Steven Hartman
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'Black Bag': How to Write a Spy Movie that Sells
International intrigue. Secret agencies. Clandestine operations. Who doesn’t love a spy movie? From big action blockbusters like the Mission: Impossible and the Bourne Identity series, to smaller scale arthouse films like The Imitation Game and even ...
‘Novocaine’: How to write an Action Movie with a Twist
It’s hard to write an original action movie. How different can car chases really be? And hasn’t a fight in a restaurant kitchen been done countless times already? Action movies can be a lot of fun, but creating a truly good story with action can be r...
The A24 Brand: What ‘Opus’ Teaches Us About Today’s Indie Films
About 30 years ago, something changed in Hollywood. Big blockbuster movies by top-notch filmmakers were no longer the clear-cut favorites to win Academy Awards. Small films were breaking through the surface and gaining appeal among a wide audience. S...
‘Mickey 17’ and writing unique Science Fiction
In the first few scenes of Mickey 17, Mickey Barnes (Robert Pattinson) through voice over explains the wild and strange reality of the world the audience is about to experience for the next 2+ hours. He shares how he became an “Expendable,” someone w...
‘The Monkey’ and the Art of Adapting a Short Story
When it comes to short stories being turned into movies, there is one master that comes to mind: Stephen King. His short stories have been the source material that created such films as The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, 1408, The Mist and Chi...
How ‘Captain America: Brave New World’ is more than an Action Film
When Iron Man was released in 2008 there was no Marvel Cinematic Universe. Seventeen years and 34 films later, Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters with a template of how to make a superhero film and the importance of being a part of a larg...
Holiday Slashers: How ‘Heart Eyes’ Scares Up a Killer Concept
Roses are red / Violets are blue / Heart Eyes is the new holiday slasher / At a theater near you
5 Screenwriting Lessons from Golden-Globe Winner ‘The Brutalist’
This year’s winner of the Golden Globe for Best Picture (Drama) and Best Performance by a Male Actor for Adrien Brody (Drama), The Brutalist has become one of the most intriguing films to come out of 2024. Writer/Director Brady Corbet’s mid-century t...
How to Write a Vampire Movie like ‘Nosferatu’…or ‘Hotel Transylvania’
It’s been over 100 years since Nosferatu was introduced to the world. The silent film from 1922 was an unauthorized adaptation of Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula and remains a classic, influential horror film setting the stage and many of the rules for t...