We recently received a script that required a complete rewrite. The screenplay was not up to scratch when it came to the use of language, grammar and needed some extensive work from a formatting perspective. The script was essentially an
Getting Down to Business (for 3 Hours)
Corey Mandell begins one of the most extensive and approachable interviews ever conducted for the excellent resource on screenwriting that is Film Courage, by asserting that it is easier now than it has ever been to find someone looking to
Contextual Anthropomorphism in Screenwriting
Characters who don’t have the benefit of the spoken word must be anthropomorphized visually, but how was Chuck Jones capable of anthropomorphizing a straight line. It has no eyes. No body to contort, gesture with or express posture. A line
All Is Lost – One of the Shortest Scripts Ever Sold
All Is Lost, which chronicles the harrowing fight for survival of a veteran mariner left adrift after his vessel collides with a stray shipping container, rode what is for a Hollywood film, a distinctively simple premise to extraordinary acclaim. The
Screenwriting Wisdom from Pat Verducci
UCLA Professor Pat Verducci, renowned for her work as a writing coach and story consultant, gave a full hour and 40 minutes of her time to answer questions about the writing process for Film Courage. Over the course of the
The Object of Desire
If one of the most basic attributes to compelling storytelling is conflict, forces standing in opposition to the protagonist, this demands that the protagonist have a motivation or goal that can be challenged. A state, achievement, character or object that
How Chris Columbus Launched the Harry Potter Movies
With each film in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series earning less than the last, it seems that Warner Bros. has managed to squander the potential of the Wizarding World, previously one of their most successful properties.
Mike Mills on Writing the Deeply Personal C’mon C’mon
The films of Mike Mills (including Beginnings and 20th Century Women) are marked by a tenderness and sensitivity that produce a rare effect: His characters are recognised as full human beings, each trying to make their way through life to
Movie Characters Writers Should Know According to Eric Edson
At California State University, Eric Edson, one of the most informative screenwriting professors presents extensive lectures concerning what he defines as the 14 character types, with a helpful PowerPoint to boot. When we speak of character types here, these are
Paul Thomas Anderson Never Start with Just a Blank Page
The blank page is one of the most common, and one of the most daunting challenges of a writer. Setting out on a new project, with nothing but an empty space and the desire to fill it, can be crushing