Screenwriting

Imagine your shyest friend. The one who talks with you, and not many others. This person is probably really good at what they do – writing, directing, editing - but is terrible at putting themselves out there and meeting new people. Now imagine that friend finally working up the courage to type up a paragraph about themselves and post it for this community to see. Imagine that person discovering other creatives and striking up conversations with them, all because you took the time to lift them u...

Hey everyone! Harrison here, the Director of Education at Stage 32. As a lot of you know, I’ve been working hard this past year to put together new learning opportunities led by some of the top minds in the entertainment industry to help everyone in the Stage 32 community grow in their field, whatever that field may be. And I’m super proud of what the education we’ve been able to provide! We’ve programmed webinars, classes and labs that have helped writers, directors, script supervisors, edito...

The 93rd annual Academy Awards are scheduled to air live on ABC on Sunday, April 25, from multiple locations, including the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Oscar nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay were announced on March 15.Click the titles below and download the scripts you find interesting - these links will expire soon!   ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Judas and the Black Messiah Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka KingStory by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas...

I’ve been writing since I learned to read, and I’ve always dreamed of being a professional writer. I spent my childhood writing novels: Tolkien-esque fantasy knock-offs, historical fiction, and even a quirky murder mystery. In high school, I discovered my dad’s stash of classic sci-fi novels, and I fell in love with the genre. But I still stayed in my comfort zone, studying literature in college and then graduate school--starting a family--pursuing a career in academia. But through it all, I kep...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! I've got my coffee in hand and your weekly dose of content coming in hot - grab your coffee of choice and let's dive right in. First up, our friends over at StudioBinder has put together a great video about how to write a TV pilot that sells. In this video, they use South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone's approach to story structure to illustrate compelling story structure. Like our Christopher Mack does in our Netflix TV Pitch Workshop, this video uses t...

The 74th British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs, will be held on Sunday April 11th at the Royal Albert Hall in London. The nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay were announced on Tuesday March 9th.   BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Another Round Written by Thomas Vinterberg & Tobias Lindholm Transcript Only Mank Written by Jack Fincher Promising Young Woman Written by Emerald Fennell Rocks Written by Theresa Ikoko & Claire WilsonSt...

It is no secret that writing a TV show, or an animated series is not an easy task, especially if your story takes place in a complex fantasy, historical or science fiction world. However, tabletop role-playing games can help you with that. Right before we start, let me tell you a story. A few years ago, I started to develop an animated sci-fi series. I had the story and the characters, but despite all my efforts, the setting was still vague, and this made the writing difficult. The fact that I...

Fragile, resilient. Perceptive, narrow-minded. Reclusive, convivial. As writers we are all these things and more. We are the canaries in the coal mine, the watchers against the dark, the mirrors of society. But if we are empaths and mirrors, what do we do when society has a really bad day? Or a really bad week? Or months? Or a year? If you were fortunate enough to listen to Rebecca Day’s session at the London Screenwriters Festival Online on February 7th, "Where's your head at? Mastering crea...

The Ever-Dreaded Constructive Criticism Fellow screenwriters, I get it. Constructive criticism sucks, any way you slice it. Yes, we know it helps, but it almost always hurts in a way. It's a direct blow to the good old ego, which is ever so frail these days. That nice little labor of love you just spent 100+ man hours on has issues with it? How could it possibly after all that time and energy you just devoted to it? Seemingly impossible, right? Believe me, I understand fully. Been th...

Television Drama is crushing it right now. Television Drama has expanded the possibilities for character exploration and led to storytelling that is beyond what any feature film could achieve. That is why series like THE QUEEN’S GAMBIT and BRIDGERTON on Netflix, EUPHORIA on HBO, YELLOWSTONE on Paramount, DEXTER on Showtime, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, and upcoming series like GENERATION on HBOMax are blowing away critics. Writers and producers of Television Drama are on the cutting edge of entertai...