PEOPLE & NEWS
The Buzz
History of the 1988 WGA Strike.
Anatomy of a Spec Sale
Brian Nathanson turns his class project into a six-figure sale.
Lost Scenes: Ed Wood
The writers still lament the loss of a character-building scene from Tim Burton’s ode to the worst director of all time.
Breaking In
Corey Harrell, Thomas Smith
People
Paul Sopocy, Ernie Cline
Why I Write: Sir Anthony Hopkins
The legendary actor’s first screenplay takes a humorous and introspective look at Hollywood.
COMING SOON…
Eastern Promises
Dirty Pretty Things‘ Steven Knight infiltrated the London underworld and came out of it with a screenplay … and all his fingers.
BY DANNY MUNSO
The Kingdom
Matthew Michael Carnahan took his big brother’s advice to try writing and ended up with this war epic set in Saudi Arabia.
BY DAVID MICHAEL WHARTON
The Brave One
Cynthia Mort collaborates with Jodie Foster on a script that wonders what happens when we become what we fear.
BY SARA MORRISON
Gone Baby Gone
Ben Affleck and a different childhood friend (Aaron Stockard) bring this Massachusetts mystery to the big screen.
BY JENELLE RILEY
Jane Austen Book Club
Writer-director Robin Swicord crafts a contemporary Jane Austen tale and reveals her recipe for a great adaptation.
BY SEAN KENNELLY
Shoot ‘Em Up
Guns blaze as writer-director Michael Davis’ planned swan song of a screenplay winds up saving his career.
BY SARA MORRISON
Into the Wild
Sean Penn adapts Jon Krakauer’s tale of a man’s pursuit of living alone in the Alaskan wilderness.
BY JEREMY SMITH
Grace Is Gone
Writer-director James C. Strouse takes on the war at home with his dramatic Sundance-winning script.
BY JEFF GOLDSMITH
Trade
Oscar-nominated screenwriter Jose Rivera goes from The Motorcycle Diaries to the sex-slave industry in this grim drama of one girl’s indoctrination.
BY SEAN SISKA
COLUMNS
The Business of Screenwriting
The Time for Half Measures Is Over
Writers must get serious and proactive if they hope to have a career.
BY RON SUPPA
Writer Beware!
You’ve Got Scams
No writer is safe from e-mail scams promising fame and glory unless you learn to recognize them ahead of time.
BY JOAL RYAN
Agent’s Hot Sheet
Agent’s NOT Sheet
Knowing what’s not hot and which genres to avoid gives a writer many advantages when trolling the marketplace.
BY JIM CIRILE
Our Craft
The Three Engines of a Dramatic Scene
Drive your story forward and make your scene stand out and be remembered.
BY KARL IGLESIAS
The Final Scene
The Darjeeling Limited
BY WES ANDERSON, ROMAN COPPOLA, JASON SCHWARTZMAN
FEATURES
All Aboard: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman on The Darjeeling Limited
Wes Anderson invited two of his best friends to write his latest eccentric comedy about three brothers’ spiritual journey to India. Here they discuss their involved writing process, their personal adventures in India and why you should never print on a moving train.
BY DANNY MUNSO
Shades of Gray: Ton y Gilroy Explores Morality, Murder, and Directing in Michael Clayton
It took Tony Gilroy seven years, three Jason Bourne movies, George Clooney and a change of agencies to bring his directorial debut to the screen. In between, he created a story that would explore the slippery slope of morality, test his writing process and show him some frightening truths about how lawyers really work.
BY DEN SHEWMAN
Meeting Goliath Head-On: Paul Haggis on In the Valley of Elah
Oscar-winner Paul Haggis faced huge resistance when he adapted a chilling true story about a murdered Iraq War veteran for his tale about the war at home.
BY PETER CLINES
In The Office with Greg Daniels
TV veteran Greg Daniels talks about undertaking the daunting task of adapting Britain’s most beloved comedy series and making NBC’s The Office ready to stand on its own two feet.
BY JASON DAVIS
Reaching for the Grail: Richard LaGravenese Looks Back at Terry Gilliam, Romance and The Fisher King
Richard LaGravenese’s second script was birthed during the 1988 writers strike, and things didn’t get easier after that. Here he remembers the ideals that led him to the story, the brilliance of Terry Gilliam’s vision, and why it’s sometimes good to be the fool.
BY TOM MATTHEWS
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