A little while back, I was reading a murder-mystery consultation script. The opening scene covered the murder our detectives would spend the next 100 pages trying to solve. Teaser scenes tell me a lot about a writer. Their construction is such that you can have a lot of fun with them, almost make them into […]

Today’s script is one of the darkest dramas I’ve ever read. Genre: Drama Premise: (from Black List) A Black amateur bodybuilder struggles to find human connection in this exploration of celebrity and violence. About: Elijah Bynum got a couple of great actors to act in his debut film, Hot Summer Nights: Maika Monroe and Timothee […]

Today I discuss one of the most advanced topics in all of screenwriting – SHIFTING REALITY! Week 0 (concept) Week 1 (outline) Week 2 (first act) Week 3 (first half of second act) Week 4 (second half second act) Week 5 (third act) Week 6 (evaluate your first draft) Week 7 (rewrite plan of attack) […]

It’s funny how we see the past through the lens of entertainment. We remember it as this perfect place where only the greatest movies and television were produced. Ask any old timer what they think of movies today and you’ll get a 30 minute monologue about how great the 70s were. “Back then it was […]

As you continue to battle through the rewrite of your AMATEUR COMEDY SHOWDOWN script, I thought to myself, how can I help these writers make their script funnier? That got me thinking about yesterday’s script review and the concept of SITUATIONS. Here’s how I defined situations in that review… A situation, in screenwriting terms, is […]