Advice

You've slaved over every syllable to make it memorable. Your manuscript spills over with high ideas, scathing wit and a dash of drama that would send even the coldest executive producer groping for a box of Kleenex. Yet, for the life of you, you can't get anyone in the business to read it, let alone give you a call. What gives? Let's face it. You're not just competing with the other good scripts and first novels. You're competing with piles and piles... and piles... of bad ones. Aside from step one -- producing the most imaginative, tightest manuscript you can...

A phone conversation with Linda Seger on the subject of Writer's Block ~~ 'What happens with a lot of people is that they stay within their safety zone, always doing things where they're safe and secure. So I say go and do something where you don't feel safe or secure and see how you feel. See what you learn. So if you've never been to a Country & Western bar, go. Or take a flying lesson. Or take the train down to San Diego to see what it feels like to be on the train, who you see, what kind...

One way to add that mysterious quality of emotional layers or 'depth' to a plot is to have the hero's emotional journey echoed in a subplot. Alan Ball, the screenwriter of 'American Beauty,' does this masterfully. This can be seen in how Wes Bently's (the intense young man in the film) plotline echoes Kevin Spacey's (and sometimes, vice versa). First, there are some obvious parallels between the two men: 1. Both Bently and Spacey get fired by telling off their bosses. 2. Spacey and Bently are out of communication with those around them. Spacey lives in a sexual fantasy; Bently...

Secrets of Blockbuster Movies Part IV Writing for Hollywood requires more than a good premise and strong storytelling ability. You also have to write what Hollywood wants to sell. In today's entertainment business, that means a script with blockbuster capability. If the buyers don't think your script will appeal to a massive worldwide audience, they won't buy it. What may surprise you is that the elements that buyers think will appeal worldwide are found in the deep structure of a script. DESIRE LINE One element essential to good storytelling is a strong desire line. The main character wants something very...

Sometimes I like to see a movie twice; once to watch the movie, and once to watch the audience. You can learn a lot from watching the audience, how involved they are, how restless, how they breathe, when they lean over to talk to each other, when they don't understand something.I saw 'The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring' once early in the movie's run, in a packed house, and concentrated on watching the movie. Watching movies is an uneasy process for me, since I am observing with a lot of agendas most movie-goers don't have. I...