Screenwriting: From the Trenches

A question for the ages, Rob & Kay, after being mired in the actions of actors, the industry and our fellow brethren this week, attempt to answer and come up with a pretty decent episode.

Our Weekly Resource: The Charlie Kaufman Speech.

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Kay and Rob discuss the hottest thing in our industry, Adaptations. Whether it's a book, news article, or something in the public domain, we've got you covered on the steps that you need to take, what kind of material is available to Joe/Jane Screenwriter, and what you should look out for when adapting IP.

Our Weekly Resource: Friend of the Show, Danny Manus, has a great article on Script Mag for Adaptations that is a great addendum to this episode.

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This week, as Kay and Rob find the industry to be a dumpster fire currently, so we want to have a heart-to-heart with our listeners on the topic of, "How does one get their foot in the door?" And really...if you really want to?

Our Weekly Resource: Kane Parsons, also known as Kane Pixels, made a movie about liminal spaces – spaces that supposedly are adjacent to our reality without being a part of it – which, we didn’t even know was a thing. Anyway this kid, he’s 17, has been tapped by A24 to make the feature version of his YouTube Channel, which is set to shoot this summer. The first backrooms video has, as of this recording, 45M views, which is how that happened.

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This week, Rob & Kay are discussing Setups &Payoffs. And while there are no 100% absolutes, but the things discussed in this episode are about as 99.999% repeating as you can get in terms of screenwriting “rules”. You MUST have setups and payoffs in your script, and the lack thereof is the sharpest indicator of a screenwriter that does not have command of their craft.

Our Weekly Resource: An OnStory video with Shane Black talking about setups & payoffs. This really resonated with us. There's also audio version, but the video version, is what we are linking here. Either way you consume it, just consume it. Learn it. Absorb it. Please. Setups & payoffs are the backbone of screenwriting. If you are not doing it (or doing it properly), that’s probably why your screenplays aren’t getting any traction.

Notes From the Episode:
Zack's Original Instagram video (for our Twitter Drama Bumper)

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Cinema Challenge Series, Round 1 ("How to Make a Movie for $1000")
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Our Weekly Resource: The WGA just dropped a new Writing Programs Masterlist for you to navigate this years Contest/Fellowship season, check it out here.

LINK to register for the "How to Make a Movie for $1000" Virtual Workshop!

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Rob & Kay talk to Megan Rees about pitching after she got some great advice, recently, from some Hollywood screenwriter Big Shots on her TV pilot, Hot Town.

Our Weekly Resource: Megan was recently featured pitching her screenplay on the Screenwriting Life Podcast with Meg LeFauve (and guest Joe Forte) where she, and others who participated, got great advice in a live workshop at the Austin Film Festival. This serves as not only another great place to hear our wonderful guest, but also to get some great advice for yourself from folks who know what it's like to be down in the trenches. This is one of the best podcasts out there, IMHO.

LINK to register for the "How to Make a Movie for $1000" Virtual Workshop!

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This week, inspired by a Twitter thread by Christopher Cramer (who we have on the show with us), Kay and Rob talk the everyday screenwriter, and how our stories overlap and how we interact with our family, who don't always see us for the artists/creatives that we really are.

LINK to register for the "How to Make a Movie for $1000" Virtual Workshop!

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This week Rob interviews producer Sev Ohanian, producer of the film "Missing" who also co-wrote the film’s predecessor, "Searching". In it, we talk about the charges against Alec Baldwin for the shooting on the set of the film Rust, whether these screen movies qualify as "found footage", the return of the whodunnit genre,  and what brought Sev and his partner to this sequel (after saying previously they wouldn't do one).

Our Weekly Resource: The Official Wakanda Forever Companion Podcast. Produced by the company Sev co-founded, Proximity Media, this podcast offers not just a behind-the-scenes look at the making at one of the biggest movies of 2022, but also dives deep to give real heart and context to the making of this film in the wake of the death of the franchise's star, Chadwick Boseman. Hosted by Ta-Nehisi Coates, this is a wonderful podcast not only if you're a fan of the film, but if you're a fan of stories about how movies get made.

LINK to register for the "How to Make a Movie for $1000" Virtual Workshop!

Notes From the Episode:
Zack's Original Instagram video (for our Twitter Drama Bumper)

The Script to "Searching"

Rob's YouTube Channel
Cinema Challenge Series, Round 1 ("How to Make a Movie for $1000")
Sev's Twitter
Zack's Twitter
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Rob's Twitter
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This week Rob and Kay are talking adaptation, specifically via The Last of Us since Rob has played the video game and Kay has not. We also talk, in our Twitter drama segment, the backlash surrounding the Scooby-Doo prequel cartoon Velma, and how imminent a Writer's Strike could be do the current practices of the studios.

Our Weekly Resource: The Last of Us companion podcast. If you want to hear what it was like to adapt one masterpiece into another check out HBO’s official podcast for the show where host Troy Baker (who plays Joel in the video game version), talks with folks who were boots on the ground during the production on the show, mainly showrunners and creators, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. It’s fantastic to get real insights on how the sausage is made from the mouth of the butchers themselves.

LINK to register for the "How to Make a Movie for $1000" Virtual Workshop!

Notes From the Episode:

Rob's YouTube Channel

This week Rob and Kay talk Christmas get into the topic of (sexy) Worldbuilding and how it's not just for the Star Wars's and the Avatars of the world, but even your average dramas and comedies, etc. And how you can do the leg work so that your movie doesn't feel thin.

Our Weekly Resource: The Art of World Building - Immersive Screenwriting with Margaret Kerrison from (the great) Indie Film Hustle, under their Bulletproof Screenwriting banner, we love to give out free resources and this video is great if you're looking to continue down the rabbit hole of information on how to build worlds. 

LINK to register for the "How to Make a Movie for $1000" Virtual Workshop!

Notes From the Episode:

Rob's YouTube Channel