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Would It Kill You To Smile 2? Writer/Director Returns With A Gorier Sequel

  • Staff Writer
  • .October 25, 2024
The premise of a trauma-driven supernatural entity infecting people and causing them to violently bludgeon themselves to death began in Parker Finn’s 2020 short film Laura Hasn’t Slept. It centers on the nightmares of Laura Weaver (Caitlin Stasey) featuring a smiling face, eventually forcing her into state of somniphobia (fear o...
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Understanding the First Half of Your 2nd Act

Understanding the First Half of Your 2nd Act with Some Help from Harry and Sally:Sequence 5: Let’s Get Into ItYou’re rumbling along on a road trip with your girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse, or partner. Let’s just set that stage for a second. You’ve been on the road for a few hours. The high and excitement of hitting the open road ...
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Movies Based on Moments

  • Brock Swinson
  • .September 23, 2024
“Movies Based on Moments” Mike Mills on ‘C’mon C’mon,’ ‘Beginners,’ and ‘Thumbsucker’:“I didn’t start off thinking I was going to be a director and writing really wasn’t my thing,” said Mike Mills. “I went to Art School, got into design, and kept looking for more ways to get into the public world.”He continued, “This sounds like...
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How To Write A Contained Film

Contained films are restrained stories that have traditionally been limited to the horror/ thriller genre. They are characterized by having few characters (often three to five, sometimes as few as one), no more than one or two main locations such as a haunted house, and a skeleton crew.Most importantly, they are filmed on shoest...
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Your Screenplay or TV Pilot: How Long Should it Take to Write?

Okay, I admit it, I’ve been in denial. I did not think that this blogpost would need writing. Which, let’s face it, is nothing short of stupid on my part because, well, I have this conversation ALL. THE. TIME.Even as I write this, I think to myself: This blogpost is going to be a short one. There isn’t that much to say; the mess...
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ISA Staff Picks: May 2024

These screenplays and their writers were selected by ISA staff members as standouts in their genres and formats for the month of May 2024. They are being submitted to agents, managers, producers and production companies actively looking for writers to rep or projects to produce.  THE FINAL CUT by Chaseedaw Giles (Feature)Logline...
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What The Length Of Your Screenplay Says About You

A few recent incidents made me realized that I have to talk about it. Shallow though it may seem, I have to talk about size. Or, more accurately, length.First, it was the 120-page 2-hour TV pilot from a first time, unrepresented writer.Then it was the 78-page feature screenplay. Promptly followed by the 132-page feature screenpl...
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Writing The Perfect Hallmark Holiday Romantic Comedy Movie

  • Mark Sevi
  • .April 15, 2024
Writing The Perfect Hallmark Holiday Romantic Comedy MovieHoliday films screened during major holidays are as sure as horror films screening at Halloween. Mark Sevi spoke with mega-producer Carol Baum about how screenwriters can best position themselves to sell their screenplays into this market which consistently looks for this...
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Be Undisciplined And Write Your Voice

  • Basil Iwanyk
  • .February 26, 2024
Basil Iwanyk is a prolific film producer at Thunder Road Pictures known for box office hits including Sicario, John Wick, The Town and Oscar winner, A Star Is Born. “I grew up in New Jersey and you grew up doing one of three things – you commuted into New York City and ran your own business, or you became a lawyer or a doctor… n...
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Unconventional Roles for Women

Unconventional Roles for Women Aren't Just Empowering, They're Game Changers It’s a shame the wonderful coming-of-age comedy Booksmart has not done well at the box office. Expectations were high for the clever story about two female high school seniors (Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever) cutting loose on their last night before...
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Give Your Characters the Power of the VOTE

  • Gerald Hanks
  • .December 4, 2023
Characters drive stories. Powerful characters give writers reasons to create stories around them. Directors want to create moments around that power. Actors want to channel that power. Audiences want to take part in that power. As a writer, your job it to give them that power in every line of the script. They give audiences some...
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8 Things to Avoid Writing on the First Page of Your Script

  • December 4, 2023
Have you looked at the first page of your script lately? Page one is the very first thing a reader will see when they open your script, and often times problems exist immediately and set the story back before it even gets started. I’ve opened tens of thousands of scripts and writers would be shocked at what happens over and over...
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The Length and Look of Your Pilot or Screenplay

First impressions: The Length and Look of Your Pilot or ScreenplayIt was a long day. I had just finished 9 client meetings back-to-back. I had a bunch of emails that I still needed to answer, and, just as importantly, a screenplay I needed to read that night for a meeting the next day. All, for the record, great problems to have...
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Reality Check

  • Dave Trottier
  • .October 17, 2023
(REPOST) In working with screenwriters for nearly three decades, I’ve noticed three writing issues that arise over and over again. In each case, a reality check should prove empowering.1. Appearance is importantAfter a tweet that touted my book, Two Screenplays, someone tweeted back, "DT sold perfectly formatted scripts that nev...
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Don’t Ruin a Good Read!

Don’t Ruin a Good Read! Screenwriting Mistakes to Avoid:While I don’t fashion myself a script or story consultant (because, let’s face it, there are already enough of those – including a few really great ones – out there), the simple reality is that at this point in my career, I am reading at least one script, first page to last...
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4 Secrets To Selling Your Screenplay

  • Pen Densham
  • .September 4, 2023
4 Secrets To Selling Your Screenplay… And Not Your Soul!As a four-year-old, I was impressed by seeing my parents making short 35mm films for the movie theaters, even riding a live 7 ft alligator in one of them. Those experiences caused me to have a life-long desire to conjure visual and emotional magic with a story and a camera....
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Moving Beyond Screenplay Structure

I have been studying, practicing, and teaching screenwriting for three decades, and the one thing I’ve learned is that young screenwriters (in experience, not age) struggle to learn the craft. What they don’t always understand early on is that screenwriting a process. A process that through practice and repetition can be learned...
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Lion Revisited

(REPOST) I’ve only now seen LION (Garth Davis, 2016). I have never been so affected by any film. This film states the obvious, which we all need to hear on a regular basis: that human emotions are universal. They transcend and are independent of different ethnicities, religions, and social mores.LION is an amazing achievement. W...
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The 7 Elements of a Viable Story

  • Erik Bork
  • .July 10, 2023
(REPOST) In my experience as a professional screenwriter on projects like Band of Brothers -- and in the years I've been teaching and consulting -- one thing has become abundantly clear: projects live or die mostly based on their central idea. Yes, they need to also be really well-executed, but it's the decisions writers make be...
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Emerging Screenwriters Interview Series - Meg Swertlow & AJ Bermudez

  • Jack Filsinger
  • .April 14, 2023
The process of writing, or creating any art for that matter, is a consistent battle between striving for confidence and self-assurance while avoiding ego. While there are many writers out there who struggle between these two poles, A.J. Bermudez and Meg Swertlow are two artists who ceaselessly prove that confidence and ego need ...

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