Good Will Hunting has some of the best backstory integration ever in a script. Backstory. It’s essential to every screenplay. Yet so few writers understand how to apply it. Some choke their screenplays with so much backstory, their story suffocates and passes out. While others add so little, it’s like their characters were born the [...]
Genre: Supernatural Drama Premise: Set during the Depression, a widow and her son are visited by a strange man who may have the ability to communicate with the dead. About: This is the writer’s breakthrough screenplay. Before this, he was one of the writers on the HBO show, “In Treatment.” He’s repped over at CAA. [...]
Genre: Romantic Con-edy Premise: A con man teams up with a con woman, but when he falls for her, he must decide which is more important, her or the con. About: This is the directing team behind “Crazy Stupid Love.” They used to be purely writers but look to now be focusing on their directing [...]
Genre: Drama Premise: A strange cult kidnaps a girl from a small town and uses a local radio talk show to promote their twisted beliefs. About: This is the duo who wrote one of my favorite scripts from last year, “When The Streetlights Go On” (finished #2 on last year’s Black List). Not sure if [...]
So because I’m in LA this week running around like a crazy person, there won’t be any reviews. Well, maybe I’ll have an Amateur Friday review but it’ll depend on time. I’ll try to post bite-sized chunks of content in the mean time and I’ll start with a little background detailing The Disciple Program sale. [...]
This is a re-post of the original Disciple Program review that I posted on February 24th because….The Disciple Program just sold! With Mark Wahlberg and Morten Tyldum attached, an awesome new director who directed a film called “Headhunters” (google for the trailer). Congrats to Tyler. I know he had higher offers out there but his [...]
You will not be the same after reading this screenplay. NEW Amateur Friday Submission Process: To submit your script for an Amateur Review, send in a PDF of your script, a PDF of the first ten pages of your script, your title, genre, logline, and finally, why I should read your script. Use my submission [...]
LEVEL 10!!! Back when I taught tennis, there was something called a NTRP Rating. To this day I have no idea what NTRP stands for, but its purpose was legitimate. It ranked players on a 7 point scale. So a player with a solid forehand, decent backhand, and consistent serve in the 80s, might be [...]
Genre: Rom-ComPremise: A young woman who keeps important items from her previous relationships decides to start a museum featuring those items, turning her into a mini-celebrity.About: This script finished in the middle of the pack of last year’s Black List.Writer: Natalie KrinskyDetails: 110 pages – May 17, 2011 draft (This is an early draft of [...]
Thank you everybody who sent in Llewyn Davis reviews. I had a wonderful time reading them and there were a lot of good ones. BUT I really liked this one by Alexander Gillies, whose passion for the Coens and knowledge of film history won me over. Really good review! I’ll be back with a new [...]
I just want to apologize for today, and really, the next two weeks. As I gear up for the LA trip and then actually go there, my posts are probably going to be late. But I’m going to bust my ass to get them up as soon as possible, so I’m still hustling! Anyway, better [...]
NEW Amateur Friday Submission Process: To submit your script for an Amateur Review, send in a PDF of your script, a PDF of the first ten pages of your script, your title, genre, logline, and finally, why I should read your script. Use my submission address please: Carsonreeves3@gmail.com. Your script and “first ten” will be [...]
I read way too many boring scripts. And the thing is, the whole time I’m thinking, “Aww man, if they had just done this or done that, the script would be so much better.” I want to reach through the screen and correct their mistakes for them. But I can’t. And that’s what’s the most [...]
Can an actor jump into the screenwriting world without a hitch? Past experience tells me no. But today’s actor may break the mold. Genre: CrimePremise: Two brothers go on a bank-robbing spree in rural Texas with a determined near-retired Texas Ranger on their tail.About: This script sold just a few weeks ago! The writer, Taylor [...]
They attached, they waffled, they attached again, they waffled, and now, finally, Leo and Martin are back together again with The Wolf Of Wall Street. A day off for me but this review is pretty darn good, so I don’t feel so bad. I actually read the book “The Wolf Of Wall Street” a long [...]
Today’s screenplay proves you can only hide for so long before something comes for you and makes you do something you don’t want to do… Genre: Contained HorrorPremise: A family lives in a nuclear fallout shelter, hiding from a deadly race of mutated humans known only as, the breathers. About: This is a script that’s [...]
Will I still choose amateur zombie scripts after today’s review? Read on to find out. NEW Amateur Friday Submission Process: To submit your script for an Amateur Review, send in a PDF of your script, a PDF of the first ten pages of your script, your title, genre, logline, and finally, why I should read [...]
One thing I believe I’ve done a fairly good job of on the site is reinforce the value of structure. You guys understand the inciting incident. You understand where the first act turn needs to be. You understand goals, stakes, and urgency. Some of the more advanced writers understand obstacles and conflict. All of these [...]
For all you child prodigies out there desperate for a movie that conveys your pain, I’ve found just the screenplay for you! Genre: DramaPremise: A child prodigy goes to extreme lengths to save his parents’ troubled marriage, which has imploded because of him.About: This is written by Ed Solomon, who wrote the first Men In [...]
Waiting for Roger to send me this review was like watching paint dry. The great thing about me, though, is that I don’t wait for paint to dry before painting again. So I was about to start writing a pretend review for a phantom script titled, “Oxley’s Mittens.” It was going to be about this [...]
