John and Craig look at four films from the past and discuss how we could make them today.
In preparation for our live show with screenwriter Lawrence Kasdan, we’re re-running this episode from the Scriptnotes archive.
Split screens aren’t always spelled out in scripts, but you can get the idea across.
You don’t have to know everything about your story and characters before you begin. Discovery is the best part of the writing process.
Over the next two weeks, you’ll notice a bit of deja vu at this site: old articles suddenly popping up on the front page, with new dates and old comments. It’s not a technical glitch. I’m putting the site into reruns while I’m out of the country and off the grid. I’m going to Africa […]
There’s no shortcut around becoming a “screenwriter” to becoming a “script doctor.”
There is definitely room in the film universe for a uber-geek movie, be it a thriller, a drama, a comedy or whatever.
Eventually, you learn that you can’t depend on strangers for validation.
Predictability in structure does not necessarily doom the story to boredom or sameness.
Suggestions for saving paper, your money and the environment.
One of the suggestions from the survey was to highlight previous articles from the archives. I agreed, because (a) the readership has grown quite a bit recently, and (b) the archives are kind of daunting right now. So, every once in a while, I’ll be pulling old articles up to the front — generally entries […]
Rejoice and learn from the suckiness. Their low standards make your great script all the more unusual.
The differences between craft services and catering and who to go to when one isn’t up to par.
