Today is all about pitching. I worked with one of my coaching clients last week and he needed help with his pitch. It prompted me to really dive in and get into the nitty-gritty of how a pitch should be written and developed. You’ll notice that the process of developing a pitch is quite similar to the process of developing a sto...
Erotic thrillers are back.In an electric explosion of passion, sexuality, and gender dynamics, Dutch filmmaker Halina Reijn (Red Light, Bodies Bodies Bodies) tracks two super-charged and vulnerable characters Romy (Nicole Kidman) and Samuel (Harris Dickinson) who break most corporate and relationship norms when CEO Romy and her ...
The Disney animated classic turned 75 this month, and we’re dissecting what makes it endure, enthrall, and spin out all those remakes. Cinderella (1950) Courtesy of Walt Disney Animation StudiosThis one is for the Dreamers. Dreamers with seemingly insurmountable goals and the courage to go for them. Courage that has them making ...
Scott Derrickson, director of Apple TV+’s new The Gorge, is best-known for directing horror films he co-writes, including The Exorcism of Emily Rose, Sinister, and The Black Phone. When he takes on a project he didn’t write, like The Gorge, there’s one main thing he looks for in a script.“I’m looking to be surprised,” he tells M...
Each year, The International Screenwriters’ Association compiles a list of the 25 screenwriters to watch. This year, Film Inquiry is here to guide you through the incredible list of gifted individuals! Our next writer is Adam Karlson. Film Inquiry spoke with Adam about his writing process, the details of his script Choke, tips f...
Brendan Fraser left this production of “Grangeville” about a month before the show began performances. The reason given: “unforeseen circumstances.” There is another warning sign, and it comes early in Samuel D. Hunter’s play, which opened Monday at the Signature Theatre. Jerry (Paul Sparks, taking over for Fraser) and Arnold (B...
And so it goes… What you think, you become. Dream and become it. These might seem like an endless stream of feel good memes on your social media feed, but they do serve a useful purpose, especially if you seek a career in a business as fickle, unpredictable, and unstable as screenwriting.The first thing aspiring screenwriters mu...
As a screenwriter who toiled away for years honing and perfecting my craft, I often found myself wondering if the next script would be it, or if the next general meeting would put me in the presence of the gatekeeper assigned to me by the Gods of entertainment. Nothing I had hoped to happen for me in LA happened in LA. Instead, ...
This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series "Logline."4) Triggering EventIn the logline, a triggering event describes the change in circumstances that creates the conflict to be resolved in the climax. Some call it the inciting incident or inciting event, others call it a catalyst. Whether a specific event, or the final straw in a s...
This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series "Logline."Many aspiring writers battle with loglines. Quite a few working writers struggle, too. Afterall, it’s a different skill from writing a script. The good news is crafting a logline becomes much easier when the writer knows what to include and, more importantly, what to leave on the...
Indie film director Steven Soderbergh made a huge cinema splash at Sundance with the voyeuristic Sex, Lies and Videotape in 1989. Similarly, screenwriter David Koepp made waves a year earlier with his cool, controlled thriller Apartment Zero.Over the years, the pair have crossed professional paths in the film circuit, brainstorm...
This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series "Da Vinci."7) Rise Above The NoiseDa Vinci’s stunning visions led him to conceptualize inventions far ahead of his time, from flying machines to armored tanks. He identified information about the human heart that is used today. The Mona Lisa has been inspiring humanity since it was painted...
This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series "Da Vinci."Genius is a word that is terribly overused. Until someone proves themselves over a period of time or in their chosen profession, we should all probably dial it back a bit. In the case of the man from Vinci named Leonardo, I’m not sure we can say enough about his genius.What does...
“The thing about a documentary is that there is a sense of voyeurism. You’re watching things unfold in ‘real time’ that normally you wouldn’t be able to see,” says filmmaker Justin Simien who produced a four-part docu-series Hollywood Black about Black cinema and artists.“In film structure, there’s an expectation that you read i...
Writing coach and Called to Write founder Jenna Avery responds to a reader about overcoming procrastination and dealing with self-criticism. Welcome to “Ask the Coach.” As a writing coach, I answer questions from writers about making the work of writing happen, tackling craft, business, and personal questions along the way. (Hav...
Simon West talks about what initially attracted him to screenwriter Greg Johnson’s script, the importance of character and dialogue in action scripts, and offers great advice and insight into what he thinks makes a great action script. An aging hitman (Christoph Waltz) is forced to train a young prodigy (Cooper Hoffman) when his...
Dr. Rosanne Welch celebrates the female screenwriters who came before us with this month's spotlight on prolific screenwriter and director Julie Crawford Ivers.Born just 4 years after the end of the Civil War in Boonville, Missouri, the scripts Julie Crawford Ivers wrote (and sometimes directed) often tackled issues of prejudice...
One of the best ways for a reader to dial in to the project’s end goal is having a thoughtful, honest conversation with the scribe and asking them some questions before the analytical work begins. CanvaOftentimes writing can feel like a game of darts. The scribe sets a target in front of them, and with as much skill as they can ...
Let's look a the most shocking SNL moments in nearly 50 years of Saturday Night Live.Richard Pryor HostsNBC - Credit: NBCSaturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels fought hard with NBC executives to book the provocative Richard Pryor as the host of the show's seventh episode on Dec. 13, 1975. Because the network feared Pryor was...
These shameless new comedies don't care if you're offended — and disprove the idea that new movies are afraid to be funny. No, comedy isn't dead, as these films prove.Old Dads (2023)Netflix - Credit: NetflixWriter-director-star Bill Burr (above right) plays a 50-something Gen X dad who refuses to abide by the new rules of what i...
Here are the best SNL characters in the nearly 50 years of Saturday Night Live. Of course, these things are subjective. Comedy, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. So if you think we missed someone, let us know in the comments. Also: When we're talking about characters who are part of a duo or group, like the Bronx Beat ...
Here are the most seductive movies we've ever seen.But First: What Do We Mean by Seductive Movies?Paramount Pictures - Credit: C/OWe aren't just talking about movies in which someone is seduced. There are lots and lots of movies about seduction that are not, in themselves, seductive. A seductive movie is subtle.Seductive movies ...
There seems no end to the vulturous nature of late-stage capitalism. Just when it seems every crevice of society has been mined for content, a fresh new subject crops up waiting to be explored. In this wintery cold noir from Karl R. Hearne, the subject is elder care facilities and the way they’re used to exploit the elderly and ...
Skin Deep opens as a disoriented man totters through a bedroom. There’s a catatonic figure lying in the bed nearby as light streams through the window. His befuddlement is ours as well. It sets a perturbing mood against the Gregorian undertones of the music. There’s something strikingly beautiful in another subsequent image: a y...
In the world of horror podcasts, some can be a nightmare. Or, in the case of Scream Dreams, AMP’s podcast, the horrors are actual nightmares, as the podcast dives into them in a compelling and unique fashion. With a myriad of guests from within the horror genre, co-hosts Catherine Corcoran and James A Janisse interview and get i...
In her ongoing quest for world domination, Taylor Swift made a quick detour at the gates of cinema last year with her uniquely marketed concert film. Being released in tandem with her ongoing Eras Tour, which the film documents, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour was a box office juggernaut that defied expectations. And while the film ...
The U.S. Army Choir performed “Do You Hear the People Sing?” from “Les Misérables” at the 2025 White House Governors Ball Saturday night — a choice that sparked confusion and mockery on social media. The president, who is said to be a fan of the musical, and his wife, First Lady Melania Trump, were both in attendance at the even...
Joy Reid reacted with tears, as well as “anger, rage, disappointment [and] hurt” to the sudden cancellation of her MSNBC show “TheReidOut” in a video shared to X on Monday.“I’ve been through every emotion, from anger, rage, disappointment, hurt … feeling guilt that I let my team lose their jobs,” she said in a Zoom video call wi...
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