Story. Screenplay. Sale.
Writing a first draft is in essence brainstorming plot points and writing them down in a more or less chronological order. It sounds as if I am simplifying things, but once you have cracked the essence of drama, it really is that simple. To understand what follows, it is useful to read the word action … Read more
BRUBAKER strays from the traditional structure because of its offbeat First Act. It lacks an Inciting Incident, nor does it have any significant protagonist characterisation. We witness from Robert Redford’s character’s POV how the most appalling injustice and brutality is inflicted relentlessly upon his fellow inmates. Over thirty minutes into the movie, Redford’s character identifies … Read more
“Most writers work alone. They send in the script and it gets rejected. And they never find out why. The fact is, you can’t succeed as a professional writer if you don’t get professional feedback. You must find out the weaknesses of your story or script before you send it in.” This is not me … Read more
Following my post on SYRIANA writer/director Stephen Gaghan, I came across an interesting discussion on the necessity of rigorous structuring vs. a more liberal, visual approach to screenwriting. Jim Mercurio makes the following point about Gaghan’s comments in the notorious CS podcast: “Gaghan’s comments are showing that he is evolving from a screenwriter into a … Read more