WME story editor Christopher Lockhart estimates that over his career he’s read more than 50,000 scripts. No typo—50,000 scripts. So when he tosses out a piece of advice consider taking it to heart: “Writing scripts is really, really, really hard. Get that right first. Do that right first before you start thinking about everything else. […]
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Archive for April, 2015
Apr
27
2015
 
A Perfect Bad Idea (& Oscar-winner)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaHow did we end up here? Riggan (Michael Keaton) in Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) By his own admission filmmaker Alejandro G. Iñárritu was a “terrible student” and college dropout, and a street musician who knew he wasn’t good enough to have career in music. So what road did he take to become […] “When you can have a positive effect on people’s lives and help them reach their dreams, that is the best reward a teacher can have.” Ralph Clemente “A teacher who can arouse a feeling for one single good action, for one single good poem, accomplishes more than he who fills our memory with rows and […] “And don’t forget to punch the clock, shorty.” Well-known scene from Oscar-winning Breaking Away screenplay written by Steve Tesich Have you ever had a job where you punched a time clock? You know, a place where you punch-in with a time card when you start work and you punch-out whenever you stop working. It’s an accurate way to […]
Apr
18
2015
Screenwriting Quote #194 (John Jarrell)Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“When analyzing any film, two specific questions need to be asked of each beat — 1) What is the ultimate purpose of each scene? 2) What does it accomplish structurally?” Screenwriter John Jarrell (Romeo Must Die) Tough Love Screenwriting: The Real Deal from a Twenty-Year Pro Page 164 This ends posts the past two weeks centered […]
Apr
16
2015
‘Little Green Envelopes of Love’Posted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From IowaThe single thing that mostly sets apart screenwriter John Jarrell’s book Tough Love Screenwriting is the more than 70 pages he spends on WGA Credit Arbitration. (With a nod to producer Joel Silver for giving him his own “Cliff Notes on Arbitration.”) He points out that while not common, it’s not unheard of to have 50 drafts […]
Apr
13
2015
Screenwriting with Brilliant SimplicityPosted by: screenwritingfromiowa in Screenwriting From Iowa“I did a million drafts. And then I did the thing everybody does—I read Syd Field and I used my index cards.” Producer/writer/actress Tina Fey The note card/index card method of plotting out your story has been covered a couple of times on this blog in the posts Screenwriting Via Index Cards and Dustin Lance Black Screenwriting Tutorial […] “For screenwriters hungry for an even deeper education, reading the actual scripts is about as good as it gets.” John Jarrell Why single out just five screenplays to read? Because it’s more doable than climbing WGA’s mountain of 101 Greatest Screenplays. I bet you can track the five screenplays below online and read them by […] Screenwriter John Jarrell spends a part of the time in his 400+ page book, Tough Love Screenwriting: The Real Deal From A Twenty-Year Pro, on anecdotes based on his experience in the film industry. And part of the time he offers advice on how to improve your screenwriting skills and film knowledge. Here’s an example of some of his practical […] “Making a living writing movies is a privilege, something that’ll come hard- earned, if at all. Hollywood doesn’t need you, doesn’t give a sh** whether you live or die, and nobody — and I mean NOBODY — is gonna cry if your Tinseltown dreams don’t come true.” John Jarrell Screenwriter and instructor John Jarrell’s book Tough […] |
