RESOURCES LIST*

RESOURCES LIST

Robert McKee's STORY Seminar : A Review by David Negrin (Click Here)

Robert McKee's Thriller Genre Seminar:

• Notes / Seminar Outline by Nellie Finnegan (Click Here)
  
• A Review by Keith Miller (Click Here)
  
The Writer's Boot Camp : A Review by Franco Barbeite (Click Here)

Screenwriting Expo: A Review by Mario Caiti (Click Here)

Screenwriting I @ Gotham Writers' Workshop (Click Here)

GENRE


• SCIENCE FICTION - Defining the Genre. A great discussion trying to define the elusive genre of Science Fiction.
  
• EDUCATION PLOT vs. REDEMPTION PLOT - A delineation of these two genres.
  
• *RELUCTANT HERO vs. EDUCATION PLOT - Don't confuse a protagonist's arc with his reluctance to go on the journey.
  
• THRILLER - Detailed notes from Robert McKee's Genre Weekend on Thriller. What are the genre conventions of a Thriller?
  
• *Horror vs. Thriller (How Is Evil Depicted?) - an excellent explanation of the difference between a Horror Genre and Thriller -- HINT: it lies in the Antagonism.
  

DIALOG


• SUBTEXT - What is Subtext really?
  
• Long Blocks of Dialog - An editing example of how to cut down your dialog if you find you've got long blocks.
  

CHARACTER


• ANTI-HERO - Do we have to like the protagonist or merely empathize? HOW to write an Anti-Hero.
  
• *Iconic vs. Dynamic Heroes - A discussion about heroes that arc and heroes that don't.
  

FORMAT


• SLUG LINES - A discussion about the proper use of Slug Lines in your script.
  
• MONTAGE - A discussion on the use of Montage, it's pros and cons, how to do it well or poorly?
  

BUSINESS


• *VIDEO Presentation The 7 Habits of Hollywood's Most Successful Six (and Seven) Figure Screenwriters
  
• *The Black List -- ('06/'07/'08) the annual list compiled by over 250 film executives contributing the names of up to ten of their favorite scripts that were written in, or are somehow uniquely associated with each year but was not to be released in theaters during this calendar year. It has been said many times, but it’s worth repeating: THE BLACK LIST is not a 'best of' list. It is, at best, a 'most liked' list.
  
• ICM Story Editor Answers every BURNING Screenwriting Question. Breaking in to the business, story structure, formatting, getting an agent, every burning question you have, I guarantee addressed.
  
• 3 Reasons Buyers Buy - a summary of the talk given by Phillipa Burgess a Hollywood creative executive on a screenwriters place in the business.
  

MISC


• *Printing, Photocopying, & Binding - Best NYC resources for Printing, Photocopying, & Binding.
  
• How To Write A LOGLINE - Great lesson on how to write a Logline from Christopher Lockhart the Executive Story Editor at ICM.
  
• BEST SCREENWRITING BOOKS to read?! A discussion and extensive list.
  
• BEAT SHEETS - What are they? How are they used? What are they good for?
  
• Must-see Movies, Must-read scripts... According to our group.
  

A Discussion from our message board on the BEST Screenwriting Books.

Screenwriting Craft


Screenplay by Syd Field
THE first book to read for beginners in Screenwriting. The classic guide to writing screenplays, by screenplay guru Syd Field. A step-by-step guide from concept to finished script.



Save The Cat!: The Last Book on Screenwriting You'll Ever Need by Blake Snyder
A great new outlining approach for beginner screenwriters, seems to pull all the best ideas on structure from every other great screenwriting book together into his Save The Cat! Method. Must read.



STORY by Robert McKee
THE best book for intermediate to advanced screenwriters. Provides readers with the most comprehensive, integrated explanation of the craft of writing for the screen.



The Screenwriter's Bible: A Complete Guide to Writing, Formatting, and Selling Your Script by David Trottier
The screenplay format reference mentioned most often in our meetings and conversations.

GENRE SPECIFIC


Romantic Comedy


Writing the Romantic Comedy by Billy Mernit
Whether you're a first time screenwriter, or an intermediate marooned in the rewriting process, this thoroughly charming and insightful guide to the basics of crafting a winning script will take you step by step from "cute meet" all the way to "joyous defeat."


The Business of Screenwriting


Breakfast With Sharks by Michael Lents ($14.00).


The Movie Business : The Definitive Guide to the Legal and Financial Secrets of Getting Your Movie Made by Kelly Crabb
Mr. Crabb writes about how to raise money for your movie. He states that it's not a book about writing the movie, but about financing and legal stuff, which I think is something that interests us all.




Other Popular Books


Hollywood Standard: The Complete and Authoritative Guide to Script Format and Style by Christopher Riley
Yamil is obsessive about scouting out the latest screenwriting books at Barnes & Noble. He talked about this one at the meetup-- he rates it very highly and feels it's the latest most up to date manual of Hollywood screenwriting style.

The Complete Guide To Standard Script Formats ? Part I: The Screenplay by Cole/Haag ($18.95)

Elements Of Style For Screenwriters (1st Edition) - The Essential Manual For Writers Of Screenplays by Paul Argentini. ($11.95)

How Not To Write A Screenplay - 101 Common Mistakes Most Screenwriters Make by Denny Martin Flinn ($16.95)
If you're looking to get a different perspective on "how to connect the dots" when it comes to piecing your story together, try reading:

Screenwriting From The Heart by James Ryan ($16.95).




CONTESTS


Baxter Taylor's Tips on spotting the SHADY Screenwriting Contests



• Moving Deadlines -- the less legit screenwriting contests often can't get enough people to sign up and so their deadlines may move back over and over again.
  
• Too Expensive -- the legit contests are never more the $60. Many are much less.
  
• Message Boards -- most legit contests have message boards or a feedback page where you can read how those who entered the contest feel about it.
  
• Report Cards @ MovieBytes -- the website MovieBytes.com has a competition section that gives report cards on all the competitions.
  



Screenwrinting Contest Links


www.MovieBytes.com
Great Comeptition Listing.

www.DoneDealPro.com
Good Competition Listing.

www.RedInkWorks.com
A contest Baxter liked and got great coverage from.

www.WithoutABox.com
Automatically submit your film to festivals, some screenwriting contests.





WEB SITES


EVERYTHING SCREENWRITING


*ScriptShadow
A new must-read Screenwriting Blog. Reviewing the latest scripts in hollywood from a writers perspective.

WORDPLAY
A comprehensive site with some of the best screenwriting advice out there - it's like filmschool for screenwriters on the web. From screenwriters/producers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio (Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean 1 & 2).

*The Inside Pitch & Two Adverbs
Exec Story Editor Christopher Lockhart at ICM--this is definitely the guy you want on your side... Great advice.

John August.com
A great site run by screenwriter John August (Charlie's Angels, Big Fish, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory). Lots of his pro Scripts, Outlines, Beat Sheets, Character Backgrounds.

Blake Snyder.com
A great screenwriting blog by screenwriter Blake Snyder. Author of "Save the Cat!" and screenwriter for such blockbuster scripts as Blank Check & Nuclear Family.

*Jane In Progress
Television writer Jane Espenson (Buffy, Angel, Firefly, Gilmore Girls, Ellen, The O.C., Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Dinosaurs, Jake in Progress). Her blog is intended to help new writers tackle the job of writing those all-important Television specs.

*SCRIPTLAND
A weekly feature from the L.A. Times on the work and professional lives of screenwriters.

*The Artful Writer
Craig Mazin/Ted Elliott. Lots of useful WGA stuff

Script For Sale.com
Another amazing screenwriting resource. Bridging the gap between what screenwriters write and what producers buy.

Sam & Jim Go To Hollywood
A great podcast/blog about the industry from two guys who moved from Minnesota and became screenwriters in Hollywood. Must listen, especially for you Comedy writers.

*Creative Screenwriting PodCast
From Creative Screenwriting magazine, an amazing, free series of interviews with the greatest screenwriters talking about the greatest scripts: Stephen Gaghan on Syriana, Paul Haggis on Crash, Kurtzman & Orci on M:I:3.

*I Find Your Lack Of Faith Disturbing
Josh Friedman's blog (War of the Worlds, Black Dahlia, The Sarah Connor Chronicles). Hilarious. Josh Friedman doesn't post often, but they're worth waiting for.



FREE SCREENPLAYS


http://www.movie-page...
A great site for downloading free screenplays.

http://www.script-o-r...
Another script site is Drew's Script-O-Rama. Plenty of scripts including TV scripts and anime.

*http://www.imsdb.com...
The Internet Movie Script Data Base. Excellent selection AND searchable!! Mostly html formatted, some don't have page counts.

http://www.simplyscri...
Anonther great script site. Has a TREATMENTs section.

http://www.scifiscrip...
Science fiction movie scripts.

http://www.joblo.com/...
Yet another guy with some great scripts.



QUERY LETTERS


"Breaking The Ice"
http://wordplayer.com...

"How To Write A Killer Query Letter

Final Draft - in case you were wondering, Yes, it is the standard ~ http://www.finaldraft...

CELTX - FREE! Not a bad program, does all the basics. And it's free ~ http://celtx.com/...

SOPHOCLES - an interesting alternative to Final Draft, $120 ~

IFP.org - I'm a member, I seriously look forward to getting their newsletter each week. Here's what's great about IFP:

Membership in today's IFP is the key to an indie filmmaker's career and the smart move for industry execs looking to stay on top of new developments. For networking, exposure, project tracking, talent discovery, and invaluable financing and production information, IFP is the foremost link between the creative and business communities. All IFP chapters offer similar benefits:

- Built-in Networking Opportunities at all events (so many great events)
- Multiple Funding and Grant Programs
- Hundreds of Preview and Premeire Screenings
- Career Advancement Seminars and Workshops
- Significant Production Discounts and Savings
- Complimentarty Subscription to FILMMAKER Magazine

Ratings Rules (R vs PG-13)


This is one of several discussions had over at Wordplayer.com regarding the ratings system; you'll find other there via their search engine.
http://www.wordplayer...

Literary & Script Agencies


Right, so a former colleague sends me this link, everyonewhosanyone.com, and it leads to a website where this guy, Gerard Jones, rants about literary and script agencies, as well as film production companies. The great thing is that it's full of contact information. The bad thing is that it's not in alphabetical order. Well, you can't have everything.

Here it is again: http://www.everyonewh...



Ten Tips on Pitching
The first is simply a document from a company that advises people on how to handle pitch meetings.


The Shape of Screenplays
The second is based on the ideas presented by The London Script Consultancy, the people that organise the screenwriters group that I go to in London. It shows a line that represents how well the protagonist is doing. It starts with the line lower on the page. As the adventure starts, the protagonist does well - the line rises up the page. At the mid-point, the line falls down the page so that the protagonist is even worse off by the end of act 2. Luckily, due to the lessons learnt during the course of the story, the protagonist does well in act 3 and ends up in a better state than at the start.

Another point is that each of the eight segments (known as sequences in some literature) also has the same structure within it, as does each scene. This is known as a fractal structure (the same pattern at different scales), but if you don't want to bother with chaos theory, please don't worry about it.


Our SCRIPT TO SCREEN Project...

http://screenwriters....