Advice

Gangs of New York may be the most ambitious film of the last few years. Its production design and cinematography are among the best I have ever seen. Unfortunately, its story structure cannot support the film's ambition. The main structural element that sets this movie apart from others is context. Most Hollywood fare shows nothing of the world of the hero. It wants to get to the goal as quickly as possible so the audience can start on its wild ride. As a result, the average Hollywood movie has speed, but no subtlety or complexity. There is no sense of...

Truby's Breakdown -- 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' Breakdown: an analysis of story techniques and structure as viewed through the eyes of the Seven Steps and 22 Building Blocks contained in Truby's Blockbuster story development software. ~~ My Big Fat Greek Wedding The script for this film, written by the lead actress, is very funny, even though it covers familiar ground. It confirmed for me a valuable lesson for the writer: find the gold in your idea and stick with it. This is a love story. Yet, unlike the normal Hollywood love story, there is almost no time spent on...

In The Simpsons, Toy Story, A Bug's Life, and Shrek we see film and television which can be enjoyed equally by kids and adults.There are a number of ways to create this kind of cross-demographic appeal. Here I will discuss a few of the techniques the writers of Shrek used to achieve such a complex feat.First, let's give credit where credit is due. The writers, basing the script on a book by William Steig, were Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, and Roger S.H. Schulman, from a story by Ken Harsha, and with additional dialogue contributions from Cody Cameron,...

Building Your StoryYes, this is where I invoke the often-dreaded "O" word.OutlineI continue to be amazed by the number of screenwriters and working, published novelists I meet who do NOT outline. And at the risk (one from which I have rarely shied) of coming off as a smartass -- they are wrong.I hasten to point out that they are not necessarily bad writers. Some great writers work that way (on a tightrope, without a net). What I am suggesting -- and this is both arguable and unprovable -- is that their work -- their end product -- would probably be...

I'm sitting here struggling with how to write a critique of this highly praised yet flawed screenplay. Besides my feeling of it not being good enough - in spite of being highly successful in Hollywood - what I really want to do right now is have a muffin, and I might as well have coffee too, although it might be better to exercise first. Kaufman - the writer not the character - has been applauded for his very post-modern technique of including his own struggle to write an adaptation of "The Orchid Thief" as part of the story. If we're...