Screenwriting

  Chris Moore is one of the most respected producers and sought after speakers in Hollywood today. From Good Will Hunting to American Pie to the Oscar winning Manchester by the Sea, Chris has carved out something rare in this business, a long lasting and lucrative career with huge projects spanning multiple decades. Additionally, as the founder of Project Greenlight and The Chair, Chris has been at the forefront of champion independent filmmakers all across the globe. It’s no wonder why...

Are your bad guys bad enough?Evil enough?Vile and slimy and downright power hungry?Do they make you cringe when you're writing them? They should. And according to our favorite writers at Bang2Write, the protagonist’s goodness is directly related to how powerful the villain is. That's why we see so many "bad guys" who want all the power while the "good guys" want peace on earth and good will to men. And yeah, yeah, we know the antagonist (hero) is supposed to be the foundation of the film....

What's up, Creative Army? Another Sunday, another edition of Coffee & Content.  Let's kick it off. First up, as you know, most industry readers give a screenplay about 5-10 pages before deciding whether they want to soldier on and spend the next 90-120 minutes of their lives with your story.  So how can you assure your screenplay sings from Page 1?  TOMKAT content provides some insights and some examples to back 'em up in their Writing the Perfect Movie Opening video. Next, I've featured m...

It happened. You lost it. Your passion and motivation are gone. We've all been there. Whether you have writer's block or are in an acting slump, it seems hard to get through it. I've been there too and I want to share the lessons I've learned because of it. Creators create and when that fire withers away, it can be life changing and painful. For me, it was devastating and debilitating. I couldn't cope. It took me ten years to find my footing, after losing everything. I left a great University an...

Monday, August 20th, 2018 - I got home at 10pm last night. I woke up at 5am that morning not knowing how my day would turn out. It was a beautiful mid-August morning with the hot sweltering heat and humidity of the past couple months finally breaking with a perfect weather day. However, myself and 18 other actors and crew members wouldn't be outside to enjoy the gorgeous weather. We were inside an air-conditioned vacant office in Plainville, MA instead, attempting an impossible feat. From left...

Greetings from sunny London.  It's been an inspiring last few days screening our 3rd Annual Short Film Program at the Raindance Film Festival and shining a light on the incredible filmmakers who won this year's competition.  More on that soon, but for now, let's get to the Coffee & Content. First up, last week's Goodfellas Script to Screen proved to be extremely popular, so I figured I'd double up this weekend with a look at Aaron Sorkin and David Fincher's work with The Social Network. Thin...

FADE IN. INT. RADIO STATION – DAY CHYRON: APRIL 6TH, 2018 A small gathering of radio personalities and sales people sit around a table enjoying pizza and tales of yesterday. They range from the sentimental (like helping lonely seniors during the holidays) to the absurd (like the time a DJ mispronounced the name Kuntz in front a mall filled with Black Friday Shoppers. ) A banner hangs saying “Good luck Keith.” Hugs are shared and Keith (30’s) has tears of joy with a smile of relief and hope...

Hey, guys! Alex and Trevor here, back with our regular Stage 32 segment: Ask us Anything. Our last question and video answer can be found HERE. Today's question is from Stage 32 Member, Tom Stohlgren: Great question, Tom! When a final draft is handed over, many people expect that to be the end of the road for creative input from a screenwriter, but in some cases, it is imperative to have the screenwriter a short distance away on set. Alex and Trevor discuss when a screenwriter should...

Some of you have seen the power of connecting right here on Stage 32.Some of you are still discovering that power. Here is one story of how Stage 32 connections are changing the way we move and connect with other creatives in the film industry. More Than a Hello When Stage 32 decided to become the networking partner for the first ever VIP Film and TV Summit in Washington D.C. on August 25th, 2018, we had no idea that our fast-growing social and education network was a big part of how event...

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in my career as a screenwriter (on projects like HBO’s Band of Brothers) – and as a teacher and consultant to writers at all levels – it’s that projects tend to live or die based on their core idea or concept. That’s why I called my new book The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction.     As a professional writer, my agents and managers have tried to talk me out of most of my ideas for series or screenplays, and they’ve...