Final Draft Blog
All the tips, tricks and information you need to inspire your writing!
Read interviews with the pros, catch up with industry news, and listen to Write On: A Screenwriting Podcast by Final Draft.
‘Scrooged’: Lessons in turning a 180-year-old novella into a Christmas classic
I have an idea for a Christmas movie. A self-absorbed, penny-pinching individual is visited by ghosts who insist that if he doesn’t change his ways, he is destined to misery. Sound familiar?
Read More
5 Screenwriting Takeaways: Jane Campion makes an anti-cowboy masterpiece with ‘The Power of the Dog’
American cowboy movies come with much swagger, often violence, and usually plenty of guns. Jane Campion’s newest, The Power of the Dog, however, is a taught thriller with often disturbing imagery, but almost none of the above. Instead, it centers aro...
Read More
Rocky IV: Rocky Vs. Drago - The Ultimate Director's Cut' review: Stallone the director fights for Stallone the screenwriter
As an Italian-American screenwriter originally from Philadelphia, the Rocky films and Sylvester Stallone’s career have always been a source of inspiration for me. Most often discussed as an actor, then secondly as a director, Stallone’s success and s...
Read More
Directors of ‘Citizen Ashe’ share the change Arthur Ashe made in each swing
Arthur Ashe was at the top. He won the 1968 U.S. Open with one swift swing of his tennis racket and just like that, he made history as the first Black man to win the singles title at the U.S. Open. However, that was only the beginning of the impact A...
Read More
Encounter': How Michael Pearce created something more than just an alien-invasion flick
An alien threat has come to earth. Microbes are infecting humans and poised to take over the planet. Malik Khan (Riz Ahmed) is a former Marine who is well aware of this threat, knows what to look for, and wants to protect his two sons. Encounter star...
Read More
5 Screenwriting Takeaways: ‘House of Gucci’ soap opera based on true story
Patrizia has grand ambitions. From the first moments she appears on screen, the audience knows that she’s itching to escape the confines of her current situation. It’s just by happenstance that she soon meets a young man at a party named Maurizio, wh...
Read More
Write On with ‘The Executive Chair’ Author Kelly Edwards
Kelly is a development executive turned writer and author of ‘The Executive Chair: A Writer’s Guide to TV Series Development.’ She spoke to Write On about her decision to leave the executive world after 30 years and pursue her passion: "[Writing] was...
Read More
History of TV: The MCU's noir turn in 'Jessica Jones'
Gritty shades of gray, moody aesthetic, and the sarcastic, cynical voiceover of Jessica Jones (in a role made for Krysten Ritter) open the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s second chapter of its Netflix era. Part of the quartet that made the short-lived Th...
Read More
It Builds Character Part I: How to write a character-driven plot
James Bond. Sarah Connor. Luke Skywalker. These are all prime examples of characters that work well within the realm of very high-concept storytelling. You not only know these characters by name, but you know their propensities, flaws and core wounds...
Read More
What’s new in Final Draft 13?
WRITING GOALS &
PRODUCTIVITY STATS
Set goals and get valuable insights to take your work to the next level
TYPEWRITER
A new typewriter-like view option improves your focus
EMOJI
Craft more realistic onscreen text exchanges and make your notes more emotive
And so much more, thoughtfully designed to help unleash your creativity.
LEARN MORE