Screenwriting lesson from Ted Griffin

Ted Griffin is an L.A.-based screenwriter who wrote Ocean's Eleven, Matchstick Men, Rumour Has It..., Killers, and Tower Heist.

He broke into Hollywood in the late 1990s, selling a series of spec scripts that have so far gone unproduced, including Mobile in 1997, and Solace and Beached in 1998. These landed him an early rewrite assignment for a comedy called Domestic Partners, which has also gone unproduced.

Here he is, talking about his career.

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First posted: 27 January 2013

Chili Palmer Talks Screenwriting

Can you believe it? Get Shorty is now twenty-two years old. Where did that time go?

Slyvester Stallone on screenwriting

Slyvester Stallone on screenwriting, with maybe the best advice you can give to a newbie writer.

Scott Frank

In this BAFTA lecture, Scott Frank illustrates the importance of opening scenes, the challenges his craft encompasses and how, ultimately, "it's all about the words".

Jim Uhls: Screenwriting lesson

Jim Uhls is a playwright and screenwriter, best known for his screenplay for Fight Club (1999), an adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel, which is considered a great example of how to successfully adapt an "unadaptable" book.

In this interview he tells how he got that job. I was especially interested in his tactics for winning over the director.



First posted: 13 January 2013

Callie Khouri on screenwriting

Callie Khouri was raised in Texas and Kentucky by her doctor father and mother. She went to university to study landscape architecture, but switched to drama. She moved to Los Angeles in 1982 to study at the Strasburg Institute, then worked for a commercials production company as a receptionist before taking a position with them as a music video production assistant. While working at the office, she began work on what would eventually become Thelma & Louise (1991), writing the script in longhand at home and then retyping it on the job.

Here's her story of how she came to write Thelma & Louise.



First posted:  16 December 2012

Screenwriting - Being Economic

Some advice for screenwriters from the International Academy Of Film And Television.

John August on screenwriting

Screenwriter John August (Big Fish, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) takes viewers inside his creative process in an exploration of where ideas come from.

Eric Roth on screenwriting

Eric Roth is the writer of Forrest Gump, The Insider, Munich, The Good Shepherd, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and many others.

Here he takes viewers inside his creative process in an exploration of where ideas come from.



And here he is collecting the 2012 WGAW Screen Laurel Award.

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Jim Uhls: Screenwriting lesson

This is post #500. Jim Uhls is a playwright and screenwriter, best known for his screenplay for Fight Club (1999), an adaptation of the Chuck Palahniuk novel, which is considered a great example of how to successfully adapt an "unadaptable" book.

In this interview he tells how he got that job. I was especially interested in his tactics for winning over the director.

Callie Khouri on screenwriting

Callie Khouri was raised in Texas and Kentucky by her doctor father and mother. She went to university to study landscape architecture, but switched to drama. She moved to Los Angeles in 1982 to study at the Strasburg Institute, then worked for a commercials production company as a receptionist before taking a position with them as a music video production assistant. While working at the office, she began work on what would eventually become Thelma & Louise (1991), writing the script in longhand at home and then retyping it on the job.

Here's her story of how she came to write Thelma & Louise.

Screenwriting - six versions

Here's a simple explanation of what screenwriters do all day—told from six different perspectives.

It was created by screenwriter Mike Le, posted on The Black List website, and ruthlessly stolen shown here by me as an homage to Mike Le (possibly the smartest screenwriter working today. Plus, the guy worked on The Royal Tenenbaums, one of my all-time Top 10 movies.)

The Black List is expanding, from its original role as an annual survey, into a creative website which now includes interviews with industry people on a range of topics. You can ask questions and, maybe, get them answered by an expert. Or at least read lots of opinions on the subject. For example: What are the best opening scenes in movie history?

"Style" in screenwriting

Everything changes; nothing stays the same. Even screenwriting. 

Up until the 1980s, screenwriters focussed on the story they wanted to tell. With the rise of the mega-spec script sales, screenwriters started to write the story they hoped to sell. There's a difference, in style, as well as intent.

I was interested to read a post by venerable screenwriting blogger John August this week. It has the memorable title: Observations on the evolution of screenwriting based on reading one script from 1974. He doesn't say what that one script was, but here are a few of his comments:

Locations got much less writer attention. In this script, a kitchen is a kitchen. In today’s scripts, every location gets at least a color line (“stainless steel and subway tiles, with an $8000 convection oven that’s never been used.”)

By “evolution,” I don’t mean that screenwriting has gotten better, by the way. It’s just gotten different, the way fashions change. Modern screenplays work very hard — too hard? — trying to make everything a fun read.

This script, at least, seemed much more interested in just getting it done:

Tom looks Barbara square in the eye. Barbara looks to Norman. After a beat, Norman stands and leaves.

PAN BACK to Barbara. She returns to her knitting.

It’s not thrilling, but you know what you’re going to see. There’s a lot to be said for that.

One of the things my writers' group settled, at our final meeting for 2011, was what screenplays we're going to study next year. After reading John's comments, I took a look at their age, and wondered whether it was going to become an issue. Here's the list, in chronological order:

Annie Hall (1977)
Alien (1979)
Body Heat (1981)
Platoon (1986)
Carlito's Way (1993)
Toy Story (1995)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
The Sopranos - Pilot (1999)
Sexy Beast (2000)
Michael Clayton (2007)

That's two from the '70s, two from the '80s, four from the '90s, and two this century. On top of the other exercises, comparing the style of each era should be fun.

Screenwriting Tips

Yep, that's what we're looking for. Ways to do it better or easier or faster or smarter. And there are lots of books and writers' blogs around where you can find a tip or two.

One popular blog for screenwriters is: Screenwriting Tips... You Hack. Written by Xander Bennett, a former Hollywood script reader who currently works for Australia’s Shine Television Studios, his tips are pithy, quotable, memorable and, best of all, helpful. 

Three examples: 

Screenwriting Tip #405

Are you as sick of the meet-cute as I am? Try the meet-horrible, the meet-embarassing or the meet-awkward. They’re a lot more fun to write.

Screenwriting Tip #334

Set every scene. Don’t make me wonder what room of the house they’re in, or why somebody just started talking when you didn’t even tell me they were present.

Screenwriting Tip #218

When it comes to action scenes, the simpler the better. Kill your adverbs.  Ever read the screenplay for ALIEN? It’s sparser than the surface of Mars, and it’s effective as hell.

Screenwriting Tip #121

People will say they can tell in the first 10 pages whether or not they’ll like your script. They’re lying — they can tell by Page 1. So make Page 1 a thing of beauty.

Whether you’re blocked, bored or otherwise in need of amusement, you'll find something quotable in Xander Bennett's blog. Better yet, you can now buy most of the collection in this book of the same title.

P.S. I have to confess I like so many of his tips that I kept changing my three examples. But I've stopped now. Promise. And there's actually four. I know. But I like them, and I hope you do, too.