Story. Screenplay. Sale.
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
Should you write a happy ending? Commercial common sense will tell you: yes, you should. Robert McKee says: “Tell the truth.” (see the previous post) McKee means: your story needs to reflect your worldview. If you contradict whatever you believe in for the sake of commerce, you will fail. During his Arthouse seminar, he gives … Read more
The finest writing not only reveals true character, but arcs or changes to that inner nature, for better or worse. In 1998 McKee signed my first edition hardback of STORY. He wrote: “To Karel: Tell the TRUTH!” Ironically with the quote at the top of this article, McKee is not telling his own truth.(*) He … Read more
A structural overview of Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy, 2007) in 8 Sequences. When I watched the film during its theatrical release, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Because of the relatively low budget (an estimated USD$25m) for its production values, Tony Gilroy was able to make some brave non-commercial decisions with his screen story. This didn’t go … Read more