Our Mission:
To create the most complete and definitive source of information about the past and present of Screenwriting.
Our Goal:
To be your source for Screenwriter related information. We will supply our visitors with up to date news, stories, and latest Sreenwriting Recent News Links section below.
SPECIAL NOTICE: Lewis R. Hunter is an American screenwriter, author and educator and is chairman Emeritus and Professor of Screenwriting at the UCLA Department of Film and Television. Please visit the "Lew's Links" section below.
Lew's Links:
Here are some links chosen by Lew Hunter and friends. We are not responsible for all the content on these sites, but deem them worthy of your attention:
» D.B. Gilles the Blogster rants about screenwriting and all it's foibles, joys and frustrations. I SHOULD BE WRITING MY SCREENPLAY
» Screenwriter's Utopia A smorgasbord of how-to articles, contests, classes, forums and more.
» CraftyScreenwriting.com Screenwriter/Producer Alex Epstein’s site. One of Lew’s most memorable students, Alex is currently showrunner for a Canadian sci-fi series.
» Complications Ensue: The Crafty Screenwriting Blog http://complicationsensue.blogspot.com
» Wordplay Terry Rossio and Ted Elliot's tutorial for intermediate and advanced screenwriters. From the writers of Shrek, Aladdin, The Mask of Zorro, The Road to El Dorado, and others. Over 40 lengthy columns on the craft and business of screenwriting (written by Terry) with guest columns by colleagues. Lew recommends these columns to his students.
» TheWriter.net A pithy, content-rich site from Chris Miller, a UCLA Professional Program grad. His personal log includes his valuable analysis of the screenwriting craft. Chris optioned a screenplay in August 2002 and joins the ranks fo the professionals.
» Andy Horton’s Website Film historian, author, university professor, mentor, screenwriting tour host, and instructor; Andy Horton wears many hats and wears them well.
» Richard Walter Author, chair of the UCLA Screenwriting Program, and mensch nonpareil. A kind and generous teacher.
» Sharon Teo Professor of New Media at University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Lew thinks she’s brilliant.
» Scenare.cz Lew’s friend, Markéta Docekalová’s screenwriting portal in the Czech Republic. In Czech, with some English. Coming soon, a directory of talent in Eastern Europe, including technical crew and creative talent. Marketa is the show runner for a Czech TV drama.
» Francis Coppola's American Zoetrope An ambitious labor of love, Coppola's American Zoetrope is a safe harbor for writers of screenplays and short stories looking for exposure. Uploaded short stories and screenplays are considered for Zoetrope magazine and American Zoetrope Productions. You might even get to talk to Mr. Coppola in the chat room.
» WGA The Writers Guild of America, west. Your union, once you’ve become a professional. More than just the member’s site. Filled with content from their magazine, Written By, links to specialized reference sites, agents, script registration, and more.
» San Francisco Screenwriters Sam Scribner’s site includes his own columns, information about his classes, networking with his graduates.
» James Dalessandro Information about Lew’s protégé, James Dalessandro, who teaches in the San Francisco Bay Area. Site not entirely devoted to Dalessandro.
» IndieProducing.com Lew’s UCLA colleague and friend Myrl Schreibman’s site. Content-rich and useful to both professionals and students, visit this one often.
» Lew’s alma mater and academic home. Theatre, Film, and Television Department includes the Screenwriting Program, the Professional Production Program, Digital Media. For those who can’t fulfill the demands of a degree program, check the Summer Session schedule for Screenwriting classes.
» Learning Annex Lew and his protégé Jim Dalessandro teach at the Learning Annex in San Francisco, and there are others around the country. Not affiliated with the Learning Exchange in Sacramento, where Lew also teaches.
» MovieBytes.com The most comprehensive source for contest information, results, and interviews with contest winners. Sign up for Frederick Mensch’s great newsletter.
» Sharks and Structure An unusual look at movie structure. The basic premise is a movie is like a shark. It must keep moving or it dies.
» Leonard Maltin Online TV critic and megafan Leonard Maltin’s new site. He regularly updates it with new essays about movie history. A well-designed site with lots of good content.
» Internet Movie Database IMDB is the most comprehensive source for the minitiaeu of movies. From full credits to running times, IMDB is your source. While not infallible, it's a good first choice for checking credits.
» Roger Ebert Features interviews, essays on film, and more.
» Mr.Cranky Mr. Cranky hates everything. But beyond the jaundiced eye, Mr. Cranky actually knows movies and respects them, which is why he hates bad work.
» FilmFestivals.com Schedule of future festivals and entry information for filmmakers and news from current events.
» Ain’t It Cool Harry Knowles has the rumor and hot news on movies before anyone else. What's fact and what's rumor? You decide.
» JumpTheShark A site devoted to the moment when a TV series goes down hill. So named for the episode on Happy Days when the Cunninghams went on a Florida vacation and Fonzie water-skied over a shark.
» 10 Myths About Copyright Not specifically for screenwriters, but good, solid information. To copyright your scripts, go to the Library of Congress or use the WGA Registration Service.
» Box Office Guru Current figures and historical perspectives. Projections for each week’s openings. Gitesh Prabda knows this inside and out. The numbers are important because it helps you plan your movie attendance. If you see a movie is tanking and is likely to lose screens, you plan accordingly.
Screenwriter Recent News Links:
Venice International film festival kicks off
27 Aug 2008 at 7:44pm
U.S. actors Brad Pitt and George Clooney pose on the red carpet at the Film Festival in Venice Aug.
George Clooney kicks off the film festival with the premiere of the Coen brot...
27 Aug 2008 at 6:28pm
The annual famous International Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday evening in this beautiful i...
Death and driving under the influence
27 Aug 2008 at 6:10pm
The tragic death of Karey Marsh on Tuesday brings up a topic that is very old news, but which unf...
Palisades Plays Itself
27 Aug 2008 at 5:26pm
When you think of bad movies, you think of Harry Medved. No, really, it's okay, he doesn't mind.
Overcoming barriers: Movie filming in Pullman promotes higher education throu...
27 Aug 2008 at 5:10pm
To Blanca Blanco, playing someone like herself isn't much different that playing any other role.
Brad Pitt and George Clooney ham it up for the cameras in Venice
27 Aug 2008 at 5:09pm
This year's Venice Film Festival got off to a cliche-ridden start: the sun beat down, George Cloo...
Venice film festival: That sinking feeling
27 Aug 2008 at 4:00pm
Is Europe's oldest film festival losing its edge to the Canadian competition? August 27, 2008 4:0...
Wild and Crazy Scribe: Steve Martin's Terror Thriller Confounds Critics
27 Aug 2008 at 10:24am
Everyone knows Steve Martin has managed to evolve from Jerk to man of letters . But is the comedi...
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Screenwriter:
Screenwriters, scenarists, or script writers, are authors who write the screenplays from which movies and television programs are made.
Most screenwriters start their carrier writing on speculation. That means, they write without being hired and payed for it. Selling such a script calls to sell a "spec-script". Only a handfull spec-scripts are produced every year.
Many of them also work as "script doctors," attempting to change scripts to suit directors or studios; for instance, studio management may have a complaint that the motivations of the characters are unclear or that the dialogue is weak.
Script-doctoring can be quite lucrative, especially for the better known writers. David Mamet and John Sayles, for instance, fund the movies they direct themselves, usually from their own screenplays, by writing and doctoring scripts for others. In fact, some writers make very profitable careers out of the script doctoring food chain, being the ninth or tenth writer to work on a piece; in many cases, working on projects that never see exposure to an audience of any size.
A few screenwriters have also found work by selling a treatment (approximaty 10-30 pages) or synopsis (usually 1-2 pages), of their screenplay even if it isn't completed yet. This is however extremely rare.
One of the most important elements in bringing an idea to fruition for a studio to produce is attaching the right screenwriter to the project. Often projects are sold to studios who then assign their own preferred screenwriters to complete the script or write the final draft.
Most professional screenwriters are unionized and are represented by organizations such as the Writers Guild of America. The WGA is final arbiter on awarding writing credit for projects under its join.
Screenwriting in the Entertainment Industry:
The act of screenwriting takes many forms across the entertainment industry. Often, multiple writers work on the same script at different stages of development with different tasks. Over the course of a successful career, a screenwriter might be hired to write in a wide variety of roles.
Some of the most common forms of screenwriting jobs include:
Spec Script Writing:
Spec scripts are feature film or television show scripts written on speculation, without the commission of a studio, production company, or network. The vast majority of scripts written each year are spec scripts, but only a small percentage make it to the screen. A spec script is usually a wholly original work, but can be an adaptation of an existing source.
In television writing, a spec script is a sample teleplay written to demonstrate the writer's knowledge of a show and ability to imitate its style and conventions. It is submitted to the show's producers in hopes of being hired to write future episodes of the show.
Feature Assignment Writing:
Scripts written on assignment are screenplays created under contract with a studio, production company, or individual. Assignment scripts are generally adaptations of an existing idea or property owned by the hiring company,[2] but can also be original works based on a concept created by the writer or producer. Because assignments are created for hire, the writer typically has less creative freedom than on a spec script, and must meet specific criteria dictated by the producer.
Rewriting and Script Doctoring:
Most produced films are rewritten to some extent during the development process. Very frequently, they are not rewritten by the original writer of the script. Many established screenwriters, as well as new writers whose work shows promise but lacks marketability, make their living rewriting scripts.
When a script's central premise or characters are good but the script is otherwise unusable, a different writer or team of writers is contracted to do an entirely new draft, often referred to as a "page one rewrite." When only small problems remain, such as bad dialogue or poor humor, a writer is hired to do a "polish" or "punch-up."
Depending on the size of the new writer's contributions, screen credit may or may not be given. For instance, in the American film industry, credit to rewriters is given only if 50% or more of the script is substantially changed. These standards can make it difficult to establish the identity and number of screenwriters who contributed to a film's creation.
When an established, successful writer is called in to rewrite portions of a script late in the development process, they are commonly referred to as script doctors. Prominent script doctors include William Goldman, Robert Towne, and Quentin Tarantino.
Television Writing:
A freelance television writer uses spec scripts or their previous credits and reputation to get contracted by an existing tv show to write one or more episodes. After the episode is written, the teleplay is submitted to the network and rewriting or polishing may be required. Subsequent drafts of the script may be done by the freelancer or by the show's staff.
A staff writer for a television show generally works in-house writing and rewriting episodes for the show. Staff writers - often given other titles, such as story editor, or producer - work both as a group and individually on episode scripts to maintain the show's tone, style, characters, and plots.
Television show creators, also known as show runners, write the pilot episode and bible of a new television series. They are responsible for creating and managing all aspects of a show's characters, style, and plots. Frequently, a creator remains responsible for the show's day-to-day creative decisions throughout the series run.
