News · 1 min
PUPPY: First Ozzy Indie on BluRay
Australia has its first independent feature film on BluRay and it's Kieran Galvin's PUPPY, which I worked on as a co-producer (and a couple of other…
The Journal
Vol. 17 · 1,240 entries
25 August 2026
Quote of the day
Take what’s useful, argue with the rest.
Vol. 17
Script Perfection · 3 min
The (Necessary) Evil of Dialogue
Zinneman called it a 'necessary evil' and wordsmith par excellence David Mamet says: "A good film script should be able to do completely without dialogue." I…
Stuff · 9 min
That Mid-Point Thing
Following UNK's publication of his post on The Mid Point and to the benefit of the students in a recent HERO'S JOURNEY workshop, I have updated…
Post Series · 6 min
Structure: Jaws
A structural overview of Jaws (Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb, Novel by Peter Benchley 1975) Steven Spielberg first drew me into movies with Close Encounters of the…
Structure Analysis · 12 min
Structure: Raiders of the Lost Ark
The first film of the Indiana Jones quadrilogy was created by Spielberg and Lucas, two of the greatest filmmakers of their generation, and offers a timeless…
Structure Analysis · 6 min
Structure: Iron Man
A structural overview of Iron Man (Mark Fergus, Hawk Ostby, Art Marcum, Matt Holloway 2008). Not just a great comic book adaptation and an exciting action…
Post Series · 3 min
Arcs and Endings (3)
In a Q&A for Creative Screenwriting Magazine, Michael Arndt made the point that "happy endings are really underrated". It got me thinking. What's wrong with a…
Structure Analysis · 6 min
Structure: A Room With a View
A structural overview of A Room with a View (Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, 1985). Without any doubt, this is one of the finest literary adaptations and a…
Script Check · 2 min
Checklist: 10 Ways To Create An Active Protagonist
Struggling with a passive protagonist? Let's look into what causes this passivity. Remember, a hero is not 'active' because he is always running, fighting, arguing etc.…
Post Series · 3 min
POV: When to Shift?
Because the first shift of POV in a film may jolt the audience's experience, it works best where this brief 'disconnection' doesn't hurt the story: after…
Post Series · 4 min
Arcs and Endings (2)
Should you write a happy ending? Commercial common sense will tell you: yes, you should. Robert McKee says: "Tell the truth." (see the previous post) McKee…
Post Series · 2 min
Arcs and Endings (1)
The finest writing not only reveals true character, but arcs or changes to that inner nature, for better or worse. In 1998 McKee signed my first…
Story & Structure · 1 min
Structural Overviews: Why?
Right after learning the principles of structure, it will be hard to apply them to your own work immediately. Better is to consolidate your understanding by…
Structure Analysis · 5 min
Structure: Shawshank Redemption
A structural overview of The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994). It was nominated for seven Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Actor (Morgan Freeman), Best Adapted Screenplay,…