Screenwriting

In an effort to outwit, out-win, and outshine up and coming streaming competitors, Netflix announced last week that the entity is prepared to pay upwards of $12 billion dollars in licensing and producing content in 2019.   Even with this announcement, some studio partners holding licensing agreements with Netflix (like WarnerMedia sharing Friends) haven't pulled away from the media giant. This may go against WarnerMedia's strategy to bring owned content ‘in-house’ in an effort to make it...

What makes a great TV show become so great? Writers will tell you it's the writers. Directors will tell you it's the directors. Actors will tell you it's the actors. And sometimes all the creatives come together to say it was a work that came to fruition thanks to all the players involved. As for The Office, creator Michael Schur will tell you it was all of that, plus a little bit of luck, and one happy accident - that brought the show to life. To learn just what that accident was, click...

Happy Sunday to all. Also. hope you're enjoying and participating in the first Introduce Yourself Weekend of 2019.  Lay the groundwork toward connections that matter! Let's get to the coffee and content... Storytelling, either on the page or in the room, is an art. What makes a good story? Can it be distilled down in a manageable and comprehensive way? Story Greenlight gave it a run and the result is our first video for today, 3 Easy Tips for GREAT Storytelling. Next, I had the pleasure of...

Over and over again, we read, study, or watch videos of different perspectives on the craft of writing. We may hear the same thing as we watch a video or read a post, or we may glean something new.     In the following article, four Hollywood writers share a nugget of knowledge that helped improve their writing. And they go a little something like this:"The object and the craft of effective action is to create a scenario that must end well yet seemingly cannot. Use luck, so long as it's...

I just finished writing my 11th TV series and what I learned is that I love writing the thriller/drama genre the most. I love thrillers and dramas because of the endless depth and breadth of the characters and storylines. Obviously, conflict is what drives a TV series, so it's important to make sure your show has captivating, unique villains that prevent your protagonists from reaching their goals. Below, I outline 11 character traits and situations that will give your TV show villains “more t...

I’ve finally optioned a feature script. It’s taken six years to get to this point and it’s been tough. Really tough. How does it feel? It feels amazing. It’s a whole new level of validation. It feels like the start of something rather than living in purgatory. But I don’t want to make this about myself. I know many of you are finding it tough too, so I wanted to put something together explaining how I think I got here, and what really matters when it comes to screenwriting. I want to do this...

Spencer Robinson is a talent and literary manager at Art/Work Entertainment, as well as an educator on the Stage 32 social media platform. When we caught up with him at HollyShorts, he shared a crucial reason why other creatives should be a part of Stage 32 and Stage 32 Education.   Click Here For Spencer's Advice!       Remember, if you haven't subscribed to our YouTube page, make sure you do so you don't miss any of our announcements.   Like this blog post? Please share it on...

If you're a screenwriter, than you've heard (hopefully) more than a ka-zillion times (maybe) that one way to learn the craft of screenwriting is by reading past work. (And plenty of it.) That means reading scripts. Features, shorts, pilots, anthologies, and so on.     I don't know about you, but I have quite a few read scripts under my belt. So does William Gallagher, a screenwriter based in Great Britian. But he's got me beat, for sure. Here's his story on what he learned after rea...

Welcome to the weekend, everyone. Let's jump right into another edition of Coffee & Content, shall we? First up, this one is a couple of years old, but filled with timeless information. From Variety, it's 7 Tips From Screenwriters. Next up, from the good people at Quandary Productions, here are 10 tips designed to help you improve all aspects of your cinematography. As always, I ask you to take the time to share this content with those you think could benefit from viewing. Embrace your s...

The Duplass Brothers are writing and producing fast. So fast, they say, that they're saving themselves thousands of dollars per episode on Room 104, an HBO anthology that's starting to turn heads.   They're also opening the doors to filmmakers looking to do something different. And while some writers feel their scripts feel "unfinished," the duo believes the process they're using allows for greater creativity while saving big cash at the same time. “We say, ‘Hey, we think you could be r...