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‘Yes, And’-ing Your Story Into Existence: The Hunger Games Edition

When watching a movie or TV show, I’m always thinking about how and why a story works, and how and why the writer made those particular story choices. I’m also intrigued by how the concept began. How small was the kernel of the idea when they began to formulate the story and how did they go about expanding on the original premis...
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The Art of Selling Without Selling Your Soul

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...
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Which Screenplay Should You Write Next? (Part 1)

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series What To Write.Perhaps the most important decision any writer makes is what to write. There’s a lot to consider including the market, trends, your strengths, etc. When I started my career I had in mind to create good sci-fi material. It was what I read and loved and I couldn’t think of anyt...
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A Quick Look At Developing the Most Important Element of Your 2nd Act

Today I want to focus on developing the strength of your unique moment. What does that mean, exactly, “unique moment”? And how is your unique moment connected to the 2nd Act as a whole? It's something I stress over and over; delivering your "recurring moment." Burn that term into your brain! "Recurring moment." I've used it befo...
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Writing Exposition To Make Your Script Pop (Part 2)

VoiceoverDespite being overused and used to shortcut actual writing voiceovers can be a powerful tool used properly. I ask my students to not use these, to work harder to get across their ideas, and invariably someone will bring up Casino or Goodfellows and my argument goes right out the window.I will say that these movies are b...
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Wicked: An Adaptation Of An Adaptation Of An Adaptation

  • Staff Writer
  • .December 6, 2024
Victor Fleming and King Vidor made movie history when they made the timeless, inventive and fantastical The Wizard Of Oz in 1939. The spinoff film Wicked, based on the book series The Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire and a musical book by Winnie Holzman, was adapted into a hugely successful broadway musical in 2000, and is still ...
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A Look Inside the Christmas Movie

Because the holidays are upon us, I thought it would be fun to look at one of my favorite genres - The Christmas movie.I will start off by saying this: I do not agree that Die Hard is a Christmas movie. If you would like to stop reading right now because this tears a hole in your dark Christmas heart and makes you want to pull y...
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"Red One" Writer Chris Morgan Rescues Kidnapped Santa in Yuletide Actioner

  • Staff Writer
  • .December 2, 2024
Thanksgiving is just around the corner. You know what that means? Christmas isn’t too far behind. So make sure you’re on Santa’s “nice list” to join the Christmas cheer.But Santa has been kidnapped and must return to the North Pole in order to deliver gifts to millions of children and save Christmas. This is the story of Christm...
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How Your Story's Theme Can Help You Develop Your Project

I think that we ignore the process of theme development in our projects mainly because we’ve never really been told how to define what theme really is, or how it can inform more than just meaning and sentiment.I gave this note to one of my writers this week (with regard to her thematic statement): “…I think there is a lot to say...
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Writing Effective Found Family Films: Part 2

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series "Found Family."It’s A DisasterNothing forces people to form a family faster than a disaster – a plane crash, shipwreck, or a natural disaster such as an earthquake, tidal wave, or tornado. Yellowjackets tells the story of a girls soccer team whose plane crashes in the wilderness during a f...
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Writing Effective Found Family Films: Part 1

This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series "Found Family."Found Family films are not new, but you may not have explicitly heard the term before. It simply means a film featuring groups of people who are not genetically or legally related and joined by circumstances to try and accomplish a common story goal by the end. These movies ...
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Where Do You Get Your Ideas?

Dr. Linda Seger, author of Making a Good Script Great and 8 other books on screenwriting discusses how to set yourself up as a writer so that there is ALWAYS something to write about !   Writers vary in terms of how many ideas are floating around in their heads at any one time. Pen Densham, (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves) told m...
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Writing A Blockbuster Movie

  • Gene Del Vecchio
  • .November 15, 2022
5 Things Every Screenwriter Should Know Before Writing A Blockbuster Movie:Screenwriters should always think big in terms of their careers. Blockbuster big. We all want our films to be seen by the largest audience possible. In old studio parlance, the term blockbuster referred to audiences queuing around the block to see a movie...
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5 Character Traits of an Awesome Action Hero

  • Armaan Uplekar
  • .May 3, 2022
Sarah Connor. Ethan Hunt. James Bond. There’s a deep bench of iconic characters that have helped define and exemplify action cinema for decades. Between preventing nuclear annihilation, rescuing hostages and restoring balance to the universe, these characters have proven themselves to be larger than life while also capturing the...
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The Mysterious Development of Your Villain

The Mysterious Development of Your Villain - (an excerpt from Max Timm's online class, The Craft Course - REPOST)In this week's lesson, we will be focusing on how the other characters in your story - namely the Secondary Character and The Villain/Rival - will play their essential roles in your project. I'm consistently reminding...
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THE HEELER: Brett Edwards

  • July 24, 2018
ShortsTV sat down with actor/writer/producer Brett Edwards, whose body of work includes Westworld, American Sniper. You also may recognize Brett from Halfway There, and The Heeler, American Muscle, American Cowboys short films and The Longest Ride.1. What’s your inspiration behind “The Heeler” short film? I felt, I'm sure as man...
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You're Not Going To Win An Oscar...

You're Not Going To Win An Oscar......but hold on, I'll explain.I'm sure most of you did it Sunday night at some point in the evening (if you watched the Academy Awards). You imagined what you would say if you were up on that stage accepting your Oscar. I've done it. I've done it probably every year since I first watched in the ...
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Magical Realism in Game of Thrones (Some Spoilers Present)

There’s a hint of the magical from the very teaser of the pilot of Game of Thrones. This is a fantastical world, where showrunners/writers/adapters David Benioff and D.B. Weiss wisely make sure not to introduce too much too soon for the audience to take in. In the opening scenes, a group of Wildlings north of The Wall has been m...
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Why The Crocodile Dundee Super Bowl Ad Made An Impact

Are They Really Remaking Crocodile Dundee?No, but the Super Bowl ad was pretty fun!For all of you out there who are Eagles fans, I send you a happy congratulations on your Super Bowl win. Being a fan of the Chicago Cubs, I know how difficult it is to be a fan of a team that consistently fails to win a championship, so bravo. I h...
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An Introduction to Max Timm's The Craft Course Online Class

You are getting a little view into how the online course that Max Timm created for the ISA works and is presented. In order to take advantage of the full online course, you must go to www.TheCraftCourse.com and select one of the class options. If you have questions, you can email Max Timm directly at Max@networkisa.orgNote: The ...
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