Comedy is the most challenging genre for one simple reason: what is funny to one person is not necessarily funny to another. But that doesn’t make it impossible to write a humorous film or sitcom, because if you understand the foundation of comic situations you can inject humor into whatever it is you’re writing, regardless of genre, especially if you read Steve Kaplan’s The Hidden Tools of Comedy: The Serious Business of Being Funny
Category: screenwriting tips
Revealing key backstory in compelling fashion — Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
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Comedy, the Doritos Goat Super Bowl Ad, and no dialogue needed
It’s easy as a screenwriter to tend to focus on dialogue, but the reality is stories need structure and conflict before they need any dialogue. The Doritos Super Bowl goat ad is a great example of why it is best first to focus on the story before worrying about the dialogue. Continue reading “Comedy, the Doritos Goat Super Bowl Ad, and no dialogue needed”
Indiana Jones and — the Story Development Transcript!
Grab a seat at the table with George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Lawrence Kasdan during their 1978 story development conference sessions for “Raiders of the Lost Ark“
Screenwriting setups and payoffs are best as cause and effect
Invariably the best and most entertaining films are dense with clever-yet-subtle setups and payoffs, and “War Games“
Why everyone needs an editor
The lingering confusion and disappointment about Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” is a good high-profile example of why everyone — screenwriters, directors, producers not withstanding — need editors to identify plot holes, character inconsistencies, and anything else that undermines a story’s impact and confuses audiences.
One of the most anticipated films of 2012, “Prometheus”
Continue reading “Why everyone needs an editor”
Sell your screenplay: what producers want to hear
I just got back from the Inktip Pitch Summit, where, for a price, you meet with a variety of producers in five-minute sessions to pitch your screenplay, sitcom, reality TV idea or story concept to as many producers as you like throughout the day. And you’re probably thinking, “no way can I condense my fabulously detailed, intricate story into five minutes!” But the reality is Continue reading “Sell your screenplay: what producers want to hear”
Insight From A Nicholl Screenwriting Competition Judge
Passing along this great insight from Corey Mandell’s blog: Insight From A Nicholl Screenwriting Competition Judge, in which Ron Birnbach’s words of advice extend beyond screenplay competitions.
Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime show and what screenwriters and filmmakers can learn
Madonna’s SuperBowl halftime show achieved what screenwriters and filmmakers strive to achieve: quite simply, it was entertaining on many levels from start to finish. Regardless of how you feel about her music, Madonna’s show delivered a highly structured full-on multimedia experience that serves as a spot-on “how to” for screenwriters and filmmakers, starting with Continue reading “Madonna’s Super Bowl halftime show and what screenwriters and filmmakers can learn”
The failed symbol of “War Horse”
Screenwriting consultant Laurie Hutzler has an excellent blog post on why “War Horse” lacks emotional impact, and here I want to focus on why the film’s key symbol — the Boer War red and tan campaign pennant — lacks the emotional impact it was meant to convey. Continue reading “The failed symbol of “War Horse””