So you’re currently preparing to write your next script. And it’s a drama. I have some advice for you. Don’t do it. Stay away. Avoid the drama spec at all costs. Why? There are tons of reasons. But let me break down some of the big ones for you. Drama specs don’t sell. Or, at [...]
Genre: Sci-fi Premise: (from IMDB) A veteran assigned to extract Earth’s remaining resources begins to question what he knows about his mission and himself. About: While this draft was written by “The Departed” screenwriter William Monahan, Monahan didn’t seem to make the final cut when the credits were given out. The writer doing the revisions [...]
Forrest Gump may be one of the biggest anomalies in the history of moviemaking. There’s nothing here to indicate it should’ve worked besides, maybe, Tom Hanks. As a story, it goes against pretty much every rule out there. There is no goal. There are no obstacles. There’s no urgency. No real stakes to speak of. [...]
Can an Evil Dead update turn what was only a cult hit into a bona fide box office success? Genre: Horror Premise: (from imdb) Five friends head to a remote cabin, where the discovery of a Book of the Dead leads them to unwittingly summon up demons living in the nearby woods. The evil presence [...]
Here we go again! This is your chance to discuss the week’s amateur scripts, offered originally in the Scriptshadow newsletter. The primary goal for this discussion is to find out which script(s) is the best candidate for a future Amateur Friday review. The secondary goal is to keep things positive in the comments with constructive [...]
Today’s writer shows us how approaching a subject matter from an angle that’s never been done before can make your script instantly interesting. 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, [...]
So in last week’s newsletter, I sent out 5 amateur comedies to the Scriptshadow community to choose from for an Amateur Friday review. You can see these loglines discussed in the Amateur Offerings post here. The overall consensus was not good. People didn’t like what they saw. And keep in mind, these were the BEST [...]
Every day writers give up on their dreams. What can The Imperfectionist teach us about minimizing that possibility? Genre: Comedy/Drama Premise: (my best interpretation of it) A loser husband lies to his adoring mother, telling her he sold a manuscript. When the lie spreads beyond the family, he plays along, not realizing the devastating effects [...]
You may remember Trainspotting as one of those 90s movies that was changing the guard in Hollywood. Writer-directors Tarantino and Rodriquez were rewriting the rules on how stories should be told. Screenwriters like Shane Black were changing the way screenplays were written. And then this British heroin-addict flick came along and landed perfectly within that [...]
We don’t get to talk about the action spec much, which means today’s review is going to be an education on the matter… Genre: Action Premise: (from IMDB) Disgraced former Presidential guard Mike Banning finds himself trapped inside the White House in the wake of a terrorist attack; using his inside knowledge, Banning works with [...]
Welcome back! This is your chance to discuss the week’s amateur scripts, offered originally in the Scriptshadow newsletter. The primary goal for this discussion is to find out which script(s) is the best candidate for a future Amateur Friday review. The secondary goal is to keep things positive in the comments with constructive criticism. Below [...]
His last script surprised the amateur community and got a producer attached. Is his latest script even better? 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 [...]
I remember sitting in front of my computer six years ago and thinking, “What now?” I felt helpless. I felt lost. I felt blind. I’d been trying to break into this business known as “screenwriting” for years and I didn’t feel any closer now than I did when I started. I’m sure all of you [...]
Is it possible we’ve dusted off a forgotten screenplay that deserves to be made? Read on to find out! Genre: Drama Premise: A down on his luck U.S.-Mexican border agent enlists in a scheme to help illegal aliens cross into America. But when he tries to pull out, he puts himself and his family in [...]
Ghostbusters has one of the best comedy movie hooks ever. Dudes. Busting ghosts. It makes me nostalgic for the days of the high concept comedy. Nowadays, we’re inundated with all these low-concept comedies. A guy and a girl having relationship troubles? Welcome to the next big comedy starring Paul Rudd and Reese Witherspoon: THE RELATIONSHIP! [...]
Oz’s big box office take was a bit of a surprise. Let’s see if we can’t figure out why it did well. Genre: Fantasy/Adventure Premise: (from IMDB) A small-time magician arrives in an enchanted land and is forced to decide if he will be a good man or a great one. About: “Oz The Great [...]
Here we go again! Welcome to Amateur Offerings Weekend :) This is your chance to discuss the week’s amateur scripts, offered originally in the Scriptshadow newsletter. The primary goal for this discussion is to find out which script(s) is the best candidate for a future Amateur Friday review. The secondary goal is to keep things [...]
Its logline got a lot of people excited last week. So why am I being a party pooper and having so much trouble with it? 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 [...]
I remember first hearing about the Sequence Method. I was appalled. It sounded like a math equation. And since art should never be boiled down to a set of variables, I was insulted. In order for art to be successful, it needs to come from that subconscious place from within – that place that emotes, [...]
Today we take a look at a script from the man responsible for the darker, edgier Daredevil reboot. Not surprisingly, the script is a bit of a daredevil itself. Genre: Drama Premise: A story that follows a dozen different seedy characters in New York City during one of its sleaziest decades, the 1980s. About: This [...]
