All posts by James Napoli
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First Draft: Sure, Story Structure Guides Are Useful. But When Should We Be Using Them, and How?
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. “It’s not where you take things from—it’s... -
First Draft: Understanding the Promise of the Premise Through Nocturnal Animals, Groundhog Day and Black Mirror
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Save the Cat practitioners will be familiar... -
First Draft: Living In the Past With Flashbacks and Monologues
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Flashbacks Nothing provokes a more knee-jerk “don’t... -
First Draft: Knowing the Difference Between Fact and Truth When Adapting a True Story
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Taking the 1994 film Quiz Show as a... -
First Draft: Know Your Place, Write Better Single Locations
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Every screenplay should be set somewhere. Forget... -
First Draft: Hone Your Skills in Storytelling Efficiency With Groundhog Day
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. There are many screenplays available online, but... -
First Draft: When Is It OK For Your Script to Use On-the-Nose Dialogue?
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, we’re publishing “First Draft,” a series on everything to do with screenwriting. Near the end of Richard Wenk’s... -
First Draft: Lessons in Screenplay Plants and Payoffs from Chinatown and The Orphanage
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. “Bad for glass,” says private eye Jake Gittes... -
First Draft: Is it Surprise, or is it Suspense?
In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. I had an interesting experience while binge-watching...
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Inside the Issue: Distribution
Your Key to Distribution Success: Get Keyed in to Key Art, and You’re On Your Way to an Instantly Iconic Movie
Think about some of the most famous posters ever produced: Jaws, Scarface, Taxi Driver, The Shining, Ghostbusters, E.T., The Godfather. What do they have in common? To...2Inside the Issue: Festivals
deadCenter Film Festival 2017: Oklahoma City Is the Biggest Star Of This Consistently Great Event
Film festivals are as good as their programmers and audiences, and the deadCenter film festival has an abundance of excellence in both. From the very first...Inside the Issue: Producing
What Investors Want to Hear: Here Are the Things You Need to Be Telling Potential Financiers In Your Pitch
There are as many different ways to get funding as there are movies made, but the one thing all of those stories have in common is...6