Are You Delightful?
“That was delightful!” I said to one of the writers at my workshop a few Sundays ago. Honestly, I don’t know where that word came from. It just sort of slipped out. But “delightful” was exactly the word to describe the final pitch she gave...
The Touchstone Scene
I love our Save the Cat! weekends. We have two: the Beats Weekend where we break out your movie, play, or novel idea into the 15 beats of the Blake Snyder Beat Sheet, and the Board Weekend where we start with those 15 and bust...
I-C-3-D!
Lunch with my favorite producer, Sheila Taylor, last Friday. Sheila is not only a great friend, and the author of the Forewords for Save the Cat!, but when she’s not being the world’s coolest person, she makes movies. Sheila and her producing partners at Practical...
Cat! Nation
We are a band of writers, creators, innovators, seekers, and gurus. We span the globe from China, Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, South Africa, and France to Germany, Poland, Italy, Spain, the US, India, and the UK. The power of what we offer is awesome. We...
One Idea
I was working with a screenwriter this week who made me think of something I say in class a lot: A movie is about “one idea.” I was reminded that in his book, Your Screenplay Sucks, my pal Will Akers says the very same thing....
Sex Doesn’t Sell
It’s been a bad run of late for sexy movies. Recent releases that have a sexual element in their concept such as F.U. and Miss March have failed to connect. The Jonas Brothers movie, noted for its attempt to titilate its Tween audience, fizzled after...
How Much Do We Have to Know?
“Leapfrog or Box?” someone asks Clive Owen. I am watching Duplicity, the new Tony Gilroy film starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. It’s about spies. Clive is one. And he and a partner are trying to lose a “tail” following Clive on the streets of Manhattan....
Lucky in London
I will be heading back to London to give a special two-day seminar on the weekend of May 2-3. This is my third trip to England in the past four years. I love London, and I feel luckier every time I go! I have made...
Act Zero
I got a call from a well-known screenwriter the other day. I get emergency phone calls like X’s all the time to make sure they have their pitch straight, often just hours before going into their meeting. I got these calls before Save the Cat!...
Give Me the Same Thing… Only Better! Part 2
What we have on our hands here is a great opportunity. We are the writers of stories for a mass audience in a time that desperately needs good stories well told. And 2009 is our year to shine! In a period of economic retraction, we are...
