If you ask a comedian what it’s like to perform onstage, don’t expect a lighthearted response. “Doing standup is like walking on a tightrope over a tank filled with sharks while the audience is hacking at the tightrope with machetes,” notes J.D. Shapiro, a regular at venues including world-famous L.A. club the Comedy Store. Yet [...]
This week’s Ask the Expert is answered by screenwriter of Buried and ATM, Chris Sparling. Before I say a word, let me simply ask why the default settings for Microsoft Word are eleven point Calibri font? Has anyone ever – and I mean ever – written something in those settings? This might seem like a [...]
Adapting a novel to a screenplay can be heaven or hell, and it’s usually a little of each. Why is adapting a joy? For most screenwriters, the problems of adapting a book are outweighed by the joys of working with very rich source material. Novelists put in so much work to create vivid characters, interesting [...]
The Scoggins Report is a compilation of sales and trends in the industry. The Report is reprinted at ScriptMag.com by permission of the authors. The Scoggins Report by Jason Scoggins & Cindy Kaplan May 7, 2012 April 2012 Spec Market Roundup Year-over-year spec sale totals are down slightly (36 so far in 2012, compared [...]
Ever wish you could crack the dreaded Hollywood creative executive code? What is he or she looking for in a feature-length script? Never fear, we have some tools for you. Using the three C’s of screenwriting — concept, conflict and character — you can make sure your script has everything you need to get from [...]
The Scoggins Report is a compilation of sales and trends in the industry. The Report is reprinted at ScriptMag.com by permission of the authors. The Scoggins Report by Jason Scoggins & Cindy Kaplan April 30, 2012 April 2012 Pitch Sales Roundup Before we start, a quick Scoggins & Kaplan update: We’re pleased to report that we have [...]
Q: What is the right use of transitions in formatting your script? A: Transitions are used to indicate a special passage from one scene to another. In old Hollywood, “CUT TO:” used to be used to end every scene, but that is now considered bad form that wastes page space and clutters up reading the [...]
This week’s Screenwriter Website of the Week is Jared Dunne’s Three Lines or Less. Jared posts screenwriting news and hosts a logline contest. Screenwriter Geno Scala, @Sharkeatingman, is one of the contributors to the site. Bookmark it. Test the effectiveness of your logline, and follow Three Lines or Less on Twitter for more information.
The Scoggins Report is a compilation of sales and trends in the industry. The Report is reprinted at ScriptMag.com by permission of the authors. The Scoggins Report by Jason Scoggins & Cindy Kaplan April 23, 2012 2012 Spec Market Scorecard as of April 20, 2012 Back in January we’d planned to take this week off to catch [...]
