Story. Screenplay. Sale.
I like it. I don’t love it. And I see why it is not getting the word of mouth it deserves. My take on the film is primarily from a broad story perspective. I don’t go into dialogue, performance, SFX etc. because I believe they are secondary and ultimately not decisive for the success of … Read more
As the first in a series of guest articles, I am honoured to present Jack Feldstein’s four-part series on the psychology of screenwriting. Enjoy! THE PSYCHOLOGY OF SCRIPTWRITING Or: why a seemingly sane person sits in a room staring at a blank page. By Jack Feldstein Since almost the invention of writing in Sumeria, certain … Read more
Zinneman called it a ‘necessary evil’ and wordsmith par excellence David Mamet says: “A good film script should be able to do completely without dialogue.“ I am not an expert, not even a native English speaker and I most certainly lack a deep knowledge of vocabulary. My passion is for story and structure. So much … Read more
Following UNK’s publication of his post on The Mid Point and to the benefit of the students in a recent HERO’S JOURNEY workshop, I have updated the article of 20 April last year about this important turning point. Since writing the below post, I have come to realise that the mid point may well be … Read more
A structural overview of Jaws (Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb, Novel by Peter Benchley 1975) Steven Spielberg first drew me into movies with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, back in 1977. Because I was too young for Jaws in 1975, it wasn’t until later when I discovered the movie that really made Spielberg. Jaws literally … Read more