Screenplay

  • How to Write a Screenplay

15 Submission-Worthy Screenwriting Competitions of 2022, Presented by FilmFreeway

“With every competition, you’re rolling the dice,” says Haley Bartels, whose can’t-put-it-down screenplay Pumping Black, about blood doping in the…

2 years ago
  • Directing

How to Develop the Story Beats in Your Screenplay

Before we discuss how to develop story beats in a screenplay, let's start with a cold realization: On the surface, directing…

5 years ago
  • Screenwriting

From War Games to Word Play: Ashley Miller’s Unified Field Theory of Screenwriting 

Ashley Miller got his start as a screenwriter on the TV series Andromeda and as a co-writer on Agent Cody…

5 years ago
  • First Draft

First Draft: Five Criminally Underrated Elements of Successful Screenplays

In partnership with Creative Screenwriting and ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. What if you could learn…

6 years ago
  • Spring 2017

What’s In An Eighth? An Assistant Director Explains How to Break a Screenplay Page and Plan Shots

Math is generally reliable, but in the world of moviemaking, not so much. “Five takes” usually means 15 to 20.…

7 years ago
  • Cinema Law

Cinema Law: Should I Write a Season of TV For a Producer Without Upfront Compensation?

Q: A producer recently approached me with a finished pilot script and asked me to write the rest of the…

7 years ago
  • Acting

Upstaged by Injustice: The Salesman Is About More Than Its Titular Character, Says Actor Shahab Hosseini

Asghar Farhadi’s newest film The Salesman recently won prizes at Cannes for both Farhadi’s screenplay and for Shahab Hosseini’s lead performance. The…

7 years ago
  • Screenwriting

First Draft: How “Done” is Your Script?

In partnership with the blog ScreenCraft, “First Draft” is a series on everything to do with screenwriting. New articles, first…

8 years ago
  • First Draft
  • Screenwriting

First Draft: Five Keys to Making Your Protagonist Likable

In partnership with the blog ScreenCraft, we’re publishing “First Draft,” a series on everything to do with screenwriting. I’ll be…

8 years ago
  • First Draft
  • Screenwriting

First Draft: Five Tips for Better World-Building in Your Film

In partnership with the blog ScreenCraft, we’re publishing “First Draft,” a fortnightly series on everything to do with screenwriting. New…

8 years ago
  • Articles - Screenwriting

The Cat’s Meow: A Classy Story of Classic Hollywood

Steven Peros is an award-winning writer and filmmaker with credits in Film, Television, and Theatre. Ten years of research into a mysterious…

17 years ago
  • Articles - Cover Story
  • Articles - Directing
  • Articles - Moviemaking

Dark Star Tim Roth Kicks Some Ass

The weekend before Thanksgiving our sister organization, The MovieMaker Institute, traveled to New York City to put on what we billed as…

28 years ago