I was in the process of reading a screenplay for a consultation a few days ago when the writer e-mailed me with a new draft that contained a couple of minor scene changes. If I hadn’t already started reading his screenplay, he asked, could I please read this new version instead? This happens a lot. […]

Genre: Horror Premise: When Ellen, the matriarch of the Graham family, passes away, her daughter’s family begins to unravel cryptic and increasingly terrifying secrets about their ancestry. About: Billed “The scariest movie of the year!” Hereditary comes out this weekend. It made waves after a few festival screenings, with many coming away saying that we’d […]

Genre: Buddy Cop? Premise: (from Black List) A rogue cop suffers a gunshot wound in 1987 and wakes from a coma thirty years later, where he is partnered with a mild- mannered progressive detective – his son. About: Former real-life cop Will Beall burst onto the scene in 2009 with the highly touted spec, “L.A. […]

Genre: Thriller Premise: After a young woman is left for dead in the desert by three men, she hunts them down one by one. About: Writer-director Coralie Fargeat’s surprising first film is generating a lot of conversation. Is it a “synthesis of exploitation and feminism,” like New York Times film critic A.O. Scott labels it? […]

DIALOGUE WEEK IS HERE! – All this week, I’ve been breaking down dialogue scenes from the movies you love. Monday’s Dialogue Post is here. Tuesday’s post is here. And yesterday’s post is here. If you want to go to dialogue school, check out Training Day. It’s basically a 120 minute dialogue scene. Which brings us […]