“The Great Wall” was supposed to be a major blockbuster appealing to both Chinese and American audiences. Instead, it...
“The Great Wall” was supposed to be a major blockbuster appealing to both Chinese and American audiences. Instead, it...
The weakest stories are nothing but external conflict where the hero battles one obstacle after another like a bad...
Every story is about the hero’s change. To define that change, your hero needs to start with a lie...
If you want to learn how Pixar creates stories, you can watch their free video series at Khan Academy....
If you haven’t seen “Get Out,” stop to avoid spoilers. For everyone who has seen “Get Out,” it’s a...
Practically everyone in Los Angeles is writing a screenplay, yet when you ask these people what their story is...
Watch “Passengers” and “The Lego Batman Movie” and you’ll notice a stark difference in the storylines. In “Passengers,” there’s...
Right before Act III, the hero’s life completely falls apart. That’s usually the point where the hero is isolated...
In every story, the hero pursues a straightforward goal and gets it at the midpoint. Then suddenly everything falls...
The ending of any movie must be appropriate. If the ending of “Thelma and Louise” ending with Thelma and...
Every movie promises something to the audience. An action film promises hand to hand combat, gunfire, and sometimes car...
The surest sign of a novice screenwriter is dialogue where characters say exactly what’s on their mind. Imagine a...
First place winner in Scriptapalooza’s 2023 screenwriting competition for the supernatural horror screenplay titled “Nightmares From a Past Life”. Author of “The 15 Minute Movie Method”, “Story Starter”, and “Writing Scenes for Screenplays” in addition to over 50 computer books. Writer of “Three of a Kind”, a situation comedy produced by San Diego State University’s film class that won a student Emmy award. Designer of the board game “Orbit War”, published by Steve Jackson Games, that simulates satellite warfare in the near future.