From structure to content to representation to industry trends, this is the place to discuss, share content and offer tips and advice on the craft and business of screenwriting
Hi everyone,
I just finished my new feature-length Sci-Fi/Horror screenplay titled "THE GLOW", inspired by a vivid, subconscious dream. It’s a high-concept, contained survival thriller with strong body horror elements.
Logline: During a sudden apocalypse where anyone who looks at a mysterious yellow-r...
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I tested my logline by carrying it around on paper and pitching it out loud to waiters, people in line at the coffee house, and random strangers on the street—whoever would listen!
By testing it on real people, two questions kept coming back: Is JJ still alive? and What did Hazel actually do? Those q...
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That's a great idea, @Heather! The logline is the first thing or one of the first things I come up with in the outline. I try out different protagonists, inciting incidents, etc. in the logline to see...
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I'm posting this about the pickle I found myself in. I helped this guy from africa, he's a Zambian writer and filmmaker, and I helped him with his script and wished him luck with it and just a few days ago I got an email from him asking to help him and be an agent or manager and act as representatio...
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Mike Boas I don't know.
If you listen to the show, my prizewinning script, DYING TO LOVE YOU, was featured on the three-page challenge. The Hacks co-creators were the guest stars, which was pretty cool. Even better, they didn't tear it apart!
I think novelists and essayists tend to be taught more about the art of writing. In screenwriting, I've learned a lot about structuring and developing the character and world of your screenplay over the past several years, but I've been taught practically nothing outside of that on the actual craft...
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Tamara, I've learned to write dialog so that it's no more than six lines long...and if a character has to give a speech, I break it up with action lines. (Anything to help those who read the script......
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Screenplays in a genre you don't like can be very instructive. I almost never watch (or read) rom-coms, but I gave When Harry met Sally a read and had several screenwriting epiphanies.
I use five and three/four
As long as it makes sense, that's all the matters.
How I Write a Scene
One thing I’ve learned about my writing process is that I don’t always begin with dialogue or even words.
I begin with the scene.
I close my eyes and visualize it like I’m watching a film:
Where are the characters?
What are they doing?
What do they see?
What changes during the scene?
Wha...
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Maurice Vaughan Thank you, Maurice! That’s exactly how I like to develop my stories as well — I first visualize the scene in my mind as if I’m watching the film, and then I translate that vision into...
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Nicolas Lavoie Absolutely. I agree that every scene needs a clear purpose. When I visualize a scene, I also try to understand what needs to happen emotionally and narratively before moving forward. Kn...
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Jim Boston I really like that approach. I also find it helpful to work out the scenes before writing the full script. Having the scene list gives me a clear roadmap of where the story is going, and wh...
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Tomas, I like how you think! Great post you've come up with!
You're welcome, Tomás Daniel. I also visualize the trailer. It helps me think of scenes and ideas for the script.
I recently emailed a producer who I met via Stage 32. Checking his IMDb page (which he suggested I do) proved he was legit (although to be honest, his background really isn't in my genre), but that's neither here nor there.
Anyway, he filled me in what I'd need to do in order to work with him -- aft...
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Not how it works. Scam.
It appears the Nigerian Prince has branched out into faux-film making. Your so-called producer is a complete fraud.
I had a similar approach a while back from a person pretending to be someone else with an impressive imdb page. The words 'facilitation fee' and 'reimburse' can be roughly translated to 'scam'.
The scammer appears to have stolen the name of a legit producer. If possible, tell the legit producer that there has been an identity theft. So the legit producer can tell the police.
Three People. One Mission. One Last Chance.
Three people, three different lives, and one common goal: to finally make their lives mean something.
Ethan Bennett, Tom Hayes, and Jake Wilson have nothing in common. Each of them has grown up through their own struggles, carrying a different past and a dif...
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Hello screenwriters, I'm stepping into low-budget filmmaking, and I want to learn from your experience. What genres (or genre combinations) do you find most complex to pull off on a tight budget, and what makes them so challenging? I'm looking to avoid the pitfalls before I start, so your honest takes would be invaluable.
Oh, that spaceship thriller example gave me a few new ideas! Thank you for this perspective Luke Kelly-Clyne.
Movie in a room. Difficult to keep the interest. Most movies like that are boring.
Dwayne, feel welcome to DM me.
When it comes to using a few million dollars for a movie. Here in Europe that is the ordinary situation, not a low budget alternative. And that includes the money spent o...
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Mainly one room films don't have to be boring: 12 Angry Men, Rope, Misery, The Hateful Eight.
Yes Eric, some people have the talent to write movies in one room, but it is not very common. So I avoid it, even though I have written one act plays, with everything in the same room.
I wrote screenplays in my twenties. A 126-page ensemble drama set over one day in Santa Monica, because that's what everyone was writing in 2008 and I have never once been early to anything. A psychological thriller with a detective, a partner, and letters written in red ink. Neither got made. Both...
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Well, you definitely completed the first step. Congrats! At least you aren't blaming someone else. But what would I know? Even though I wasn't here for your initial visit, welcome back.
Period dramas are having a serious moment — Death by Lightning debuted as Netflix's #1 show globally, and The Gilded Age just pulled in 5 million viewers for its season 3 finale. If you've got a historical fiction TV concept you've been wanting to develop, there's never been a better time to get it...
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I am so excited to teach this lab once again! I actually have two historical fiction projects that I developed with Stage 32 writers I met in labs. One of them is moving forward now which is very exciting! I am really looking forward to stepping into all of your exciting worlds!
Looking forward...
I have three. 18th century “US” colonists; 17th century Scotland; 1980s spy/crime world. Oops - four. - first century Rome + present.
Headline:
DARK BLOOD — Fantasy Feature Film
Post:
I’m currently developing DARK BLOOD, a fantasy mystery feature film.
Centuries ago, wizards and magicians lived together in peace — until the birth of a girl whose existence would eventually divide them.
Her mother hides the truth about her for years, but...
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Good. A popular type of tail. Memnun oldum.
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