Screenwriting From Iowa

“The key to writing fiction and screenplays in terms of character is conflict, just like it is in non-fiction. And you have to come up with what is the thing that’s going to test that character. And how are you going to make evident what they’re all about? If you can’t make it evident through […]

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If you’ve never written a screenplay before, today is your lucky day. If you’ve never worked a day in production, it’s your lucky day, too. This is the inspirational follow-up to the sobering post 10 Quotes on Paying Your Dues where several well-known and accomplished writers talked about the long and winding road to their successes. […]

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Earlier this week I heard the first quote listed below on a Scriptnotes podcast and it didn’t take long to track down similar quotes on paying your dues that I’ve posted over the years on this blog. (And while you may see these quotes as more anecdotal than empirical data—there does appear to be a common theme. […]

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In light of my last post (Waiting to Be Great) I thought I’d gather 10 quotes on low-budget filmmaking that I found scattered throughout this blog over the years. I hope two or three inspire you on your filmmaking journey: “My token advice [to aspiring filmmakers] is do it—make your own stuff. Whether it’s short […]

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“You have so many opportunities now….We’re in a new frontier.” Screenwriter Diablo Cody Juno Has Another Baby (Emmy) “You absolutely can make movies. The idea of having a career in the movie business is very, very different ” Writer/director John Sayles (Lone Star, Sunshine State) Apparently it’s Mike Birbiglia week. After three days of pulling quotes from […]

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“I would have these script readings for Don’t Think Twice at my house to workshop the film script the way that I workshop my standup…and I would say at the beginning of the reading, ‘the script might be bad, but at the end, we’re all going to eat pizza.’” Writer/Director Mike Birbiglia In the Mike Birbiglia’s […]

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“If you want to perform five minutes of good comedy, write what you think is three hours of great comedy.” Comedian/writer/director Mike Birbiglia (Sleepwalk with Me) Interview with Tim Ferriss P.S. One excellant documentary that shows Birbiglia’s quote in action is Comedian, Jerry Seinfeld’s love letter to comedy. Related Link: Jerry Seinfeld Interview: How to Write […]

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“Only emotion endures.” Ezra Pound A Retrospect “Terms of Endearment and Broadcast News are two James L. Brooks films that I can just watch over and over again…I strive to make movies like those where you’re laughing and you’re crying. That’s what all of it is for; It’s to experience the range of emotions within and hour […]

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“If you listen to the way people tell stories, you hear that they tell them cinematically. They jump from one thing to the next, and the story is moved along by the juxtapositon of images—which is to say, by the cut. “People say, ‘I’m standing on the corner. It’s a foggy day. A bunch of […]

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Creative Screenwriting interview with six time Oscar-nominated writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson (There Will Be Blood, Magnolia): Kristina McKenna: Did you consciously train your ear to be sensitive to how people talk? Paul Thomas Anderson: I probably did when I was eighteen and was just starting as a writer. Actually my mission then was to rip off […]

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