Final Draft Blog

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History of TV: Live, in front of a studio audience 'The Jeffersons'

February 11, 2022

1975 signified the popularity of Betamax, VHS tapes and a turning point in American television: The Jeffersons. Its predecessor, Good Times (created by actor Mike Evans, writer Eric Monte and producer Norman Lear), featured a Black family from the pr...

I Want You Back' writing duo craft a sweetly unexpected rom-com

February 11, 2022

I Want You Back feels like a romantic comedy of days of yore while all at once fresh and new. It embraces the trope and universal feeling of not wanting to die alone, but few other rom-com tropes feel predictable or even evident in this screwball and...

How Adrien Brody creates the world of ‘Clean’ through performance, writing and music

February 10, 2022

Clean’s life is very regimented. After hours at work as a garbage man, he goes to the same spots and checks up on the same people. However, things change when his past catches up to him and returns him to a life of violence for the sake of protecting...

Tim Kirkby talks ‘Last Looks’, directing actors, and making the jump from TV to film

February 10, 2022

Charlie Waldo is a former superstar LAPD detective who now lives a life of solitude and minimalism. Three years after ghosting everyone, Waldo’s former flame and owner of a private investigation firm tries to recruit him to help solve the case of the...

Write On with 'Cyrano' Screenwriter Erica Schmidt

February 10, 2022

Cyrano is a musical drama starring Peter Dinklage based on screenwriter Erica Schmidt’s stage play of the same name. Erica talks to Write On about transitioning from writing for the theater to screenwriting: "It was challenging because I didn't know ...

Rising Through the Ranks: Tea Ho on perseverance and raising your voice in the room

February 9, 2022

“It is what I do full-time now, but I had never considered myself a storyteller, actually,” admits Tea Ho. The Viet-American refugee has some pretty cool credits to their name, considering. Their homepage bio states “getting inducted into a now-defun...

5 Screenwriting Takeaways: Hulu's 'Pam & Tommy'

February 7, 2022

It's 1995. Bill Clinton is in office (it's three years before the Lewinsky scandal). Hard Copy pulls great ratings, and Americans tolerate dial-up and chat rooms for the internet on home desktop computers. Meanwhile, Pamela Anderson had already grace...

Ghosts of the Ozarks' filmmakers on collaboration and challenges in script-to-screen

February 7, 2022

In post-Civil War Arkansas, a young doctor is mysteriously summoned to a remote town in the Ozarks, only to discover that the utopian paradise is filled with secrets and surrounded by a menacing, supernatural presence.

Order up: Christoffer Boe serves foodie cinematography alongside musings on marriage in ‘A Taste of Hunger’

February 7, 2022

Director and co-writer Christoffer Boe consulted with an unusual combination of professionals for the creation of his latest film, A Taste of Hunger — chefs at renowned Michelin-starred restaurants and marriage counselors — to dig into what it means ...