Blockbuster
When a movie is a hit, we call it a blockbuster. But when a screenwriter is experiencing a block, or has reached the Dark Night of the Script (as we all must before the triumphant Break Into 3!), we need to bust that block. Well,...
Idea Generation
I have just finished the one-week structure seminar here at Rockport College, and may I say: wow. Great writers. Strangers to each other when they met, and who by using the Cat! method of solid logline, solid structure and solid presentation came up with brilliant,...
Hello from Rockport, ME
I am sitting in a cozy cabin on the edge of some sort of body of water (lake? inlet?) but all I know is it’s beautiful! It’s about 55 degrees here in lush and lovely Maine, and I am one happpy guy. David Lyman’s Film...
The Treatment
I have just received an email from a writer in NYC who has been hired to write a script. As part of the process she’s been asked to deliver a treatment of the screenplay first. But what is that? Ah! The Treatment. This is the...
As Maine Goes…
I am on my way to Maine to teach a weeklong screenwriting seminar at David Lyman’s Rockport Film Workshop. While there, I will also get a chance to work on my book, the long awaited sequel to STC! titled Save the Cat! Goes to the...
How Can I Be of Service?
“How can I be of service?” This is the question I asked myself years ago — and it was the turning point in in my screenwriting career. I stopped trying to please myself in my writing, and started thinking about pleasing others. The question: “What...
The Da Vinci Exposition
In Save The Cat! I write about Basil Exposition, the character from Mike Meyers’s Austin Powers series played by Michael York. Basil is an inside joke, especially his last name, because every time he appears onscreen that’s all he does: Give the exposition. Basil tells...
Proper Job! in the UK
Stop me! I’m saying “lovely” a lot. And “Smashing!” and “Brilliant!” and “Mind the gap!” Why? Because I am just back from spending 10 days in England spreading the word on the Cat! — and yes, I had a great time. I have all new...
The Cat! Goes to London
I will be leaving the confines of Beverly Hills (swimmin’ pools, movie stars) and will be in London, UK from May 3 through May 15. If I don’t return emails as promptly as usual in the next ten days, that’s why. And it’s a great...
Da Vinci Code: A Novel Approach To a Movie
I am late to the Da Vinci Code mania. I only read paperbacks! And since the Dan Brown blockbuster wasn’t available in soft cover until a few weeks ago, my only experience of it was watching Brown’s book rise and stay at the top of...
