Final Draft Blog

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Moonshot Initiative Wants To Help You Pitch Your Pilot in Hollywood

April 12, 2024

Getting into a room to pitch your ideas for a new series is the dream for screenwriters. These meetings are a big part of selling scripts, landing writing assignments, or breaking into writers' rooms in Hollywood, but getting into the room can seem i...

Write On: WGAeast Mentors Andrew Bergman and Caroline Kaplan and NY Screenwriting Fellowship Mentee Irina Rodriguez

March 13, 2024

“Just write a story you want to tell and don't try to write something which you think you can sell to somebody because that way is madness. You have to write what you want to write whether it works or not for other people. But if it's not authentic t...

'Fellow Travelers' Showrunner Shares Secrets to Writing Mind-Blowing Sex Scenes

November 10, 2023

Starring the irresistible Matt Bomer and the adorably quirky Jonathan Bailey, Showtime’s new miniseries Fellow Travelers delves into queer American history, tracing the intricate and difficult relationships of two gay men that starts in the 1950s wit...

‘Your Place or Mine’ Writer Aline Brosh McKenna on Creating Modern Romantic Leads

February 19, 2023

If you love writing romantic comedies, you’re in luck - they are making their way back to the audiences that adore them. While recent titles like Ticket to Paradise (starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney), The Lost City (starring Sandra Bullock) ...

How the showrunner of Lopez vs Lopez turned real life into a sitcom

January 5, 2023

Creating a sitcom based on real-life situations is nothing new. Ray Ramono created Everybody Loves Raymond based on his standup which reflected his real family. Even back in the 1950s I Love Lucy had echoes of Lucy and Desi’s life.

‘The L Word: Generation Q’ showrunner Marja-Lewis Ryan on voice and making room for everyone to be heard

December 16, 2022

Marja-Lewis Ryan wears a lot of hats behind the scenes of Showtime’s The L Word: Generation Q: creator, showrunner, executive producer, director, screenwriter, advocate, fresh voices champion, and all-around television fangirl.

Jewish American Heritage Month: History and hopes for future-Hollywood

May 20, 2022

Photos courtesy of Allison Collins-Smith When screenwriter Tehran Von Ghasri was a child, he never saw himself represented on the big or small screen. As a Persian, Black Jewish person, Von Ghasri felt alone in his identity and, at first, alone in th...

Kajillionaire' Is A Cautionary Tale of the Great American Grift

September 24, 2020

Miranda July’s long-anticipated new film Kajillionaire opens on a shot of her main characters (a family of Los Angeles grifters) standing in front of a downtown Los Angeles Post Office. At the time July conceived the movie, the USPS was not in danger...

5 Screenwriting Takeaways From Hulu's 'Pen 15'

September 23, 2020

Sometimes the state of the world may make adults think we have a monopoly on existential dread, but Pen15 is here to remind us that junior high schoolers have it pretty bad, too. The show's big hook—two women staring down middle age yet effortlessly ...