Archive for the 'Genres' Category
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On the physics of space battles
Joseph Shoer looks at some of the uncomfortable science behind these science-fiction mainstays:
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Seven writer’s rules for survival in animation
Useful suggestions for screenwriters working on their first animated feature
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Zombie-class situations
Zombies are more than the walking dead. They’re a useful paradigm for a range of common scenarios in many genres.
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Making Christian movies
Is it a good idea to focus on making a movie for Christian audiences?
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“No signal” is the new air duct
This compilation clip demonstrates what a hoary cliché it has become to explain why movie characters can’t use their cell phones.
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Groundhog Day and Unexplained Magic
An observation made halfway through a five-hour meeting in Beijing: in the movie Groundhog Day, it is never explained why Bill Murray’s character is stuck in a time loop.
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Setting is not story
An LA Times article about the island of Pagasa makes a great case study in the difference between an interesting setting and an actual movie idea.
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82
Challenge results
We’ve got a winner and a slew of honorable mentions in the Superheroic Scene Challenge.
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22
Playing to the core
Brian Lowry cautions against [taking Comic-Con buzz too seriously.
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67
Now that’s a gunfight
I’m busy working on Preacher, and it’s no spoiler to say that it features a gunfight or two. Last night, I twittered to ask what people’s favorite gunfights were, Western or otherwise.
I got a lot of replies, but one name that kept coming up was Michael Mann. He consistently finds ways to send thousands [...]
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How much does a short story earn in a magazine?
I really had no idea what people were getting paid for short stories, so I asked Matt to dig up some numbers.
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35
What does “execution dependent” mean?
What makes one high-concept idea more execution-dependent than another?
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38
You only have to destroy the Death Star
Your hero doesn’t have to fix The Big World Problem by the time the end credits roll.
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Should I write a straight-to-DVD knockoff?
Don’t turn up your nose to actual paid writing for a company that makes movies.
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Tony Gilroy in The New Yorker
The New Yorker has a terrific piece about screenwriter-director Tony Gilroy.
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50
Pride and Predator
Traditional period costume drama + alien crash landing = the definition of high concept.
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26
Are animated specs worth the time?
Short answer: yes. But be realistic about the chance of it getting made.
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25
Scripting a short film
A short film, like a short story, can’t waste any time. Here’s what to include, and what to leave out.
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The History Boys
A writer can get away with quite a few things on stage that are tough to pull off in movies.
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Her least favorite mistake
An episode of Grey’s Anatomy might have the same title as your spec. That’s not even close to being plagiarism.
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34
Should I write a novel or a script?
If you’re looking to put your story out into the world, paper beats film, hands down.
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The perils of coincidence
The big villain in Spider-Man 3 was a plague of coincidence. Here’s how they could have avoided it.
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The great big list of fictional diseases
The Motaba virus sounds bad, but the cure — heavy doses of Dustin Hoffman — is arguably worse.
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Is the Slamdance script competition a bad idea?
No. But getting a movie made is worth a lot more than any award.
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Chicago: The Musical. No, not that one.
I spent a few days in Chicago to see the workshop of my friends’ new musical, Asphalt Beach. And then I wrote a play.
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28
Depression on film
You rarely see clinical depression in movies and TV, despite being much more common in real life than, say, retrograde amnesia.
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What if my movie is too much like another?
In all likelihood, it’s not — you just think it is.
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Can Dracula’s son get a book deal?
The vast majority of memoirs are written by vain, delusional nutjobs, so there’s no reason you shouldn’t be entitled to your six-figure advance.
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Vampires are the imaginary numbers of modern literature
You’ve never met an undead blood-sucker, and neither have I. Yet we can both agree on quite a few characteristics of these non-existent beings.
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Making the geek movie
There is definitely room in the film universe for a uber-geek movie, be it a thriller, a drama, a comedy or whatever.
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How many drafts does it take?
This “knowing when it’s done” sense only develops with experience.
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79
Inciting Incident: Koo Koo Roo edition
I want to know that no one’s hurt, but even more, I want to know what the hell I saw.
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No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!
A useful guide to super-villainy.
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To Do: Destroy the world
It’s surprisingly difficult for any villain — even a powerful alien race — to actually destroy the planet.
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Blind man’s point of view
Welcome to the world of experimental film, where you invite mocking simply based on hubris.
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Getting stuck in a genre
The right genre is the one that will actually get you to fire up your word processor, rather than surf the internet.
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Genres and structures
Nail down characters, tone and action come before plot and structure.
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Western’s out?
Yes. So write one.

