7 and 8: Two very relevant numbers in screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walkers’ career. In the articles that follow, Walker describes how everything went so right with David Fincher‘s Se7en and so wrong with Joel Schumacher’s 8mm. Two very dark thrillers…
Basic Film Economics
Movies usually need to make 373% to break even. 7 in 10 films lose money. Ever heard of RoI (Return on Investment)? Film economics can be the ugly duck, usually ignored in film blogs. The fine people from Storyality posted…
Guide to Hollywood Terminology
For you, The Screenwriter’s Ultimate Guide To Hollywood Terminology from Screencraft. Do you know the meaning of…. & (AND), ABOVE THE LINE, AGAINST, BEAT SHEET, BELOW THE LINE, BIDDING WAR, COVERAGE, CREATIVE EXECUTIVE, DEVELOPMENT HELL, ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER, ELEVATOR PITCH, FILM CANON (OR JUST “CANON”), FOUR QUADRANT MOVIE, SCALE, SPEC SCRIPT, STORY CANON, TENT POLE …? Well, you…
Best Screenwriting Books: SAVE THE CAT
I felt I have a personal connection with Save the Cat since I first read it. This is why: when I was in film school in London – end of the 80s, beginning of the 90s – I used to pay…
A History Of The Three-Act Structure
If after reading Jennine Lanouette‘s Save the Baby! On the Benefits of the Three-Act Screenplay Structure you really want to go really deep into the subject, A History of the Three-Act Structure in Screentakes is just your thing. Great stuff. But let me…
On the Screenwriting Gurus
Some love them, some hate them. The whole concept of a screenwriting manual is nonsense for many. Some others follow every bit of information like a divine law. I think both are partly right and partly wrong on the Screenwriting…
BOOKS on filmmaking, BOOKS on screenwriting, FILMMAKING, POSTS on filmmaking, POSTS on screenwriting, SCREENWRITING
Best Screenwriting Books: ADVENTURES IN THE SCREEN TRADE
William Goldman (1931-2018) is one of the best screenwriters Hollywood has seen. He was the author of “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (an original script that won him his first Oscar), “All The President’s Men” (maybe the most difficult…
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Best Screenwriting Books: McKee’s STORY (1)
I’ve attended Robert McKee‘s seminars at least 4 times (if memory serves me) and I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly on every occasion. I was always there with a project under my arm, confronting his ideas with mine, using McKee’s wisdom as…
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Remembering Syd Field, 1935 – 2013
Scott Macaulay pays homage to Syd Field in Filmmaker Magazine. Field helped a lot of writers and that should be put in the spotlight: Remembering Syd Field, 1935-2013. More about Field? Check Best Screenwriting Books Ever: Syd Field’s SCREENPLAY and How to…
On The Benefits Of The Three-Act Screenplay Structure
“Poor, poor three-act structure. So much to offer. So misunderstood”. Jennine Lanouette‘s article Save the baby! On the Benefits of the Three-Act Screenplay Structure is a first-class, badly needed statement on screenwriting. It deals with the mental process of writing, the structure as…
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