A series featuring reflections on writing from the famed author’s memoir.
I had not read Stephen King’s memoir On Writing for several years when it occurred to me to do so again. …
Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:
After a first pass, it’s time to crack open the script for a deeper analysis and you can do that by creating a scene-by-scene breakdown. …
As I’ve been interviewing screenwriters, I typically ask what some of their influences are. One book title comes up over and over again: Aristotle’s “Poetics.” I confess I’ve never read the entire thing, only bits and pieces. So I thought, why not do a daily series to provide a structure…
Advice from the writer-director of such notable moves as Double Indeminty, Some Like It Hot, and The Apartment.
Outstanding Screenplays with a new video compilation featuring the revered filmmaker Billy Wilder. His writing credits include Double Indemnity, Sunset Blvd., Some Like It Hot, and The Apartment.
Consider this video…
Screenplay by John Lee Hancock, book by Michael Lewis
The movie version of the opening:
You may read the screenplay here.
FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY!
Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from the classic era to contemporary times. Comparing them is an excellent way to study a variety of writing styles and see how professional writers start a story.
For more Page One posts, go here.
It can motivate… debilitate… or take a long time to see its meaning.
Recently, I posted some reflections on this reader question: How insane is it for a 46 year-old to try to start a Hollywood writing career? It generated quite a bit of interest online and in comments.
One…
The practice of reading scripts is critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. One key to this practice is to work with a scene-by-scene breakdown of the script.
Here is my take on this exercise from a previous series of posts — How To Read A Screenplay:
After a first…
As I’ve been interviewing screenwriters, I typically ask what some of their influences are. One book title comes up over and over again: Aristotle’s “Poetics.” I confess I’ve never read the entire thing, only bits and pieces. So I thought, why not do a daily series to provide a structure…
A conversation with the writer whose credits include Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and the upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series (Amazon).
A new podcast featuring screenwriters on writing debuted this month: How I Write. Here is the latest episode with award-winning TV writer Gennifer Hutchison (@GennHutchison) whose credits include Breaking Bad, The Strain, Better Call Saul, and the new Amazon Lord of the Rings series.
For more How I Write podcasts on Spotify, go here.
For 100s more interviews with screenwriters, TV writers, writer-producers, and filmmakers, go here.
Written by Zach Dean
The movie version of the opening:
We see this a LOT: The script has a soft open (e.g., mini-van, suburbs) while the movie has a hard open (e.g., action, military). If it’s an action movie, this is an editorial choice that makes sense: Give the audience a taste of what’s to come. It also buys the story time to set up key characters and get some exposition out of the way.
You may read the screenplay here.
FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY!
Page One is a daily Go Into The Story series featuring the first page of notable movie scripts from the classic era to contemporary times. Comparing them is an excellent way to study a variety of writing styles and see how professional writers start a story.
For more Page One posts, go here.
