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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Year in MovieMaker
Inside the Issue: Acting
Flash Forward: Grace Van Patten Takes a Leap into the Unknown in David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Lake
Many actors will tell you that when you read a great script, you just know. But for Grace Van Patten, it was actually not knowing that...1Inside the Issue: Directing
Success in Succession: Matteo Garrone Shot Dogman Entirely in Sequence to Put Viewers in His Character’s Shoes
I wrote the script for my new film, Dogman, 12 years ago, and during those years I changed it many times, arriving at six or seven...Inside the Issue: How To
Journalism Plus: How Hail Satan?, The Brink, and Leaving Neverland Blend Truth-Seeking With Cinematic Storytelling
“Journalism Plus” is how Academy Award-winning moviemaker Laura Poitras (Citizenfour) characterizes making documentaries. If you’re a documentarian, you may not have a degree or credentials in...8