by John Bucher (@johnkbucher) Some of the most impactful themes in film and television revolve around an encounter with “The Other.” Often representing something else than what is obvious on screen, “Others” are what we fear, what we are curious about, and what we long to understand. When “The Other” is the protagonist, our story often... Continue Reading →
Do Your Screenplays Ask the Big Questions?
by Fin Wheeler The world was rocked this week when America suffered its worst mass shooting in modern history. Worse still was the news that the Orlando shooting was only one of six mass shootings in the US that weekend. In the past 1,000 days, America has had 1,260 mass shootings in which four or... Continue Reading →
Pixar Storytelling: Writing Multi-Layered Stories
by Angela Bourassa Dean Movshovitz, a screenwriter and speaker, has written a new book that delves into the secrets of Pixar's screenwriting magic. The book, Pixar Storytelling: Rules for Effective Storytelling Based on Pixar's Greatest Films, is a fun, useful read. At just 122 pages, you can digest the whole thing in a weekend and be... Continue Reading →
3 Hidden Tools of Comedy: Lessons from Steve Kaplan’s Comedy Intensive
by Angela Bourassa Several weeks ago I had the chance to attend Steve Kaplan’s Comedy Intensive in LA. For those of you who don’t know, Steve is considered the guru of comedy. He has studied comedy for decades, and along the way he has taught at UCLA, NYU, and Yale while also consulting for such... Continue Reading →
Diablo Cody’s Diagonal Path to Screenwriting
by Fin Wheeler For most people, the only thing they know -- the only thing they feel they need to know -- about the screenwriter who calls herself Diablo Cody is that she’s a former stripper who won an Oscar for her debut screenplay. But there’s so much more to her than that… Brook Busey-Maurio,... Continue Reading →
Screenwriter Profile: Tom McCarthy
The Writer: Tom McCarthy is a successful writer, director, and actor. He is the creative force behind Spotlight, which he both co-wrote and directed. He's been nominated for three Oscars -- one for directing Spotlight, another for writing it, and one for developing the story for Up. Credits: Spotlight (written by) - 2015 The Cobbler... Continue Reading →
Screenwriter Profile: Abi Morgan
The Writer: Abi Morgan has had some of the biggest dramatic hits of the last five years with her scripts for Shame, Suffragette, and The Iron Lady. These days, the British writer spends much of her time executive producing River, a UK drama that she created and has written every episode of. She got her start... Continue Reading →
BUILDING FRANKENSTEIN: 5 Materials for Constructing Character
by John Bucher (@johnkbucher) The ability to construct an interesting character can make or break a story. The two most popular methods are taking a very ordinary person and thrusting them into an extraordinary world, like was done in 13 Hours, or taking a very extraordinary person and thrusting them into the ordinary world, like was done... Continue Reading →
The 2015 Black List
The 2015 Black List was posted yesterday. Take a look at the most popular unproduced scripts of the last year, as voted on by agents, managers, and production companies. Note the kinds of big ideas that stand out to people in the industry. The winning script this year is the story of Michael Jackson as... Continue Reading →
5 Lessons from Last Year’s Best Original Screenplay Noms
by John Bucher (@johnkbucher) Oscar season is upon us. Studios are putting their best foot forward in attempts to woo voters with the finest stories they have to offer. While it’s tempting to begin guessing what films will be selected for next year’s highest honors, it’s worth taking a look back at the original scripts that rose... Continue Reading →