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How to Tell If Your Script Sucks
Spring is here, and you know what that means – many a young screenwriter’s heart will soon turn to thoughts of contest success. by The Single Screenwriter Any moment now newbie writers will start...
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The First Rule Of Screenwriting: Strong Concept
Last month I broke a record for the year. I saw three movies at the cinema that I truly enjoyed (and I only watched three). One of these three failed spectacularly at the box office: the Australian...
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Online Logline
Karel Segers and Nir Shelter will be reviewing loglines online in a live webinar for members, from 11am until 12.30pm on Saturday morning (Eastern Australian Time, or 7pm EST / 4pm PT Friday...
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What You Can Learn From The Avatar Screenplay
There is a moment in every screenplay, where the main character moves from Act One into Act Two. ‘Moves’, because in successful films, this is a moment where we travel from A to B. In screenwriting...
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Stop Making Sense, Screenwriters!
The pitch has come to an end, without any expression of interest. But then, the producer looks up at he screenwriter again, asking: “So, what else have you got?” It may have happened to you – or not....
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Hitchcock’s POV Says You’re A Psycho
Over half a century on, Psycho is a tremendous inspiration to low budget filmmakers, as Hitchcock shot the film on a shoestring budget of under a million dollars. Admittedly, to generate the marketing...
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Theme In Glengarry Glen Ross’ Inciting Incident
The theme of Glengarry Glen Ross is implied in this powerful inciting incident, where Baldwin’s character challenges the film’s anti-heroes with a deadline. The post Theme In Glengarry Glen Ross’...
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TV Series Structure: Better Call Saul S01E01
Initially, Better Call Saul was going to be a comedy spin-off for Breaking Bad fans. Then, creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould claimed they were going to do something entirely different and new....
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Welles’ Touch of Evil: He Was Some Kind Of Man
After Touch Of Evil‘s European premiere at the World Expo ’58, Les Cahiers du Cinema labeled Orson Welles’ film noir an ‘instant classic’. For years, it has been my favourite piece of pure cinema. My...
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Hero’s Journey In The Wire
The Wire has a Hero’s Journey, in case you missed it. It is also the one TV show I keep going back to. The HBO production first aired in June 2002, and since then, the show won a large following of...
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What Makes A GREAT Character [and it’s not what you think].
How to create a great character. The holy grail for the beginning screenwriter. Yet, when you listen to the gurus, it sounds so simple. Once you have a few scripts under your belt, you will realise...
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Kuleshov In The Parallax View [You Don’t Really Want To Watch]
Some claim the 70’s was the best decade for film. I agree. The decade of Jaws and Star Wars was also that of Chinatown, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Alien. It was the time of the smart...
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Logline It! [The Art Of Writing Great Loglines]
I find there is one really easy way to tell whether someone understands story or not. Can they write a logline? I am not saying that writing a logline gives you the ability to write great scripts, but...
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Screenwriting Basics [Story’s Holy Trinity]
Many teachers and writers have tried to capture the screenwriting basics. Unhappy with most of them, I boiled them down to a simplicity I have not seen anywhere else. This is mostly analytical. So...
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Whiplash [Were You Rushing Or Were You Dragging?]
Whiplash is one of the lowest grossing movies ever to be nominated for Best Picture. Totally unfair, if you ask me. It is a brilliant picture. It beats many winners over recent years. But hey, that’s...
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Wanted: Creative Inspiration [Babies Don’t Come From Babies]
About his creative inspiration, Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett once said “Babies don’t come from babies.” He meant that the greatest music doesn’t come from studying other great music. He is no longer...
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4 Questions For Writers [Make a difference]
Today, Seth Godin posted four “Simple Questions For Writers”. Godin usually blogs about marketing, business culture, and what he calls ‘art’ (doing your job as your ‘bliss’). He is a prolific writer...
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Charlie Kaufman Masterclass In Sweden
Nakedly sincere, Charlie Kaufman presents us with a strikingly insightful masterclass on writing without a formula, the responsibilities of a film-maker and the art of failing. Although diffident and...
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Beau Willimon, Writer Out Of Necessity
Beau Willimon is a powder keg of clean-cut realism, childlike curiosity and sharp wit. During his Bafta speech, Willimon covers political writing, research in everyday life and the importance of...
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The Force Awakens – Screenplay Analysis
THE FORCE AWAKENS – LOGLINE: An orphaned scavenger and a cowardly defector become the unlikely guardians of the location of Luke Skywalker, the last Jedi alive and the last hope for the Republic to...
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