ascending writer-director-producer and one-time protege to Spielberg, is probably better known simply as 'JJ'. In an interview with Time Magazine, he…

Story & Structure · 5 min

Show, Don’t Tell

There’s an old adage in screenwriting — show, don’t tell. If there’s a key character trait, event, or setting that the audience needs to know about, provide…

Best of the Web · 2 min

Best of the Web 31 Mar

Story & Structure :: Missing – Compelling Characters :: Zero Dark Thirty Screenplay Analysis :: Screenplay Review: Olympus Has Fallen :: Plot=Character=Story — The Magick Formula…

Stuff · 10 min

Ozzywood to Hollywood – 3

Hello. Yes, it has been a while I know, slack of me but I guarantee this will be one of the best, most honest reads you’ll…

Movie Reviews · 2 min

Mini Review – Hyde Park on Hudson

Hyde Park on Hudson  Mercifully Short Review by Jonathan Empson  Daisy (Laura Linney) is a distant poor relation of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (Bill Murray). She’s…

Logline It! · 5 min

Logline it! – Black List 2012 – Week 8

Writing loglines is an essential skill for screenwriters, from early development through to the pitch. In this section, we review the loglines and short synopses of…

Story & Structure · 1 min

[Video]: Lena Dunham’s Crystal Ball

Twenty-six year old Lena Dunham has written, directed and produced a number of short films, her own highly successful feature (Tiny Furniture), and is currently the…