Structure: Thelma & Louise

I am a fan of Ridley Scott’s flamboyant visual style of filmmaking. Although he has had numerous box office successes, in my view he has never equalled the overall excellence of THELMA & LOUISE (1991). It is a fabulous movie and an outstanding debut script by first-timer Callie Khouri. Here is an attempt to analyse … Read more

From One to Many

In a series about screenwriting software, some of the main screenwriting software titles out there will contribute an article to The Story Department. We open the series with Mark Kennedy, CEO of Celtx. “Just a few days ago, we released version 2.0 of the Celtx software. A lot of people don’t quite get what Celtx … Read more

Kenny – Plumbing the depths

National Screenwriters’ Conference 2009: Kenny – Plumbing the depths by: David Tiley Screen Hub Thursday 26 February, 2009 Before opening a completely charming discussion with Andrew Knight about the writing of ‘Kenny’, Clayton Jacobson produced some very sobering numbers. Kenny cost $500,000. By the time the film returned $5m, he was still $250,000 in debt. … Read more

The Psychology of Scriptwriting (4)

THE EMPOWERMENT THEORY Machiavelli postulated that man’s quest is for power. He said that no-one is more miserable than a disempowered man. Ironically, he wrote his thesis as a book called THE PRINCE but when he presented it, hoping to impress his Medici rulers, to reap glory (and status), they hated it. And banished Machiavelli … Read more

The Psychology of Scriptwriting (3)

PART 3: THE ID THEORY In an average life, most people have a very constricted time. Rarely is a person satisfied with as much sex, food, money and fun as he/she desires. Mostly, society (and health issues) enforce humans to lead somewhat disgruntled lives. Because the alternative, if everyone did exactly what their hearts desired … Read more