Final Draft Blog

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Write On with Madam Secretary Executive Producer Lori McCreary

December 26, 2018

After leaving her role as a co-founder at the software company CompuLaw, Revelations Entertainment CEO and PGA Board Member Lori McCreary returned to her love of storytelling as Executive Producer of the CBS Series ‘Madam Secretary.’ Lori discusses h...

‘Destroyer’ Director Karyn Kusama On Why Working Closely With Screenwriters Is Essential To Her Process

December 25, 2018

Traditionally, a director won’t see a script until it’s been written, rewritten, polished, and perfected to the nth degree. Then, when the script is in a near-perfect state, the screenwriter relinquishes control and sits idly by as the director takes...

All the Write Moves: Mary Poppins Returns

December 24, 2018

When the beloved Disney musical Mary Poppins was released in 1964, ideas of what constituted movie magic were very different than they are now. Not only was Mary Poppins made nearly 20 years before the first CGI movie scenes, but audiences didn’t liv...

Write On with Aquaman Writers Geoff Johns, David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall

December 21, 2018

Aquaman writers David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, Geoff Johns and Will Beall discuss their paths to becoming writers (including Beall's stint as a homicide detective), their creative process and their advice for aspiring screenwriters.

Foreign Film Spotlight: The Cakemaker’s Ofir Raul

December 19, 2018

Eight years after beginning work on his first feature film, multi-award-winning writer-director Ofir Raul Graizer’s film The Cakemaker is Israel’s submission for the foreign film category of this year’s Academy Awards®.

Write On with SAGindie Executive Director Darrien Michele Gipson

December 18, 2018

SAGindie Executive Director Darrien Michele Gipson, formerly VP of Development at DEF Pictures, discusses navigating the waters of independent filmmaking and hiring professional actors through SAG-AFTRA’s low-budget contracts.

All the Write Moves: Vox Lux

December 17, 2018

When studying current movies for lessons applicable to future scripts, the temptation is to identify formulas—hit such-and-such plot point by page 10, make sure the narrative twists dramatically at the end of each act, etc. But sometimes it’s useful ...

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: December 17, 2018

December 17, 2018

Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Animation Following an uneventful few weeks at the box office, two new films opened over the weekend with results that speak volumes about the future of big-screen storytelling – both positively and negatively.