Pitching & Selling · 1 min

Video: Comedy Writing & Pitching

When your movie has Will Ferrell attached, you got yourself a go picture and you don't really need to convince anyone that it works. Still, Adam McKay…

Software Reviews · 5 min

App Review v.3.0

Cherie Lee gets her nerd on and reviews all thing screen and app related. With 100's of new apps added every day, she ploughs through 1,000's…

MM on Monday · 6 min

Cinematic Storytelling (8)

Here’s a scene from a script by our good friend Pat who participated in almost every study on our blog. When I posted Write the Shots, Pat…

Best of the Web · 1 min

Best o/t Web 21 Nov

:: "I don't have any good ideas" :: Video interviews with John Ford :: Four basic functions for monologues :: Writer emerges from cave with new script :: The most overused…

Pitching & Selling · 5 min

How To Write For An A-List Actor (3)

A question I always like to ask people in the know is, “What kind of character should you write to give yourself the best chance to…

Story & Structure · 6 min

No Passive Protagonist!

Jack Brislee shatters some of the screenwriting principles the gurus so passionately advocate. First he introduces us to the rule, then explains how it has been…

Video · 1 min

Video: Chris Nolan

"You wanna try and show character THROUGH action, you wanna try and show character through story, psychology through story. For me story always comes first." -Christopher…

MM on Monday · 4 min

Cinematic Storytelling (7)

Here's a scene taken from the completely visual screenplay written by a longtime friend, Bob Thielke. This writer found himself so inspired by Jennifer van Sijll's…

Best of the Web · 1 min

Best o/t Web 14 Nov

:: Did Harry Potter really steal all these story ideas? :: Hitchcock’s storyboards from 13 classic films :: An upbeat noir? :: What's next for Edgar Wright's "Blood and Ice…

Pitching & Selling · 8 min

How To Write For An A-List Actor (2)

A question I always like to ask people in the know is, “What kind of character should you write to give yourself the best chance to…

MM on Monday · 5 min

Cinematic Storytelling (6)

Here’s a sequence from Robert Towne’s Chinatown, a script that really deserves no introduction. This is my favorite sequence in this script in terms of screenwriting…

Best of the Web · 1 min

Best o/t Web 7 Nov

:: Back To The Future, Bollywood style! :: 13 lucky tips for pitching :: Cut a character, save a scene :: Top spec script deals :: How can you tell if…

Pitching & Selling · 4 min

How To Write For An A-List Actor

A question I always like to ask people in the know is, “What kind of character should you write to give yourself the best chance to…

Story & Structure · 1 min

Video: JJ Abrams About Myth Making

In this short video, JJ Abrams talks about how to tap into an audience, mixing genres and (without calling it so) myth. He explains how he…

MM on Monday · 7 min

Cinematic Storytelling (5)

First, the opening scene from Hampton Fancher’s Blade Runner. He never used “we see” or camera angles, but his writing clearly implies with a Secondary Heading…