Screenwriting

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

I don’t know them by name, but every screenwriter behind every sci-fi movie I’ve watched has shaped my sci-fi mind in some way, and I’m very grateful to all of them.

Love Lucas and his vision.

Ben Trebilcook - so great to see you!!! You have a hell of a list here. I’m a fan of Bong Joon Ho as a writer. What are you writing these days?

Pals from yesteryear!! Love Boon Joon Ho! I’ve got so many scripts, Amanda! I’ve a female cop UK cop show with Fox Ent. HBO liked it a lot. Two small Films next year; an actioner and a wilderness thriller. Am in the midst of a degree. Ugh. I’ll message you! Keep well, dear friend xx

I have. I'm thinking of bumping him up to 6.

It's just an exercise for myself. Middle of the night, 4 year old, monster on the stairs thing.

I'm using it mostly to practice writing from a child's perspective. I struggle writing kids under a certain age point. They're very... Flat plug in type kid characters. I need to work on it.

I suggest watching YouTube videos of kids talking and doing things, Elle Bolan. And I suggest keeping the kid's height in mind when writing the script.

I feel like I should be able to write them. I have 6 grandkids. But it's a hard point of view for me. I don't know why. So, practice and listen. I'll try YouTube. See if I just need a wider example for variety.

Amazing!!

I’m so excited for this! Huge shout out to Geoff for putting it together!

You're welcome, Tony Sterago. Here are some of the free webinars: www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Stage-32-and-Netflix-Partnered-Up-o...

Tony, honestly, I also don’t have the ability to buy expensive courses.

If you have motivation, a well-structured self-study plan can replace almost everything.

Here’s what helped me the most:

One book I read:

Paul Guyot — “Kill the Dog.”

It answered so many questions about what screenwriting is really about.

A study plan using AI.

I use ChatGPT to:

– break down scenes

– practice dialogue

– get feedback

– rewrite fragments

– analyze structure

This way you can build your own “mentorship” without any budget.

Read produced screenplays.

They’re legally available online, and they’re the best textbook you can have.

Write scenes every day.

Even small ones — half a page.

It builds the craft faster than anything else.

You don’t need $500 videos.

You just need consistency and patience.

Wishing you strength on your path — you can absolutely do this.

thank you so much for the encouragement and thoughtful words. I have been using chat GBT To help me, Break down the scenes and also help with world building. It has been invaluable I agree with you It does help a lot. I guess my insecurities are just showing Because I don't know if I'm asking the right questions I don't know If the way I flush out my characters Is more of a ttrpg (table top role-playing games) Character creation Or if The writer in me character creation. I'm doing pretty much everything everyone has suggested so far it just feels like I'm doing it in the dark with a flashlight that's batteries are dying. I guess I would just feel better if there was somebody over my shoulder saying you're asking the right questions you're doing the right things in the right ways. but again thank you so very much for the thoughtful words they meant a lot and I'll keep plugging away the way I am. if you don't mind can I add you to my network?

Tony, thank you for your message — and absolutely, feel free to add me to your network.

I’d be happy to stay in touch and discuss things as we both keep learning. I’m a beginner too, just sitting on a little hill with a notebook, looking down at the big city of screenwriters and trying to understand its streets. So we’re both figuring this out step by step.

And honestly — the feeling of “working in the dark with a dying flashlight” is normal. Let’s keep going. One scene at a time.

Tony Sterago hi Tony, Stage 32 is the worldwide leader and entertainment industry education. You will not find better education online anywhere. Take the time to go through our education catalog, we have plenty of free webinars and webcasts in the catalog that you can watch. Definitely make sure that you are getting your training directly from top level sources. We only work with the top people who are making the films and television that we watch today. Just go to education on your top menu bar and you can view our whole catalogue. We have over 3000 hours of education in our partners with Netflix, the can Film Festival, AFM, and over 50 Film commissions worldwide.

What does the WGA have to do with anything? Who gives a flying rodent's rump what they think? Prices on everything are already sky high. Do you think any faction of the film industry would ever lower them? CGI should be in such an advanced state that prices should be at their lowest levels. SAG is also responsible for over-pricing their actors. How can Scarlet Johansson be worth $25M to be in Jurassic World: Rebirth or RDJ reportedly getting $75M to play Dr. Doom? those are insane fees that should never have been agreed to. OH, but the WGA demands the merger be blocked. SHUT UP! The film industry allows imaginations to run free and bring to life visions that would not normally find a voice, but it is run by some of the dumbest, greediest, insanely incompetent people on the planet that love to not only shoot themselves in the foot but they love to make sure that they empty the whole magazine into their legs so that they can never walk again.

Pat Alexander To block a merger or acquisition, there first needs to be a legitimate legal basis — often some form of antitrust or national security concern. WBD apparently mismanaged itself into financial distress. Once a company is effectively in bankruptcy, the sharks start circling.

Apparently, potential buyers have been narrowed to Netflix, Comcast, and Paramount. I thought Bezos was in the mix.

If I were WBD, I would boot out whoever dragged the company into the abyss and bring in a team that specializes in navigating failing companies back to sound financial condition. I just can't imagine the logic or rationale of selling, in some cases, 100-year-old IP assets.

WBD’s business spans various lines, which suggests that most potential buyers are likely considering only certain parts — either those that integrate into their current business model or those that stand a chance of not exceeding the 30% market share threshold for antitrust considerations:

It takes a special type incompetence to mismanage an entity of this sort unless of course its a deliberately engineered distress to kill or break it off.

Streaming / Direct-to-Consumer

[HBO Max, HBO, Discovery+, CNN TV app, Warner TV, CW Seed (FAST channels), Pam Grier's Soul Flix (FAST channel)]

Film & TV Production / Studios

[Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures Animation, New Line Cinema, DC Comics / DC Studios, Warner Bros. Television Group]

Cable & Linear Entertainment Networks

[TNT, TBS, Turner Classic Movies (TCM), CNN, CNN en Español, HLN, Warner TV, Boomerang, Adult Swim, Cartoon Network, Cartoonito, TruTV, Cinemax, TVN, Space, Boing, Discovery Family, Discovery Channel, Science Channel, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery (ID), TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Oprah Winfrey Network, Magnolia Network, Cooking Channel, Travel Channel, Destination America, American Heroes Channel, DMAX, Giallo, Frisbee, K2, Nove, Canal 9, Discovery Familia, Hogar de HGTV, Pogo, Tooncast]

Sports

[TNT Sports, Eurosport, Golf Digest]

Unscripted / Lifestyle / Reality

[Discovery Channel, Discovery+, TLC, HGTV, Food Network, Cooking Channel, Magnolia Network, Travel Channel, Destination America, American Heroes Channel, Animal Planet, Discovery Life, Discovery Familia, DMAX, Quest, Quest Red, Space, Giallo, Frisbee, K2, Nove, Canal 9, Boomerang, Pogo, Tooncast]

Interactive / Gaming

[Warner Bros. Games (Avalanche Software, NetherRealm Studios, Portkey Games, Rocksteady Studios, TT Games, TT Fusion, Traveller's Tales, WB Games Boston, WB Games Montreal, WB Games New York, WB Games San Francisco)]

I agree with the WGA that the merger would be harmful to the industry — just listen to recent episodes of The Town for specifics — but proving it illegal is a challenge. Plus, you would need the government to block it, and other mergers have gone through just fine in recent years.

Alternately, I wouldn’t want WB to go to Skydance/Paramount either.

We’ve already seen the worst when Warner merged with Discovery. All long term moves to maintain or build brands were shoved aside in favor of short term gains like tax breaks. Now it’s rearranged into pieces and being sold off. If another studio buys WB, any identity its components have will be watered down or disintegrated.

If you want to see what has happened to Turner Classic Movies behind the scenes, see the excellent “TCM Wine Club” video from Patrick Willems.

The Death of the TCM Wine Club

https://youtu.be/4Bq8aNRCwts?si=0aKCEL5uSycrvbq_

(It’s not just about wine.)

Roth Rind - I agree with you, I want to understand how this would eliminate jobs, etc. I appreciate where the WGA is coming from but it’s a blanket statement.

Congrats to all the finalists!

So honored to have my script Hey, Girlie! as a finalist! Good luck and congrats to the other finalists as well!

Hey, Girlie! is a female driven action thriller comedy centered within the world of multi-level marketing.

Really delighted to have my screenplay MORGAN’S WAKE make it to finalist! My congratulations to all the other writers, I’m on a list with some very talented people.

And my congratulations to all the semi finalists & quarterfinalist too! Everyone who submitted!

Congratulations to all the finalists.

Congratulations everyone!

Congratulations Debbie Seagle

... I could go on and on why. But the simple answer is "Yes, it does look bad, and completally unacceptable." Somethimes I feel the movie industry lives in an alternate universe!

congratulations

You should be paid first day. It is your work that is being filmed. Without the writer there is nothing to film.

Thank you Screenwriters! Yes Mike Boas I'm getting back end points, and co-directing (with an experienced director). But not getting paid as a director. Maybe I should just remove the "Screenwriter" category from the budget ...or ... add in $5,000?

Thanks Maurice Vaughan , means a lot and so am I.

You're welcome, Marie Hatten.

I don't know anything about contemporary pitch practices. I've been on both sides of the table (writer & producer) during the past half century but none recently. The only advice I offer is to relax, be pleasant, know your stuff. There were few stuffed shirts and empty headed folk in the industry then - I'm not sure about today.

To Marie Hatten - who's your audience?

Wow everyone! Thanks for continuing the conversation. I was out of the loop for a few days with work pulling at me. I love ALL of these responses so much!

Patrick Koepke ". It's education disguised as daydreaming." Exactly! I love to do this with my students to get them out of their own heads and gets them into creative mode :)

When a Karte kula instructor's life-threatening medical condition becomes untreatable, she and her father embark on a desperate leap in time to a magical 1985 planet. There, the only cure—an ultra-powerful, reality-altering flower, fiercely protected by a famous Australian singer , accompanied by a sidekick, forcing them into a battle of fate, music and magic where failure means losing everything.

Sounds interesting, Gilad Riv! Do you want some feedback on your logline?

sure do you mind the pitch as well?

I'm not sure what you mean, Gilad Riv.

I think your logline could be tightened up some, Gilad Riv. Here’s a logline template that might help: After/when ______ (the inciting incident/event that sets the plot in motion), a _______ (the main flaw the protagonist has to overcome in the script or an adjective that describes the protagonist’s personality) _______ (the protagonist’s job/career/role) tries to/attempts to/fights to/struggles to/strives to/sets out to/fights/battles/engages in/competes/etc. _______ (goal of story and try to add the obstacles here) to/so/in order to ________ (stakes).

The inciting incident can also be at the end of the logline: A _______ (the main flaw the protagonist has to overcome in the script or an adjective that describes the protagonist’s personality) _______ (the protagonist’s job/career/role) tries to/attempts to/fights to/struggles to/strives to/sets out to/fights/battles/engages in/competes/etc. _______ (goal of story and try to add the obstacles here) to/so/in order to ________ (stakes) after/when ______ (the inciting incident/event that sets the plot in motion).

Loglines are one or two sentences. A one-sentence logline sounds better, and it takes less time for a producer, director, etc. to read it. Try to keep your logline to 35 words or less. Long loglines can make producers, directors, etc. pass on a project.

Avoid using “must” in loglines. “Must” usually means the protagonist is forced to do whatever they need to do in the story instead of doing it willingly. You might need to use “must” in a logline though, like when the protagonist is forced by another character to do something. Using “must” to choose between two options is fine.

Names in loglines are usually for biopics, well-known stories, and franchises (like Mission: Impossible).

Sometimes I put the location and date that the story takes place in instead of the inciting incident if it’s a Period Piece script.

All stories don’t follow this logline template. Biopics, documentaries, and Experimental scripts might not follow the template. The series logline for a TV show can follow this template, but the pilot logline and episode loglines for the show might not.

Not sure if thus is the right form to respond. Vaughn I am looking at How to Navigate Stage32 webinar. Digging into the Writer's Room to find sample scripts and writer resources. Most interesting, the webcast with insights from executive behind new thriller-twist on the Nuremberg trial.

That's great, Shirley Collier. I'll have to check out that webcast. Thanks. I need to check out some other webcasts in the Writers' Room too. And I'm a Stage 32 Lounge Moderator. If you ever have any questions about Stage 32 or navigating it, let me or another Lounge Moderator know. We have badges on our pictures. Or you could email support@stage32.com.

Thank you @Juliana Philippi. You are right.

Hello Maurice Vaughan, hope you're enjoying the weekend. Finalizing a couple of series bibles, turning outlines into pitch decks, and exploring potential collaborations for upcoming projects, hoping to finish before the month ends.

Hey, Dwayne Williams 2. Hope you're enjoying the weekend too. Congratulations on getting close to finishing the series bibles! I'm rooting for you to finish everything before the year ends!

Hi, Nicholas J. Benson. Stage 32 has a webinar called "Your Definitive Legal Guide to Shopping, Option and Attachment Agreements - With an In Depth 32-Page Resource Sheet." www.stage32.com/education/products/your-definitive-legal-guide-to-shoppi...

Options are whatever you agree is fair. So it boils down to what you're comfortable with. I think most important is to have a term (1 year or less) and upfront money for you, with deferred amount to be paid out as soon the film is financed.

Stephen knows as he has done this.