Screenwriting Tips

aspiring screenwriter, Black List, Budgeting, Erin Brockovich, Extant, Just One Kiss, Nicholl Fellowship, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Ring, TrackingB.com - April 14, 2020

Budgeting For The Aspiring Screenwriter

A dirty secret of trying to succeed as a screenwriter is that it often requires spending some money. This is a topic of fierce debate on the internet. Some would argue a great script will speak for itself, and no screenwriter should spend one dollar trying to get their work out there. Some people might disagree with that. They include: Dennis Curlett, whose rom-com JUST ONE KISS sold to Netflix in June of 2019 after being discovered through The Tracking Board feature competition (early entry: $65). Mickey Fisher, whose sci-fi pilot EXTANT was discovered through the TrackingB.com pilot contest, and...

Screenwriting In The Age of The Coronavirus

Screenwriting in the age of the coronavirus may feel a bit pointless or irrelevant. The world feels like a movie, so taking the time to work on a script for a movie can be difficult. With all physical production stopped for the near future, there is also no tangible means to produce a film in this moment. But screenwriters should know that this, from a screenwriting perspective, is the calm before the storm. Once the coronavirus tapers off, and life returns to some kind of normalcy, there is going to be an explosion of buying scripted material. Consider this –...

Logline Tests: How to Vet Your Script’s Concept

When sitting down to write a new script, not every screenwriter stops and first writes out the logline, the one or two sentence pitch for their movie, to test their logline. The problem with NOT doing this is you can miss sign-posted problems with your concept. Let’s breakdown why: A great logline has a couple of key factors. We have a hero, they have a goal, that goal is high-stakes and urgent, and there is a central irony to that particular person having that specific goal. It may seem self-evident, but many of the scripts we receive here at ScriptArsenal...

KNIVES OUT: Opening and Closing Image

KNIVES OUT uses the old screenwriting device of the opening and closing image, something that screenwriting guru Blake Snyder was a big proponent of. It’s such a familiar device that, in the wrong hands, it risks being clichéd. In KNIVES OUT, in Rian Johnson’s screenplay, this often-used screenwriting device is incredibly effective. As this post details the ending of KNIVES OUT, don’t keep reading if you haven’t seen it. This is your SPOILER ALERT. Why is the opening/closing image so powerful in KNIVES OUT? The script opens with an image of a coffee cup that reads, “My house, my rules,...

THE MANDALORIAN: Lessons For Screenwriters

THE MANDALORIAN has taken the world by storm. Disney+’s flagship inaugural series, the show has accomplished one of the rarest feats in entertainment of recent years. It’s a piece of Star Wars media that seemingly almost everyone agrees is great. How has the show (and specifically writers Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni) done this? The answer is devastatingly obvious in hindsight. Simplicity. The show is about the titular Mandalorian, a clear inheritor of the Clint Eastwood Man With No Name archetype, essentially a spaghetti Western antihero transplanted into the world of Star Wars. The Mandalorian’s visual similarity to Boba Fett...

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Screenwriting Tips RSS

Budgeting For The Aspiring Screenwriter

Screenwriting In The Age of The Coronavirus

Logline Tests: How to Vet Your Script’s Concept

KNIVES OUT: Opening and Closing Image

THE MANDALORIAN: Lessons For Screenwriters

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