No Writing Left Behind

Writers Guild of America West screenwriters weigh in on the ‘No Writing Left Behind’ initiative.

William Goldman Interviewed by the Writers Guild Foundation

The Writers Guild Foundation interviewed two time Academy Award winning screenwriter William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the President’s Men, Marathon Man, Misery, The Princess Ride) in 2010.

10 Tips On Writing Better Dialogue

Film Courage offers “10 Tips On Writing Better Dialogue.”

Nicole Taylor on Writing Wild Rose

“I thought, gosh, that’s so interesting. It’s such a conflict that’s got equal arguments on both sides and I thought gosh that’s a great basis for a drama. So that was about eight years ago and I’ve been sort of nodding away on it since.”

Here is The Wrap’s talk with Nicole Taylor, writer of Wild Rose, at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Christopher McQuarrie on Writing and Directing Mission: Impossible - Fallout

For Variety’s Playback podcast, Kris Tapley went behind the scenes of Mission: Impossible - Fallout with writer-director Christopher McQuarrie.

“What I do with writing action is I write everything I want you to see in the order that I want you to see it. So my action sequence tend to be long in their description and incredibly boring to read. There’s nothing more boring than reading a car chase. But you write that out because you want to communicate to your crew. It’s not really meant for anybody else to read. It’s a very dry, technical document. The helicopter chase was another instance where the script form of the helicopter chase was an afterthought to figuring out what exactly is the helicopter chase.”

Writing an Empathetic Villain

Lessons from the Screenplay looks at ‘Writing an Empathetic Villain

New In Print: Screenwriting Tribe: Workshop Handbook for Writing and Polishing Film and TV Spec Scripts

Daniel John Carey, founder of the Los Angeles-based Screenwriting Tribe, has put the best advice learned from the group's weekly workshops to paper, resulting in today's release of Screenwriting Tribe: Workshop Handbook for Writing and Polishing Film and TV Spec Scripts.

"For both beginners and working screenwriters, Screenwriting Tribe Workshop Handbook provides a vast quantity of information to help writers polish their screenplays to the professional level. While working in the headquarters of a film studio, John saw how easily screenplays are dismissed because of formatting errors, badly written description, rambling dialogue, and other common script problems. One day, the studio president said to him, “Why should I spend time reading a script if the writer hasn’t spent the time to polish it?” To help writers polish their scripts to be what is expected by managers, agents, studio readers, producers, directors, screenplay contests, and fellowship programs, John started the weekly workshop that he named Screenwriting Tribe. The membership quickly grew to include several hundred writers and actors. Over the years, John compiled information helpful for those writing screenplays. At first, he was writing a booklet for his workshop, but it turned into the nearly 300-page Screenwriting Tribe Workshop Handbook that is now available to all writers. In addition to running Screenwriting Tribe workshop, John helps writers, directors, and producers polish scripts to get them ready for sale and/or production."

Screenwriting Tribe: Workshop Handbook for Writing and Polishing Film and TV Spec Scripts is available in paperback now.

The Midpoint Collision

Lessons from the Screenplay looks at 'The Midpoint Collision,' using Stuart Beattie's script for Michael Mann's film Collateral to examine when the "protagonist’s facade is slowly stripped away as their inner self is forced to rise, and what happens when these two sides of the character collide at the midpoint of the story."

The Kasdans on Writing Solo

The Star Wars Show speaks with Solo: A Star Wars Story screenwriters Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Body Heat, The Big Chill) and Jonathan Kasdan (Dawson's Creek).

Dialogue Done Right

ScreenPrism asks 'How do you make dialogue scenes compelling and interesting?' and says Netflix's Mindhunter is an example of dialogue done right.

Paul Thomas Anderson on Writing 'Phantom Thread'

Paul Thomas Anderson on writing 'Phantom Thread':

"The story was a little bit more fully formed than I'm making it out to be. There was the idea that there was a very strong willed man and a woman who enters his life, and what happens when they discover that, when he's weak he's at his best in terms of the relationship, and how that affects their future."

The Hollywood Reporter's Writers Roundtable

The Hollywood Reporter sat down with Jordan Peele ('Get Out'), Anthony McCarten ('Darkest Hour'), Aaron Sorkin ('Molly's Game'), Fatih Akin ('In the Fade'), Emily V. Gordon ('The Big Sick'), and Darren Aronofsky ('mother!') to discuss screenwriting and more as we head in to the Academy Awards.

Behind the Lens: Stephen Chbosky

Deadline Hollywood sat down for a talk with author, screenwriter, and director Stephen Chbosky (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Beauty and the Beast, Wonder). 

Masterclass Got David Mamet to Teach Dramatic Writing

David Mamet is teaching dramatic writing for Masterclass and all you need to join in is a pencil and a piece of paper.

"As a dramatist, your job is to tell a story. David’s dramatic writing class covers the rules of drama and teaches you how to keep your story simple by using Aristotle's Poetics as a guide.

David’s MasterClass takes an in depth look at both plot and plot structure. His class includes case studies on the plot structure of two of his award winning works, Glengarry Glen Ross and American Buffalo. Become familiar with the essential ingredients of plot like the precipitating event, the second-act problem, how to connect plot points, and learn the structure of a three-act play.

Learn how David Mamet developed his style for writing dialogue, famously known as "Mamet-speak." In addition, David’s dramatic writing lessons also include advice on where to draw inspiration when trying to write great dialogue."

Mamet's Masterclass covers how to:

- Understand and recognize drama

- Keep your hero’s journey at the heart of your narrative

- Use the rules of writing to improve your script

- Harness your fantasies and life experiences for drama

- Create objectives for your characters

- Structure your plot

- Recognize and remove scenes that are unnecessary to your script

- Overcome writer’s block

- Convey truth to the audience

- Cast the right actors for your play

You can learn more and sign up on Masterclass.com.

Aaron Sorkin is Teaching a Screenwriting Class

Aaron Sorkin is teaching for Masterclass:

"Learn how to write incredible screenplays from Aaron Sorkin in the most comprehensive screenwriting course he’s ever taught. In addition to both improving your storytelling skills and outlining what it takes to write incredible scripts, Aaron invites you into his writer’s room for an eight-part screenwriting case study where he and his team will script, rewrite, and break down a new Season 5 premiere of The West Wing.

Diving deep into screenwriting fundamentals, Aaron offers detailed lessons on narrative structure, character development, generating new ideas, and his signature style of dialogue. Aaron knows that great screenwriting requires intention and obstacle. He dedicates several lessons to explaining how to create conflict, raise dramatic stakes, and keep audiences watching. Designed to offer useful lessons to seasoned and emerging screenwriters, Aaron’s class can be enjoyed by writers of all skill levels."

Sorkin's class will cover how to:

- Create intention and obstacle

- Develop unforgettable characters

- Hook audiences from the opening scene

- Write compelling dialogue

- Add momentum to your scenes

- Apply and subvert the rules of drama

- Research and gather material

- Establish consistent writing habits

- Overcome writer’s block

- Pitch screenplays

Learn more or sign up on Masterclass.com.

Screenwriter Abi Morgan on Suffragette

GoldDerby chats with screenwriter Abi Morgan (Shame, The Iron Lady) about her new film Suffragette.

Suffragette was written by Abi Morgan, directed by Sarah Gavron, and stars Helena Bonham Carter, Carey Mulligan, and Meryl Streep. It opens in theaters on October 23, 2015.

The Science of the Movie Screenplay

Looking for the formula for writing the perfect screenplay? This infographic from Cartridge Discount might help.