Karel FG Segers

Karel Segers wrote his first produced screenplay at age 17. Today he is a story analyst with experience in acquisition, development and production. He has trained students worldwide, and worked with half a dozen Academy Award nominees. Karel speaks more European languages than he has fingers on his left hand, which he is still trying to find a use for in his hometown of Sydney, Australia. The languages, not the fingers. Subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

Westworld (1973) [About Structural Malfunctionings]

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When HBO launched the eponymous TV show, I took the opportunity to discover Westworld, the movie. The directorial debut of writer-director Michael Crichton has always been a part of pop culture, yet despite being a fan of Jurassic Park and reading a few Crichton novels, I never knew about Westworld. So I didn’t get the Simpson’s scene where Principal … Read more

The Mid Point Pit Stop [Because Your Screenplay Is Too Long]

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In the early days of cinema, the feature presentation contained two parts, with an intermission halfway, at the mid point. The audience would stretch their legs, visit the bathroom and buy more popcorn. In fact, we didn’t buy popcorn back then. An ice cream vendor walked the aisles, and sold what I remember to be the best ice cream I … Read more

The 2-Act Structure [Because You Write The Rules]

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In an earlier post I warned you about the 2-Act Structure. If none of the structural paradigms offered by the gurus work for you, why don’t you create your own? Here is mine. Every structure model is academic. There really are no rules. Instead, these systems are merely tools to allow us to communicate about … Read more

About Screenwriting Rules [And The 3-Act Structure]

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When How To Train Your Dragon was released, some people learned to their horror that the film was written following Blake Snyder’s beat sheet. How could such a successful – and critically acclaimed – film be written by the numbers?? Creatives hate screenwriting ‘rules’. So they should. But it is also helpful to understand what rules … Read more

Chariots Of Fire Revisited [Running With Synthesizers]

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In Writing Screenplays that Sell, Michael Hauge singles out Chariots Of Fire (1981) as a cinematic outlier. It was an unlikely movie to generate big box office. Why? It is a biographical period piece, lacks high concept, and is set outside the US. Chariots of Fire was hugely successful, though. It ended up making nearly $60 … Read more