Best of the Web 6 Oct

Story & Structure :: How Screenwriting Style Changed Movies :: Struggling to Conquer the Dreaded Act Two? :: 3 Ways To Write Characters That Your Mom Can Be Proud :: Screenplay Review – Bait :: Screenplay Review – Robocop (2014) :: Amateur Friday – Vostok Script Perfection :: What We’ve Learned So Far :: What … Read more

Best of the Web 9 Dec

Story & Structure :: Can New Story Ideas Thrive? :: Analyses of ‘Dexter’ – S07E07 :: Break Into Act Two and Shrek Script Perfection :: Just Because You Don’t Like It, Doesn’t Mean it’s a Bad Script! :: Beware of Tonal Mismatching :: Killing Them Softly: What Went Wrong :: Neil Gaiman’s Advice to Aspiring … Read more

Three or Four?

A properly structured screenplay must have three acts… Or four? I have said before that the model you use to improve your screenwriting is your own choice. At the end of the day it is all academic. Whatever works for you. The Dept Revisited – A rerun of the best of the Story Dept. A … Read more

Two Journeys of Change

A day in Michael Hauge’s romcom seminar inspired me to republish this brief article I wrote about a year and a half ago. Hauge claims the Inner and Outer Journey run in parallel. I think he’s right, with one small caveat. A gorgeous Sunday morning in a Manly cafe with a view on the ocean. … Read more

Structure: The Untouchables

David Mamet has never equaled the tremendous power of his eighties screenplays. The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Verdict, The Untouchables and even his own directorial debut House of Games, starring his then wife Lindsay Crouse.

The Untouchables has always been my favorite. De Palma turned the script into the most cinematic of Mamet’s writing.

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