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Screenplay adversary
Your main antagonist is quite similar to your hero, except that they both have very different goals. It’s your adversary that causes your hero the main conflict in your screenplay. Your antagonist is usually a person, because it’s easier for your hero to be struggling against someone they can physically fight with, talk with and [...]
Continue reading...Character’s motivation and desire
15. November 2008
You often hear the public say ‘it’s the money’ when an actor asks the director what their motivation is for the scene they’re about to perform. That motivation has already been provided by the writer of the screenplay. If the writer has constructed correctly, the actor will know the character arc of their performance and will [...]
Continue reading...Screenplay Copyright
11. November 2008
Don’t panic; people are not usually out to steal your screenplay writing. Screenplay writers will have heard of the need to copyright their work, often because they’re paranoid that unscrupulous individuals may wish to steal their work. It does happen, but it’s rare. Go and Google copyright theft and you won’t find too many live and [...]
Continue reading...Writing scenes
10. November 2008
A full screenplay should be 90 to 110 pages if you want to match Hollywood’s expectations. It should have around 35-50 scenes, or in Blake Synder’s opinion (and his opinion is worth its weight in gold) it should have exactly 40 scenes. Save your three hour epic for your award winning second or third produced/released/in [...]
Continue reading...Screenplay Structure
8. November 2008
Referring to the cliché ‘if you fail to plan, you plan to fail’ sums up the screenplay writer’s needs for structure. Wail and scream all you like, but structure to your movie is all about planning. It’s essential and don’t believe you can miss out this important part of your writing process, even when you’re [...]
Continue reading...Screenplay writer’s fees
6. November 2008
Just what is a screenplay writer worth? Of course there is no easy answer. The writer that gets their script produced in a Halle Berry/Jodie Foster movie making over $200+ million profit is very different from the small indie film that sells a couple of thousand DVDs and just breaks into profit, with many movies showing [...]
Continue reading...Goal Setting Tips : End Goals vs Mean Goals
5. November 2008
Writers need to set themselves targets which they can judge themselves against. Here’s a helpful article from Ethan Beh, re-printed with full permission, which I hope will help. By Ethan Beh It is very important to set goals. Having a target helps you take action, focus on important things and prevents time and effort spent on unnecessary [...]
Continue reading...Screenplay formatting to industry standard
28. October 2008
Your screenplay needs to stand out from the crowd; your formatting needs to blend in with one and all. The format must be the same that everyone else is using, not just in Hollywood, but all over the world. Why, you ask? Because anyone reading your screenplay – reader, producer, studio, agent – needs [...]
Continue reading...Hero credentials
23. October 2008
Single out the right individual. Yes, I really mean this. How many times have I read a screenplay where the hero is not really the hero and another character takes over the lead role? Don’t confuse the viewer or reader. We all want to know who the hero is, early in the screenplay, very early [...]
Continue reading...Hot script v average script
21. October 2008
What type of movie do you want to go and see; a dull one or a great one? While the question may appear a little (or a lot) on the brainless side, it’s a standard more screenplay writers need to apply. Often they have a great idea, but really only fifty pages of real [...]
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18. November 2008
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