william goldman

Bad Hombres, Good Homages And Effective Character Intros

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In this video, we look at a few film homages, and what may qualify as a good one.

In FRANCES HA, Noah Baumbach paid homage to director Leos Carax, from his film MAUVAIS SANG.

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The Perfect One

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The significance of a screenplay’s first page is vital. It sets up the main story whilst establishing character, the genre and tone of the film. In a good screenplay, the reader’s expectations of the script are cleverly signposted by the writer. A great example of an effective first page is that of William Goldman’s Misery. To … Read more

In Late, Out Early

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When Goldman wrote “get in late and leave early”, he was not talking about how you watch a bad movie. He meant screenwriters should keep scenes to what is essential to the story. No arrivals and departures, no meet & greet or chit-chat. This is one of the fundamental rules in writing a scene, one … Read more

Screenwriting Expo – Day 1

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Producer/scribe James Nicholas flew from Sydney to L.A. to attend the Screenwriting Expo. He generously reports back about his brush with the Gurus and any lesser Gods. Upon entering the convention centre, the air is filled with anticipation as the budding writers fill the smallish and rather cramped Wilshire Grand meeting area. One can’t help … Read more

The Secret

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While you were out celebrating New Year’s Eve, I was watching David Cronenberg’s eXistenZ on DVD. Not that I’m such a pathetic hermit; it was just my wife’s fun idea of closing the Old Year. She admitted afterwards she might have been wrong. Missing the Sydney Fireworks and all that. Meanwhile, the Story Dept. has … Read more