Editor’s Note: From the archives of Script Magazine, we give you a 2002 piece from William Martell that is still relevant today. A few days ago I had dinner with a group of screenwriters, including my friend Bob, who just made his first sale to Linda Obst at Paramount. By the end of this year there will [...]

Last year’s Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol restored the series to both box office and critical acclaim after the lows of #3 (which got the same rating on Rotten Tomatoes as #2… but made significantly less money, and was a full grade lower on the Cinemascore audience poll) and also proved Tom Cruise was still a star, [...]

MacGuffins, villains’ plans, Bellamys, and broomsticks are some of the most common types of plot devices. Do you know how to use them? You have some great characters and a fantastic idea for a story, but how do you keep it moving? How do you keep that story going to page 110 and make sure [...]

Film is a dramatic medium. So as screenwriters, we should always be looking for dramatic moments because movies are about people … people with problems. Explore those problems with drama.

LUCKY STARS!!! GENRE STARS!!! STARS ON THEIR WAY UP!!! STARS ON THEIR WAY DOWN!!! William Martell (finally) concludes his adventures at the 2010 American Film Market.

THE SEARCH FOR THE BABE IN THE BACKLESS SUNDRESS CONTINUES!! William Martell continues his (almost finished) adventures at the 2010 American Film Market.

YOUNG BABES! OLD BABES! STARVING ACTORS/DIRECTORS/PRODUCERS! OH MY! William Martell continues his (exhaustive) adventures at the 2010 American Film Market.

William Martell continues his (exhaustive) adventures at the 2010 American Film Market.

Script contributor, William Martell, chronicles his second day of fun at the 2010 American Film Market.