tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18047909738328142632023-11-15T09:58:41.005-08:00Screenwriting Explode The RulesWelcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-36206805582609370402011-03-25T11:26:00.000-07:002011-03-25T11:26:29.541-07:00My book SCREENWRITING THEY CAN'T RESIST is out!My antidote to the existential despair of trying to write a screenplay with the formulaic tent-pole template espoused by the self-proclaimed screenwriting 'experts' is now out.
,
Here's the jacket blurb:
If you want to create screenplays that are derivative, formulaic and forgettable. If you’re looking for another manual that paralyses your creative brain and shows you how to use a Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-12350724952417876612011-03-01T04:36:00.000-08:002011-03-01T04:46:37.295-08:00Oscar Best Screenplays Here - Read These Oscar Nominated Scripts
Here are the scripts for all the Oscar nominated best original and best adapted screenplays
PLEASE NOTE: These scripts are for strictly educational purposes. Please honour this proviso.
Best Original Screenplay
The Fighter
by Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson
Inception by Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right by Lisa Cholodenko and Stuart Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-24781948377411985192011-02-23T05:24:00.000-08:002011-02-23T05:24:20.865-08:00My Screenwriting Book is now being printedI'm now waiting for proof copy of my screenwriting book. It will be published very soon. I'll keep you posted.Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-81586768927635485042011-02-04T16:49:00.000-08:002011-02-04T16:49:45.901-08:00My Screenwriting Book - NewsMy Screenwriting book is to be published in March 2011. That's next month. I've just finished proof reading and can't belive how much I've written. It's so much longer than I originally planned.
And I'm happy to say that it is like no other screenwriting book out there.
I'll keep you posted on the exact publication date.Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-1850873635513067552011-01-25T08:40:00.000-08:002011-01-25T08:40:07.110-08:00Oscars - Academy Awards NominationsOscars Academy Awards - Who's on the list?
King's Speech has 12
True Grit has 10
Social Network has 8
What do you think of the screenplay nominations?
Original screenplay
Another Year - Mike Leigh
The Fighter - Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (screenplay); Keith Dorrington, Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson (story)
Inception - Christopher Nolan
The Kids Are All Right - Lisa Cholodenko and Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-2542535663990952942011-01-23T00:37:00.000-08:002011-01-23T02:50:16.892-08:00Hamlet as a WomanThe BFI are screening a new print of a remarkable film of Hamlet with live piano accompaniment on January 27th.
I studied this 1920 silent film when I was preparing research on the performance history of Hamlet for the third Arden edition of the play. It was a complete revelation.
The main character is a woman who has been brought up as a boy so that the family's dynasty can be maintained in the Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-7056852984219735922011-01-23T00:07:00.000-08:002011-01-23T00:07:44.382-08:00Shakespeare's Indoor TheatreWhen I was Leverhulme Research Fellow at Shakespeare's Globe, I was thrilled to be involved, watching the building take shape, working with the directors and actors on the first productions there. It was an immense sadness to everyone that Sam Wanamaker who worked so hard to realise his dream of recreating the Globe did not live to see the first performances.
He also planned on reconstructing anWelcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-59455899061647792992011-01-22T13:58:00.000-08:002011-01-22T13:58:42.516-08:00Why Every Screenplay Needs Subtext for EverythingA single image can express deep meaning, speak to the story's theme and communicate a character's inner emotions more powerfully and eloquently than words.
This is how subtext works. It's not just for dialogue. I find it really helpful to 'watch' my characters in a situation, and then wait. Wait for them to tell me what to write. It can be speech, of course, but very often I find that one simpleWelcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-33633519751128690702011-01-19T05:16:00.000-08:002011-01-19T05:29:21.488-08:00The BAFTAS - The King's Speech has 14 Nominations. True Grit has 8The BAFTAS 2011 List of Nominations is out.
The King's Speech has a whopping fourteen including Best Original Screenplay, Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Editing.
The Coens' True Grit got zero nominations at the Golden Globes, but they're on the BAFTA list for eight including Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematographer (the Coens' regular, Roger Deakins, Best Actor (Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-30422076487207305112011-01-16T07:22:00.000-08:002011-01-16T07:22:15.039-08:00How the Coen Brothers Write Their ScriptsIn an interview on the WGA site, Ethan and Joel Coen are uncharacteristically fulsome in their answers about their latest filmTrue Grit and offer some fascinating insights into how they write their scripts.
If anyone has to be convinced of my repeated plea for screenwriters to stop worrying about the '3-Act structure' or building a ready-made template for their story, the Coens have done a very Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-88960779179695270922011-01-15T11:27:00.000-08:002011-01-15T11:30:16.441-08:00The King's Speech Ending**SPOILERS ALERT!**
Was anyone else bothered by the last few shots of The King's Speech?
I found it sentimentalizing and trite. It wasn't necessary to cut from Colin Firth's (Bertie) face to Geoffrey Rush's (Lionel) face twice. And why on earth were we left with Lionel on the screen at the very end? This was Bertie's story.
I have to confess that I have an in-built 'punching the emotion too Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-10963923896485954032011-01-15T05:25:00.000-08:002011-01-15T05:25:47.237-08:00Golden Globes - One Day To Go! Here's Full List of NominationsTomorrow, Sunday 16 January, we'll know who's won the Golden Globe Awards for 2011.
Who do you think deserves Best Screenplay? The King's Speech and Social Network are hot favourites.
Here's the List:
Screenplay: Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, 127 Hours; Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg, The Kids Are All Right; Christopher Nolan, Inception; David Seidler, The King's Speech; Aaron Sorkin, The Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-15677559322791686822011-01-15T04:22:00.000-08:002011-01-15T04:22:45.849-08:00The King's Speech Wins Critics' Choice Best Original ScreenplayWhat do you think of the screenwriters' Critics' Choice Awards? David Seidler has won the Best Original Screenplay for The King's Speech and Aaron Sorkin Best Adapted Screenplay for The Social Network.
Both screenplays were pretty good, and Colin Firth certainly deserved his win for Best Actor.
Check out the full list here and make up your own predictions for the Oscars.
Best Original Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-79705259969705380582011-01-08T14:10:00.000-08:002011-01-08T14:19:34.934-08:00My Screenwriting Book is finished!I have now completed my screenwriting book on how to write screenplays of originality and cinematic passion. I'll be doing a countdown to publication so please check back on this blog for that.
In the meantime, have a look at my in-depth articles on my Unique Screenwriting website:
http://www.unique-screenwriting.comWelcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-72007972055288753762011-01-05T14:54:00.000-08:002011-01-05T14:54:42.056-08:00Writers' Guild of America Best Screenplay Nominations 2010Check out the WGA's best original and best adapted screenplay nominations here:
http://tinyurl.com/39s33d4
What do you think of the list? Any screenwriter you think should be on it? Anyone you think shouldn't be on it?Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-5266368046011572212010-08-04T03:30:00.000-07:002010-08-04T03:30:17.472-07:00How I Recovered My Screenwriting Voice and Storytelling InstinctsWith three producers asking to read one of my screenplays last week, I've been madly rewriting. And what's amazing is that writing my screenwriting books has had the most extraordinary effect on my own writing.
I went back to this script after quite a while away from it and discovered a miracle had occurred. I was approaching the story with a boldness and adventurousness I hadn't had before. I Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-75185521559668992862010-06-22T03:05:00.000-07:002010-06-22T03:05:07.580-07:00Trust the ActorIt's one of the hardest things a screenwriter has to avoid and it's something which usually marks out a writer's inexperience:
Punching the line for the actor.
Typically, it looks like this:
&Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-1667775766183913202010-05-28T02:47:00.000-07:002010-05-28T02:49:20.066-07:00Yes, Writing is Rewriting, But...I've gone back to a screenplay after being away from it for a while. And as always I'm struck at how differently I feel about it.
But why should that be unexpected? In the time I've been away from the script, things in my life have changed. I'm not the same person I was when I wrote that earlier draft. The world around me has changed. So it isn't strange that I now come back to it and find how Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-90149891809165488502010-05-12T03:12:00.000-07:002010-05-12T03:12:50.442-07:00Charlie Kaufman ArticlesBy the way, re: my last post. I've written articles about Charlie Kaufman's Adaptation on my site here:
http://www.unique-screenwriting.com/adaptation-screenwriting.html
http://www.unique-screenwriting.com/adaptation-screenwriting-2.htmlWelcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-84635317441910064932010-04-30T07:26:00.000-07:002010-04-30T23:44:10.347-07:00Hollywood Execs Read Aristotle!Did you know that Hollywood execs assess screenplays using 'exactly' the same criteria found in Aristotle? Or that Rocky can be analysed following the 'story structure' of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex, which the Daddy of Lit.Crit examined to demonstrate 'timeless universal truths' about drama?
And did you know that Aristotle talked about 'the three unities of dramatic action: time, place, Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1804790973832814263.post-58956217246268585592010-04-29T15:00:00.000-07:002010-04-29T15:44:16.597-07:00Why The So-Called '3-Act Structure' Should Carry a Mental Health WarningSo there I am, staring into this abyss right out of Dante's inferno. Or a huge gaping hole in the Earth's structure and a booming, terror-striking Voice behind me is screaming 'Jump! There's something like 60 miles between me and the place I've got to get to. But it's OK, the Voice says, you've made it this far. You've managed to get 30 miles here with no problem, and when you get you to the Welcomehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03802200856574910227noreply@blogger.com0