Thematic Structure: Umbilical Between Character And Meaning

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Screenwriting books evangelize the importance of theme, without properly investigating thematic structure. They rightly identify that it’s the source of meaning in a story. It’s what separates great scripts from good ones. But the same books invariably call for a thematic sentence, then move on as quickly as possible to a new topic. Why? Because … Read more

Yellowstone’s Taylor Sheridan: Power, Politics & Progress

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In Variety’s Top 100 telecasts for 2021, Yellowstone features as the only cable show on the list. And while all other major scripted shows – NCIS and The Equalizer – are written by a sizeable writers’ room, Yellowstone springs from the MacBook of just 1 guy: Taylor Sheridan. Given that “Yellowstone” is technically in competition with the enduringly popular … Read more

Why Taylor Sheridan Is The Most Relevant American Screenwriter

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Screenwriter Taylor Sheridan

After seeing Sicario and sourcing the script in 2015, I instantly fell for the voice of this new writer. But Taylor Sheridan was not new. His script Comancheria hit the Blacklist a few years earlier, and would hit cinemas the next year under the title Hell Or High Water. Today, Taylor Sheridan is the most … Read more

Ready To Break Rules? One Word Will Tell.

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break rules at your peril!

Nothing appears more appealing to the beginning writer than to break rules. And nothing is more annoying than hearing “Do this; don’t do that!”

Some will say that rules are essential, because without them there is only anarchy. But are there really any hard rules in screenwriting? And if there are, who sets them?

And what is wrong with anarchy?