normal life

Structure: The Untouchables

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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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Structure: Juno

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At the time of release, much of the attention surrounding JUNO went to the screenwriter rather than the script. Now the dust around Diablo Cody has settled, some voices have questioned the quality of the script. by Karel Segers I still believe it is a wonderful independent film, well-structured and beautifully written. Usually I am … Read more

Inciting Incident: Planting the Bomb

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Keeping the audience interested throughout the ‘setup’ is a major challenge as professional readers won’t last until the Inciting Incident if the first ten or twelve pages don’t deliver. The ‘setup’ is often a complete sequence in which we see the ‘Ordinary World’, the protagonist’s ‘normal life’, an area of the story that by its … Read more

The Inciting Incident

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The first guy to write down that a story needs a beginning, middle and end, was Aristotle. About twenty-four centuries ago. But his beginning is not the same as our Act One; it is the point in this act where the story kicks off. What Aristotle was talking about, in screen story terms we call … Read more

Glossary

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The following is a basic list of terms I believe you should have an understanding of. To be a professional, it is crucial you can communicate with others to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of your work. It is not enough to know and understand Syd Field’s set of phrases, as some hot shots may … Read more