I have never owned a dog. I always felt that I had missed out somewhat on this special relationship that develops between a dog and its owner. They snuggle up to you in the evenings, cheer you up when you’re sad, they’re always pleased to see you and they love you unconditionally so long as you keep filling their food bowl. I’ve always found dogs in movies to be irresistible as they...

by Danek S. Kaus – The screenwriting term for the moment that really gets a story going is the inciting incident. Up until this moment, we see the protagonist in their normal world. The inciting incident is something that shakes up that world and causes the main character to take action to achieve a specific goal. It establishes the stakes of the film: Will the boy get the girl? Will the suburban...

by Chidiki Whitley - Currently, the trend for screenwriting is writing a horrible screenplay, and then quitting. I say that a bit tongue and cheek, but in all seriousness: showing how NOT to do something is just as effective a learning tool as showing how to do something. So, what are some of the ways in which a screenwriter can write a bad screenplay…. #1 – Don’t Read Screenplays...

Featuring 50 movie stills in full color, the only official tie-in to the Columbia Pictures film, written, produced, and directed by Academy Award®-winner Brian Helgeland (co-writer/co-producer of L.A. Confidential), starring Heath Ledger (The Patriot). This is the rousing story of lowborn William Thatcher (Heath Ledger) and his band of medieval misfits as they careen their way towards impossible glory....

Michael Halperin, Ph. D., television writer, screenwriting instructor and former Executive Story Consultant for 20th Century Fox Television discusses his book Writing the 2nd...

by John Halasz – A definite screenplay structure offers the screenplay writer with a solid frame within which to work indigenously to build up an engrossing story. Whether on the screen or the stage, plays have a more clear-cut organization than any other form of literary expression. It is not an easy task. It requires a lot of imagination based on profound credibility to compose a heart rendering...

Sean Astin hosts AFI’s filmmaking tutorial series, LIGHTS, CAMERA, EDUCATION! In this segment, we explore...

As director Gus Van Sant observes in the introduction to Matt Damon’s and Ben Affleck’s screenplay Good Will Hunting, the two young actors somewhat resemble the characters they play in the film: they’re best friends, and Affleck (who plays Chuckie) habitually chauffeurs Damon (Will), who doesn’t drive. Van Sant says we can see how badly Damon drives by watching the film’s...