The Unknown Screenwriter Screenwriting Tips, Tricks, and Observations…

Today is a guest post from a buddy of mine… Brian O’Malley, owner and operator of ScreenplayReaders.com I asked Brian if he would write a guest post about using actual readers to read over your screenplays before actually submitting them to contests, production companies, agents, and managers. Why? Because often, it’s really good to know what a reader in the ... Read More »

So we know every good screenplay needs subtext and probably, the most important kind of subtext is subtext in the dialogue that your characters speak. Don’t get me wrong… Subtext in other forms should be practiced as well but clearly, the subtext that most readers are going to get right away is the subtext within the dialogue. One of the ... Read More »

Another screenwriting webinar? You bet. Conflict. Concept. Character. The 3 Cs. Without these three elements, you have less chance of someone in Hollywood taking you seriously. Let’s face it… Hollywood is all about the money right now and I don’t think we’re going to be seeing that change anytime soon. Creative executives and producers are hunkering down NOW more than ... Read More »

In Part 1, I pointed out that you really need to give your actors something to work with when it comes to the dialogue you’re giving your characters… That “something to work with” is subtext. Subtext will help a reader, a producer, a director, and an actor distinguish WHO your characters are. There’s an old trick that’s been around a ... Read More »

I know… There’s probably quite a few posts and articles already out there when it comes to subtext in your screenplay. I’m hoping that I’m able to possibly throw a bit of a different spin on things… Subtext is the deeper meaning in your dialogue, action, characters, scene, and plot. Another piece of the puzzle so to speak. A piece ... Read More »

So yeah… I was on Twitter today and read a message that sent me to YouTube and kept me there watching Parts 1 through 5 of Malkovich’s Mail. My thanks to @shericandler via @FilmmakerMag of Filmmaker for putting this out there today. Be sure to check out her site at SheriCandler.com For those of you who read the last couple ... Read More »

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So the odds of selling a spec aren’t nearly as bad as a lot of you thought it might be… On the other hand, there seemed to be more than a handful of you out there who are already second-guessing whether you should be writing specs or something else. Good. That was my goal. So for those of you that ... Read More »

It’s recently occurred to me as I field daily emails from people writing spec screenplays that many of them have absolutely no idea about the quest that lays before them. Which makes me wonder if they would stay on the quest IF they actually knew how fuckin’ ROCKY the road really is. I am no mathematician but let’s see if ... Read More »

It’s no secret that there are a lot of us that want to write screenplays and it’s even less of a secret that a lot of us are already writing screenplays. In fact, whether you live in Los Angeles or Fargo, chances are you know someone BESIDES YOURSELF that wants to take a shot at writing a screenplay. I used ... Read More »

You’ve gotta love Hollywood. So creative. So inventive. So out of the box. Yeah… Makes you feel good about writing creative, inventive, out of the box spec scripts. Right? I mean hey… Just look at what we have to look forward to coming up on the horizon… A remake of CARRIE A reboot of FRIGHT NIGHT A remake of CHILD’S ... Read More »

You know… Hollywood kills me. Hollywood executives kill me even more. Apparently, they’ve forgotten what storytelling and screenwriting is all about. Yeah I know… We already knew that. But exactly one minute ago, the same sack of rotten potatoes was thrown at me again… I just read the following article over at the New York Times — Enough With the ... Read More »

So I got to my local coffee shop today as usual but for some reason, the place was packed. Standing room only except for the outside tables and chairs. Got my Americano and Pepsi and headed outdoors and to be honest… I really don’t do that ENOUGH and after today, I really need to do it more often. Why? Screenwriting ... Read More »

So you’re still writing? Me too but it’s a lot harder out there these days… I personally lean more toward independent film and in case you aren’t aware, Independent film has all but disappeared unless some studio decides to take an interest in an indie production. For just about two years now I’ve been ranting about distribution… Many people IN ... Read More »

So every few days, I get an email from somebody asking me what happened to the site which, in and of itself is quite interesting because since there was no site until just a day ago, that means, these people had to have gotten my email address from somewhere. Sure, I recognized a few names from prior correspondence but there ... Read More »