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Why Demons and Devils Make for Superior Villains
We all know that “the devil is in the details,” but why are there so many demons in movies and on TV these days? In the past two years, there have been 26 horror movies released where the primary antagonist is some sort of supernatural...
The Screenwriter’s Guide to General Meetings
Following last week’s THIS WEEK IN COACHING: MEETING PREP! installment, I thought it wise to take a bit of a deep dive into what general meetings are, and how they work. In fact, I couldn’t quite believe I hadn’t broken...
Meaning and Toy Story 4
Two days after putting the finishing touches on the new 7th Edition of The Screenwriters Bible, I viewed Toy Story 4 for the first time. I loved the film, but it was too late to add my thoughts about its contributions to the latest edition of...
Choosing Between Agents, Managers and Lawyers
QUESTION FOR FILMTVLAW.COM:I’m an experienced showrunner with two series under my belt. I’m shopping around a third but getting shut out of all but current connects and friends. I never went the agent route, but now considering agent vs. manager...
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Why Demons and Devils Make for Superior Villains
We all know that “the devil is in the details,” but why are there so many demons in movies and on TV these days? In the past two years, there have been 26 horror movies released where the primary antagonist is some sort of supernatural...
The Screenwriter’s Guide to General Meetings
Following last week’s THIS WEEK IN COACHING: MEETING PREP! installment, I thought it wise to take a bit of a deep dive into what general meetings are, and how they work. In fact, I couldn’t quite believe I hadn’t broken...
4 Secrets To Selling Your Screenplay… And Not Your Soul!
As a four-year-old, I was impressed by seeing my parents making short 35mm films for the movie theaters, even riding a live 7 ft alligator in one of them. Those experiences caused me to have a life-long desire to conjure visual and emotional magic...
Meaning and Toy Story 4
Two days after putting the finishing touches on the new 7th Edition of The Screenwriters Bible, I viewed Toy Story 4 for the first time. I loved the film, but it was too late to add my thoughts about its contributions to the latest edition of...
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8 Keys to Writing a Marketable Script
1. ONE GENRE TO RULE THEM ALL I recently sat through a webinar where writers were given the opportunity to pitch their concepts. One lady stuck out to me because she described her project as a suspense, thriller, and comedy, with horror elements....
“Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” 7 Tips for Great Dialogue
Jacob Stuart's advice on writing dialogue for screenplays.Hollywood has a short attention span. Unlike writers, who may have all day to sit and ponder, plotting out their next script, or revising and revising a screenplay until their fingers are...
7 Ways to Make Sure Your Screenwriting Career Never Takes Off
Often, I get asked: What are the commonalities you’ve seen among your writers who have broken in? What are the shared traits of working screenwriters? And, even more specifically, what are the most important things that a screenwriter can do...
How to Write Action Description
Alex Southey explores five different kinds of action description, and how they dictate tone in a script. Many people tend to assume that because it doesn’t affect the final film, action description doesn’t matter very much. But this couldn’t...