Story & Structure · 4 min

The Story Plan (1)

What’s the story? That’s the first thing anyone asks a writer and it is, unquestionably, seen as the province that the screenwriter rules over in the…

Logline It! · 3 min

The Judges – Circalit Loglines (3)

In this section we are publishing the loglines from the participants of the Circalit / Story Department "First Draft Script Contest". Our judges have reviewed the…

Video · 1 min

Video: Maurice Sendak

Maurice Sendak is the man behind the story and illustrations of Where The Wild Things Are. The 2009 movie version may not have achieved much but…

Story & Structure · 6 min

Touch of Evil and the Hero problem

I have liked Touch of Evil since before it became fashionable in 1998, at the time of its rerelease. Recently I watched it again with some…

Video · 2 min

Video: Steven Spielberg

For most of my life, Steven Spielberg has been my favorite filmmaker. He has just re-won my heart with The Adventures of Tintin and in this…

Story & Structure · 3 min

Thank you Spielberg! Today I’m proud to be a (half) Belgian.

Thanks to Paramount Pictures, the Belgian ambassador in Australia and my friend Nathalie Surmont, I had the privilege of seeing Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin one day…

Story & Structure · 4 min

Unity of Action (3)

At the end of Act Two of Die Hard, John McClane is effectively faced with his own self (note the shot composition and what he is…

Logline It! · 3 min

The Judges – Circalit Loglines (2)

Recently we ran the First Draft Contest with our friends of Circalit in the UK. Weekly on Thursdays we publish the loglines from participants of the…

Video · 1 min

Video: John August Talks About Breaking Convention

I've become a fan of John August's SCRIPT NOTES. Admittedly, it's very much a chat among men-who've-made-it but August, like no other pro, is enormously generous…

Best of the Web · 2 min

Best Of The Web – Now via Twitter

If you were missing our weekly Best o/t Web, I'm afraid in this instance we'll have to blame Google. We had set up a great workflow that…

Story & Structure · 4 min

Unity of Action (2)

Breaking the principle of unity of action is a directorial decision, not a writer’s one. For one reason or another a director may decide it prudent…

Logline It! · 5 min

The Judges – Circalit Loglines (1)

The Judges are back! Recently we ran the First Draft Contest with our friends of Circalit in the UK. Weekly on Thursdays we publish the loglines…

Story & Structure · 4 min

Unity of Action

Often discussions about taste in film boil down to subjectivity. But, however broad a definition of good or bad may be, there are commonalities to most…

Best of the Web · 1 min

Best o/t Web 30 Oct

Story & Structure :: Procedural-plus shows :: Seth Gorden's tips for making a good R-rated comedy :: Perfectly flawed Script Perfection :: Screenwriting Tips: Suicidal characters :: Writing between the lines…

Best of the Web · 1 min

Best o/t Web 16 Oct

Story & Structure :: What went wrong: The Ideas of March [spoiler alert] :: Narrative structure cheat sheet Script Perfection :: Screenwriting Tips: Show, don't tell | Flashbacks :: Resources for…