Screenwriting how-to quotes are incredibly helpful for both inexperienced and experienced writers alike. We find out how other writers work, and maybe we pick up a few new tips-and-tricks. Everyone can benefit from adding more tools to their writing toolbox.
Writing advice abounds in Hollywood—but the best advice comes from the writers who ...
Science fiction movies are a perennial favorite among movie audiences. They dazzle us with intriguing concepts, strange terrors and stunning visions of our future. Some of the highest grossing films in Hollywood have been sci-fi driven.
We all want to write amazing dialogue, but it can be deceptively difficult. The rub is that few people actually say what they mean. Society, religion and class all put constraints on our desires, creating fear and shame that forces us to sensor our words. For the most part, that’s a good thing because it helps maintain the stability of society. But if you want to write complicated characters, you need to understand the juxtaposition of what they are saying versus what they mean. This is called subtext.
One of the first things you learn as a screenwriter is that your character(s) need to have an arc. They need to start in one place and finish in another. It’s a journey and it needs to be an emotional journey. However, it’s more complicated than that.
Robertson-Dworet had the opportunity to hone her comedy-writing skills writing for the National Lampoon when she was at Harvard. But her dream was to want to write action movies. It seems her dream has come true. In addition to Tomb Raider, she is working on the upcoming Captain Marvel starring Brie Larson, Silver & Black, and Dungeons & Dragons, all set to release over the next three years.
As screenwriters, we can learn a valuable lesson from director Ava DuVernay, and ultimately Disney’s decision to go with a multi-ethnic cast. Though the book A Wrinkle in Time specifies that Mrs. Murray is white, that doesn’t mean Mr. Murray can’t be of a different race or that their children can’t be adopted, opening up the possibility of being a different race.
I have to be honest, I’m not a sports fan. But I love sports movies. That might sound illogical but when you consider that sports movies run the gambit of genres (sports/comedy, sports/romance, sports/bio-pic and sports/drama) there’s a lot to like. So, what are the common elements to a sports movie regardless of the genre its married to?
The first scene in a movie has many jobs to do. Not only must it nail down the tone, time and place where the story is being told, it must also tease the journey ahead. It’s no wonder some writers spend months conceiving and writing the first five pages of their screenplay.
Anyone who’s been following the television industry – whether you write TV or simply watch it – knows the industry has changed dramatically over the past few years. Streaming platforms such as Netflix, Hulu and Amazon have upped the anti when it comes to fresh new shows like Stranger Things and rebooting classic stories like The Handmaid’s Tale. We’re also watching more limited series like the six-episode show Alias Grace instead of 22-espisode procedurals.
If you’ve got a great idea for a movie centered on a romance the first thing you need to do is understand the structural differences that define each romance genre. Here are the three primary romance genres and some thoughts on how to approach them.
Myths and Monsters goes deep into Euro-centric stories, exploring the myths from ancient Greece, fairy tales and the Viking sagas. ScreenwritingU breaks down all six episodes.
The new Lifetime movie, The Simone Biles Story: Courage to Soar, is based on Biles’ autobiography from 2016. The biopic details the hardships and sacrifices Biles, played by Jeanté Godlock, made on the road to winning a combined total of 19 Olympic and World Championship medals, making her one of the greatest gymnasts of all time.
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