Writing

Great Scene: It’s A Wonderful Life

George Bailey and Mary Hatch have an intense telephone conversation.

Movie: It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), screenplay by Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett and Frank Capra, story by Philip Van Doren Stern

How They Write A Script: Robert Towne

“The single most important question, I think, that one must ask one’s self about a character is what are they really afraid of? What are they really afraid of? And if you ask that question, it’s probably for me the single best way of getting into a character.”

How They Write A Script: Lawrence Kasdan

“I wrote screenplays as a way to get into production. I wrote six or seven before I sold one; that was The Bodyguard. I thought if I started selling these screenplays, I’d get a chance to direct. I thought that was the way in.”

Scene description as poetry

The Poetry of Screenwriting

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Use Strong Verbs

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: 1 Page A Day

1 month prep + 4 months writing + 1 month rewriting = 2 scripts per year.

How They Write A Script: Charlie Kaufman

“When I started screenwriting, I never really knew what I was doing, but I instinctively understood how to do it.”