ScriptIdiot!

Interview: Reckless Creatives

The popular podcast hosts Sadie Dean and Jeanne Veillette Bowerman in conversation with yours truly.It's always a delight to talk with Jeanne and Sadie as both have been an integral part of the online screenwriting community. Also, they're just fun human beings!Recently, we discussed all things related to spec scripts, this on the heels of the release of my free eBook: "Spec Script Deals: 1991-2025".You can listen to this Reckless Creatives interview here: LINK.All OG Pipelin

Go Into The Story interview: Meghann Artes and Anna Hozian

My conversation with the writing-directing-producing team for the short film drama Stronghold.Meghann (L) and Anna (R)Meghann Artes and Anna Hozian are two talented filmmakers. They are also my colleagues at the DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts where we all teach. The duo collaborated on a short film project Stronghold which recently completed a successful film festival run. Since I've intersected with many screenwriters interested in making their own short films, I thought Anna a

Screenwriting 101: Tim McCanlies

“That second act, for me, is the most fun, because the first and third act have such clearly defined functions. The first act you have to set up the problem or problems, introduce all your characters — there are so many things that you’ve got to do, there just isn’t room for the fun stuff. And the third act is almost an extended scene in a way — the chase, the fight, etc. But in the second act, you really get to cut loose, find out w

Tweetstorm: Mike Sweeney 0n ‘New Screenwriting Rules’

Back when Twitter was fun, screenwriters would sometimes string together a series of tweets - what came to be known as "tweetstorms." Advice, personal anecdotes, reflections on the craft. It was pretty awesome.The only problem: Once the tweetstorm came ... it went.So, I took to contacting the writers and asking if I could reprint their tweetstorm at Go Into The Story. That way, they'd at least be stored where folks could access them in the future.Here's an example: In 2015, s

On Writing

“There really are no characters in plays; there are relationships.”--Arthur MillerFor 100s more On Writing posts, go here.The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytellingis a #1 Best Seller in Film and Television. Endorsed by over thirty professional screenwriters, novelists, and academics, you may purchase it here.

Go Into The Story interview: Jeffrey Lieber

My talk with screenwriter and TV writer-producer whose credits include co-writing the pilot for the series Lost.Jeffrey Lieber was early and active presence on Twitter. A Hollywood writer whose movie credits include Tangled and Tuck Everlasting, and TV credits include Miami Medical, The Whole Truth, Pan Am, Necessary Roughness, Impulse, and NCIS: New Orleans, he offered sage advice to prospective screenwriters. In 2013, I conducted a Go Into The Story interview with him. Here it is in its entire

Screenwriting 101: Garry Marshall

"There are three different drafts of a screenplay in the development process. The first screenplay is for the studio, when they say, 'Okay, we like this.'The second screenplay you write so the actors can read it, or so you can get an actor to do it. You change the screenplay so one part is better, so you can get a better actor.Then the third screenplay is, 'You can’t shoot this screenplay on this budget.' You’ve got to rewrite the whole screenplay again, fo

Tweetstorm: Zack Stentz on Rewriting Strategies

Back when Twitter was fun, screenwriters would sometimes string together a series of tweets - what came to be known as "tweetstorms." Advice, personal anecdotes, reflections on the craft. It was pretty awesome.The only problem: Once the tweetstorm came ... it went.So, I took to contacting the writers and asking if I could reprint their tweetstorm at Go Into The Story. That way, they'd at least be stored where folks could access them in the future.Here's an example: A 2016 twe

On Writing

“I love writing. I love the swirl of words as they tangle with human emotions.”--James MichenerFor 100s more On Writing posts, go here.The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytellingis a #1 Best Seller in Film and Television. Endorsed by over thirty professional screenwriters, novelists, and academics, you may purchase it here.

The Importance of Movie Moments

Moments which stand out in a screenplay can not only grab a reader’s attention, they can also convey a story’s theme.Hollywood’s first great movie producer was Irving Thalberg and he was famously quoted as telling the writers he oversaw at MGM, “Just give me five great moments and I can sell that movie.”There’s a reason why producers and studio executives talk about the importance of “trailer moments.”Moments are how most of us remember mov

Go Into The Story Interview: Jack Epps

My talk with the co-writer of Top Gun, Legal Eagles, The Secret of My Success.Back in the 1980s and 1990s, there was almost no one hotter in the world Hollywood screenwriting than Cash & Epps. Their writing credits include Top Gun, Legal Eagles, The Secret of My Success, Dick Tracy, Turner & Hooch among other notable films.Transitioning into the field of academics, Jack Epps is currently chair of Writing for Screen & Television at the University of Southern California School of Cinem

Screenwriting 101: Andrew Marlowe

“Sometimes you’ll get a note, ‘This scene is boring, can we put in a car chase?’ What you should take from that note is this scene, this quiet scene you intended to be emotionally devastating is boring. That means you might not have done your work setting up the characters or the relationships, 20, 30, 40 pages earlier.”— Andrew MarloweVia “Tales from the Script”For 100s more articles in the Screenwriting 101 series, go here.The Protagonist

Tweetstorm: Jake Thornton on His First Two Years as a Hollywood Screenwriter

A series of tweets detailing one writer’s experience breaking into Hollywood.Back when Twitter was fun, screenwriters would sometimes string together a series of tweets - what came to be known as "tweetstorms." Advice, personal anecdotes, reflections on the craft. It was pretty awesome.The only problem: Once the tweetstorm came ... it went. So, I took to contacting the writers and asking if I could reprint their tweetstorm at Go Into The Story. That way, they'd at least be

Animation Movies From Spec Scripts?

My free eBook "Spec Script Deals: 1991-2025" has only been out for a week and it's already demonstrating its value. Subject: Animation movies.My response:You can go here to read my interview with Mary Coleman which provides a deep dive into the Pixar creative process: LINK.In the ensuing tweet exchange, the one project in my eBook is this one:Title: Master Mind Logline: A supervillain loses his joie de vivre after accidentally killing his archrival, Uberman. Writers: Alan Schoolcr

Great News for Go Into The Story fans!

Some exciting changes create new learning opportunities for anyone interested in screenwriting.A week ago, I created quite a stir when I released an eBook: "Spec Script Deals: 1991-2025". Clocking in at 517 pages, the book includes 2,560 individual listings of spec script sales and options over a 35 year period. 96% of the listings include loglines or story summaries which represents a gold mine for screenwriters as a resource for generating story concepts.If that wasn't enough to

Screenwriting 101: Justin Marks

“There's not a single battle a writer can win on a conference call, a notes meeting, anything. We win the battle on the page.”--Justin MarksFor 100s more articles in the Screenwriting 101 series, go here.The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytellingis a #1 Best Seller in Film and Television. Endorsed by over thirty professional screenwriters, novelists, and academics, you may purchase it here.

On Writing

"I am always interested in why young people become writers, and from talking with many I have concluded that most do not want to be writers working eight and ten hours a day and accomplishing little; they want to have been writers, garnering the rewards of having completed a best-seller. They aspire to the rewards of writing but not to the travail."--James MichenerFor 100s more On Writing posts, go here.The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting

Tweetstorm: Eric Heisserer on Minimalist Writing Style

“Find the most powerful word and use it.”Eric Heisserer (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Final Destination 5, The Thing, Hours, Arrival) is probably the Hollywood screenwriter most willing to go online with a tweetstorm on a specific subject related to the craft.For example: Eric’s February 2014 Twitter rant on “Minimalist Screenwriting Style”, reprinted by permission:All right my Twitter buddies, I wanna talk about a certain style of screenwriting. It will likely l

Go Into Story Interviews — Black List Writers

Over the years, I’ve interviewed dozens of writers whose scripts appeared on the annual Black List: 97 to date. Their collective insight into the craft is major resource for writers. Read, learn… and enjoy!Thomas Aguilar and Michael Ballin (2021 Black List)Matt Altman and Dave Matalon (2024 Black List)Leigh Cesiro and Erica Matlin (2021 Black List)Filipe Coutinho and Ben Mehlman (2021 Black List)Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer (2010 Black List)Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman (2012

Go Into The Story Interviews

Conversations with screenwriters, TV writers, authors, and Hollywood professionals.FILMMAKERS (Screenwriters, Writer-Directors, Directors)2011 Screenwriters Roundtable: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Jeremiah Friedman, Nick Palmer, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam.2012 Screenwriters Roundtable: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam.2013 Screenwriters Roundtable: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, Jo