Screenwriting

I had contributed articles for TVWriter.com for several years from 2015-2017. I had written a television script called Turbulence project in 2013. I entered it into Larry Brody’s People’s Pilot. It did well the first time winding up somewhere in the middle of the scripts submissions. The second time, it received Semi-Finalist status based on the very readers favorable ratings. At one point, Larry suggested that I turn it into a novel. I discounted the idea at first. After all, I was a screenwri...

Hello Screenwriters. My name is Shaun. I am a Stage 32 Exec, Gotham Award-winning independent film producer, member of the Producers Guild of America, Repped Screenwriter, Script Consultant and educator. I've been in the film and television industry for 28 years and producing for 14 of those years. In that time I have been privileged to work with and learn from some of the greatest filmmakers and performers in our industry - from James Cameron, Steven Spielberg and Judd Apatow to Joe Wright...

DON'T STOP BELIEVING "I've written a play. Can you direct it?" AN OFFER! It was 2013. Two friends of mine recommended to playwright, Robin Pond, that he approach me to direct his play, 'The Retirement Plan', which had been selected to appear at The Toronto Fringe Festival. I had directed plays before, but all of them had been from scripts I had written. However, I was intrigued, and asked Robin to send me his script. I read 'The Retirement Plan', a dark comedy that dealt with a retiring...

Happy Sunday Creative Army! Have you had a creative weekend so far? I have some content here for you that is sure to get the creative juices flowing, so grab your coffee and let's dive in. First up, IGN shares a fascinating behind the scenes look at the adrenaline-pumping fighter jet shots captured in Top Gun: Maverick. In this video, Director Joe Kosinski talks about the 15 month process he and his crew went through working with the Navy to perfect the real in air shots captured for the fil...

I know a lot of people who live very small lives in very small places. The one I actually know the best is me. I’m the woman who was scared to not only leave her home state but also her town until I hit my 40’s. I was scared to fail at everything, including getting from A to B in a car. So I sat, safe, in Penn Valley, Pennsylvania. A divorce thrust me into a new life and I realized if I didn’t take risks that led to failure I was going to disappear off the radar, broke and alone. My first st...

Many times, when writing a script or a novel, you might consider the task of creating strong secondary characters for granted. That is, you have created a unique and interesting Sci-Fi world or main character that drives the action in your novel or screenplay. This drives the main character to overcome major obstacles and emotional challenges in order to achieve their goal by the end of the movie or novel. Their “Need” or “Desire” to achieve their goal is paramount to achieving a satisfactory...

I had the great fortune recently to audition a few wonderful actors for a role in one of my passion projects. Every single one of them was professional, courteous, kind, talented, and funny. As someone who does not consider herself an actress, I’ve never experienced the auditioning process from the other side, and I must say… I cannot imagine what it must be like. Actors are a special and wonderful kind of gang… they are out there, they keep their emotions in a silk purse, ready to come...

There's only one way to break into the show business as a writer and it's different for everyone. My access point to Hollywood has a name: Alexia Melocchi of LITTLE STUDIO FILMS in Beverly Hills, my accomplished, dedicated Manager, a successful entertainment industry professional and a courageous visionary dreamer I was lucky to meet after connecting through a Stage 32 pitch session. Let me thank the entire Stage 32 Team for the great connections they helped me make and Alexia from the bottom...

Getting paid for being a filmmaker is an art form and rarely taken to heart, so artists starve for their craft. This image of the "starving artist" must not and should not be perpetuated. Most people believe that the work of a writer, a producer, a filmmaker is based on passion alone, and as a result it is assumed that all artists are meant to work for free, or to get paid later, because their passion for the craft will make them accept work under any condition, including the freebies or the inf...

One of the most understated things about writing is how hard it can be on your Mental Health. Go ahead, Google “Writing and Mental Health.” I’ll wait. Back already? If you saw the same thing I saw, you’ll see that the entire first page is about journaling and its benefits to mental health. This is true. There’s a reason why therapists suggest people keep journals. The fact is, non-writers do not understand the relationship between a writer and their writing. They don’t understand that...