by Fiona Wheeler Filmmakers, cinema commentators, and academics often go on record questioning the suitability of the screenplay. In this digital era, should feature films have some other kind of primary source document? Early films didn’t have scripts. Prior to a 1910 ruling, the studios hadn’t had to pay anyone for story ideas, successfully arguing... Continue Reading →
Is the Spec Script Set to Rise Again?
Margaret Heidenry of Vanity Fair has written a beautiful piece for this month's issue on the rise of the spec script during the glory days of the '90s and early 2000s as well as the spec's decline in recent years. The article is a must read for anyone who wants to understand the industry we work... Continue Reading →
The Evolution of the Screenplay (or, Why You Need to Keep Reading New Scripts)
Screenplays in their current form have come a long way from the "scenarios" that writers pieced together back in the early 1900s. Ever since the first talking picture, The Jazz Singer, the modern screenplay has evolved dramatically both in terms of formatting and content. Michelle Donnelly of The Script Lab has put together a fascinating... Continue Reading →
Quote of the Day: Oliver Stone
I will come out with my interpretation. If I'm wrong, fine. It will become part of the debris of history, part of the give and take.
Quote of the Day: Hermann Hesse
Without words, without writing and without books there would be no history, there could be no concept of humanity.