scriptwriting Tagged Articles at Cinematical

After the tumultuous months of the 2007-2008 WGA strike, one important message bubbled back to the surface: As much as Hollywood might forget the pens behind the scenes, there would be no business called show without them. (Okay, there would still be reality tv, but let's not go there.)

What, perhaps, didn't come through was why a writer is so important. What it is about a script that makes it something Hollywood masses would strike and picket for? The Washington Post has published an excellent piece on the subject, one that reminds us that scripts are a heck of a lot more than good dialogue and catchy lines. "But to call a movie well written is far more than a question of dialogue -- in fact, most filmmakers agree that dialogue is the least of it. Instead, good movie writing comes down to what defines good writing in general: a command of structure, voice and momentum, all in the service of a story that grabs spectators by their throats, then leads them along a path they simply must follow or they won't be able to eat, sleep or lead a happy life."

We're talking down to the minute details, like ScarJo's pink underwear in Lost in Translation. Sure, the piece takes the easy road when comparing character descriptions from He's Just Not That Into You with Moonstruck, but sometimes extremes make an impression. And this piece might just make you question a lot: Is the director that amazing? Was the actor really that good, or just given good material they couldn't mess up?

With scriptwriting on the mind, which screenplays float your boat?

Welcome back to The Write Stuff, Stuffers! Hope you found last week's interview helpful and entertaining. Adam's closing thoughts coincided beautifully with what I had planned for this week's post. A lot of you have questions about getting an agent and making contacts, and that's all important and we'll get there. But a majority of you just want to know how to come up with an idea and get started. Read on...

1) Watch a ton of movies and read a lot of scripts.

Sure, you watch a lot of flicks already, but you need to become an active viewer. Ask yourself questions. Who is the protagonist? Who or what is the antagonist? What does the lead character want? What obstacles are standing in his or her way? How does he or she overcome them? What are the characters saying in a given scene? What are they thinking? Are these two different things?

If you're watching a comedy and it makes you laugh, how did it make you laugh? Whether it's sparkling dialogue or a kick in the balls, there's an art to it. Are you scared watching a movie? Why? Cheering the climax of a film? What got your fist in the air? See what I'm saying? And you can learn something from every film, good or bad. If you're watching a movie that sucks, why does it suck? What did this screenwriter do wrong? If it's a thriller and you're bored, why are you bored? Once you pinpoint it, you'll know what to avoid when you sit down to write your script. Try it with the next movie you watch -- really watch, and ask yourself questions.

And even better, get yourself some scripts. They're available all over the internet and at most libraries. How can you write a script if you've never read one? Study your favorites. This will help not only with story construction but also formatting, which we'll get to in the coming weeks.