screenwriting 19 results

Women of Color Fight for Representation in Hollywood with Twitter Movement

In a report from the New York Times earlier this year, the number of female movie directors has increased (12 of the 113 directors on 2019’s 100 top films were women – double the number from 2018). Things are changing, albeit slowly. But when you look at women working behind the scenes in film and TV, the numbers remain stagnant. When you ...

Arkansas Filmmaker Clark Duke Explores His Depraved Southern Roots

  Clark Duke is best known for his comedic acting roles like Jacob in Hot Tub Time Machine, Clark on TV’s The Office, Marty in Kick-Ass and the voice of Thunk in The Croods. But he admits he’s wanted to direct a feature film since he was 12. An Arkansas native, Duke optioned the novel Arkansas by John Brandon a decade ago, and ...

A Lesson on Writing Less from The Invisible Man Writer/Director

The H. G. Wells novel, The Invisible Man, was published way back in 1897. Since then, it’s been made into numerous films, both scary and comedic: each a reflection of the time and culture in which it was made. Writer/director Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man is no different, taking inspiration from our current collective fears. We ...

‘Jumangi: The Next Level’ Writers Find Soul of the Sequel

For those of us who grew up watching the original Jumanji (1995), it's hard not to feel nostalgia around the reboot that trades in a magical board game for a video game. In the original film, Robin Williams is at his peak as an actor, bringing epic humanity and humor to his work. Now the torch has lovingly been passed to Dwayne Johnson, Jack ...

Oscar-winner Charles Randolph on Writing Complex Characters in ‘Bombshell’

The amazing ripped-from-the-headlines film Bombshell tells the story of the women of took down Fox News CEO Roger Ailes (John Lithgow), specifically Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman) and Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron), after gross accusations of sexual harassment and assault. Margot Robbie plays Kayla, a fictional character that’s an amalgam ...

‘Playing with Fire’ writer shares his crazy 14-year journey from idea to screen

The new movie Playing with Fire is an adorable family comedy that stars John Cena, John Leguizamo and Keegan-Michael Key as a crew of rugged firefighters who meet their match when attempting to rescue three rambunctious kids. The movie is funny, heartfelt and features some of the best comedic talents around. I sat down with writer Dan Ewen ...

Lucy in the Sky writers compare writing to surfing and talk about the missing diaper

You might remember a news story back in 2007 where NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak drove from Houston to Orlando, wearing a diaper, with the alleged intent of kidnapping an Air Force Captain involved in a love triangle. This bizarre story was the launching pad for the new film Lucy in the Sky. In the film, Lucy (Natalie Portman) plays a NASA ...

Writer/director of ‘The Kitchen’ says go for that ‘bold, crazy idea’

The Kitchen, written and directed by Andrea Berloff, is based on the gritty, violent graphic novel by Ollie Masters and Ming Doyle. We’ve seen many comic books get adapted into movies, but none like this. Set in the 1970s in Hell’s Kitchen, New York, three Irish mob wives, played by Melissa McCarthy, Tiffany Hadish and Elisabeth Moss, decide to take over their husband’s operations when all three husbands are sent to prison.

Casey Affleck on writing and directing his mythic tale ‘Light of My Life’

Light of My Life is both a tender and terrifying film about a father (Casey Affleck) and his daughter called Rag (Anna Pniowsky) that is set in a post-apocalyptic America where a mysterious plague has killed off nearly all women. Rag is now 11 and to keep her safe, her father dresses her as a boy. It’s a good idea for now, but soon may be impossible as she gets older.

5 Reasons Why Screenwriters Need to Think Like Producers

My entire life I always wanted to be a writer. So, when I graduated with an MFA in screenwriting from the UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television in 2008, I felt like I’d achieved “the dream.” I soon realized however in running my first entrepreneurial endeavor as a video content marketer that the real success stories go beyond the proverbial dream and have an objective-minded strategy and clear plan of action. 

7 Ways to Get an Agent or Manager

Writers give it all on the page, but how can you get that work into the marketplace? You need representation. Here are seven ways to get an agent.

Create an irresistible logline

What is a logline? If I said it’s a one-sentence summary of your film, I would be correct but not entirely accurate because it’s much more than that.
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