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by John Scott Lewinski
On May 4, 2001, Hollywood breathed a collective sigh of relief
when the WGA and AMPTP signed a tentative agreement thereby
preventing an industry-wide, potentially crippling, strike.
Find out how the new three-year agreement affects writers,
especially on the issue of creative rights.
by Sam A. Scribner
With cross-platform capability, a Scene Navigator, as well
as a special feature for writing for TV and a host of other
neat bells and whistles, Final Draft is smart, intuitive
and easy to use.
by Rita Cook
Even though novelist and screenwriter Tom Perrotta (Election)
found it easier than some to get through the door and into
the Hollywood film industry, he still had to pay his dues
before selling his first spec script.
by Debra L. Eckerling
The secret to good writing––is writing. Just
as athletes are constantly training for better performance,
many successful––and soon-to-be successful––screenwriters
use various forms of writing to hone their craft between
writing screenplays.
by Frederic T. Dray
WGAw Board Member Charles E. Pogue discusses methods for
protecting a writer's vision and rights when selling a script,
dealing with studio notes and working with the director.
by Marc Hernandez
Keep your script and writing career alive in the aggressively
competitive Hollywood game by learning what NOT to do and
focusing on the major "turnoffs” that agents and
managers experience in their everyday dealings with writers.
by Ray Morton
With no outside reactions to use as a signpost, a writer
can easily lose his or her way and not realize that what
is emerging from the word processor is not quite what he
or she initially intended to produce. Receiving feedback
can show a writer the strengths and weaknesses in a script
before submitting it to a reader.
by William C. Martell
A blockbuster needs an idea with a big conflict. Conflict
fuels the story and blockbusters are most certainly gas-guzzlers
that need high octane fuel and lots of it. The conflict in
a blockbuster film isn't persona. It's global––it
affects the world. Find out how to turn your idea into a
big film.
by Sally Potter
As writer-director of The Man Who Cried, Sally Potter was
given the unique opportunity to do what many writers dream
about––write her own work without deferring to
another authority.
by James S. Vejvoda
One of the foremost science-fiction films of the 20th century,
Planet of the Apes spawned three sequels and a short-lived
TV series in the mid-70s. It is no surprise then, that there
has been so much anticipation and scrutiny about director
Tim Burton's "re-imagining" of the film, scheduled
to hit theaters July 27th.
by Sable Jak
Writing a romantic comedy is not for the faint-hearted and
who better to discuss this with than Peter Tolan, Emmy Award-winning
writer of the eagerly awaited antidote to summer’s
blockbusters America's Sweethearts.
by David Siegel and Scott McGehee
Writers David Siegel and Scott McGehee found that the key
to updating and adapting Elizabeth Sanxay Holding's novel,
The Blank Wall, into The Deep
End was to find the pressures
faced by a mother who has been placed in an impossibly difficult
situation, and to keep her quietly isolated in her struggle
to protect her son.
by Brian S. Kalata and Rick Shaughnessy
Writing a film with multiple plot lines can be daunting.
How do you begin? The writers of Dinner
Rush discuss their
first collaborative effort and how they were able to weave
several plot lines into a cohesive, entertaining film.
by Marc Fusco and Michael Garrity
Since wrapping production on their indie feature Rennie's
Landing and after turning down every major entertainment
periodical over the last eight months, powerhouse writers
Marc Fusco and Michael Garrity give back to their fellow
writers in an exclusive interview with scr(i)pt Magazine.
Marc Fusco also talks about what he has learned about the
art of filmmaking while working as personal assistant to
Steven Spielberg.
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