Cinema should make you forget that you’re sitting in a theatre - Roman PolanskiThere is something undeniably palpable about a great movie.All the elements come together, inspired by an exceptional script and the vision of the director and...

In previous posts I talked about theme and how you can use your protagonist’s arc to clarify what your story is about. You can also use this arc as the spine for pitching your story.Knowing how to pitch your script can be a challenge...

At some point early in the creation of their screenplays, students I work with need to share their loglines with their fellow screenwriters, and very often the air of unease about this process is palpable. Not so much because these authors are...

Since its purchase by Disney and the success of The Force Awakens, the Star Wars franchise has had a resurgence in popularity. Before this, however, the iconic series’ reputation had been tarnished by the controversial prequel trilogy, which...

Note that this article about The Lobster contains major plot spoilers. If you haven’t seen the film yet, we recommend that you watch it first, then return to this article!What makes a screenplay non-traditional?The parameters for...

“Write With Honesty, Economy & Bravery.” ‘Foursome’ Actor James Morosini On What Attracts Him To Screenplays:We sat down with actor-writer James Morosini to discuss his thoughts on filmmaking. You probably recognize him...

Paths, Ripples & Choices: How character and story logic can make or break your scriptRipplesI recently read a student’s one-hour television pilot, and while the dialogue was on target and the action moved at a fine clip, there were...

For the past several years, the ISA has had the honor of partnering with Kids In The Spotlight (KITS), a program that supports youth from disadvantaged areas in Los Angeles and allows them to learn filmmaking by writing, casting, and starring in...

(REPOST) Scaring Up Funds: How to Acquire Investors When Your Movie’s in Horror, the Most Profitable Genre of Them AllBy Brian Herskowitz and Tony Timpone on November 14, 2017There are a few paths you can take to finding investors for your...

Producer Adam Fratto’s Advice To Screenwriters: “No Cowardly Storytelling.”Adam Fratto is a prolific film and TV producer, currently based at Reel One, he has a lot to say about what screenwriters should be doing to build their...

We interviewed Diane about the essentials of a first act, getting to know what your story is really about, and whether or not Hollywood will ever return to the golden age of spec scripts.Were you always interested in telling stories?I always felt...

If you’re a savvy writer, you know it’s a good idea to get feedback from multiple readers and make comparisons between the sets of development notes. As a script editor and script reader myself, I’ll frequently be dealing with...

On the face of it, musicians and writers do not have much in common. Musicians perform in public, writers work alone in private. Music is fleeting and intangible, writing endures forever. Musicians are often extroverts, writers tend towards...

Imagine a story about a soldier, wounded by past battles, who is sent to a hostile, unfamiliar place filled with danger and overwhelming obstacles. He’s a stranger in a strange land – the geography and the climate are almost the...

I always start my UCLA classes by asking my students to raise their hands if their goal is to become a professional writer. Usually everyone raises their hands.I then tell them that I have good news and I have bad news.  The good news is that...

If one wished to select the most well-known story in the English language, a top contender would surely be Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol. Originally published in 1843, this little novella has reached the rarest heights of...

One of the oldest clichés about writing fiction is that “the essence of drama is conflict.” It is also the truest. There are many ways to make a script dramatic, but the following five techniques are key to creating...

No need to check your calendars. It’s not yet October. Horror screenwriter, John Russo who put Night Of The Living Dead in every horror movie fan’s library, talks to us about his career, his movies and gives some simple advice to horror...

James Cameron’s screenplay Avatar is an outstanding example of using many structural tools and devices successfully in one script.In addition to the overall structure of your screenplay – the three acts, the five key turning...

Movies are about transformation. We want to see someone change. It’s the reason we are drawn to sit in a dark room and eat popcorn with a bunch of strangers. But this transformation has to have a larger meaning. This is where knowing what your...