Final Draft Blog

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Read interviews with the pros, catch up with industry news, and listen to Write On: A Screenwriting Podcast by Final Draft.

Before You Know It Filmmakers On How To Get Your Passion Project Made

February 7, 2019

It’s a rare and difficult thing to write, direct, and star in your own film. But that is exactly what Hannah Pearl Utt and Jen Tullock did with their Sundance feature film debut, the comedy Before You Know It. The pair also knows what a tremendous fe...

All the Write Moves: Glass

February 5, 2019

M. Night Shyamalan, modern king of the twist ending, outdid himself with the final scene of Split (2016) — his surprise hit about a serial killer with multiple personalities — by connecting the picture to Unbreakable (2000), his cult-favorite thrille...

How Sundance’s Hala Made Minhal Baig an Honest Storyteller

February 5, 2019

Minhal Baig is the writer and director of Hala, a movie which, up until its Sundance premiere, she kept secret from her mother.

Write On with Kevin O'Brien

February 5, 2019

Writer-director Kevin O'Brien discusses his transition from Creative Director to filmmaker, raising money through crowdfunding, and submitting his debut feature 'At the End of the Day' to film festivals. Information about the film can be found HERE.

The Sunlit Night Screenwriter on the Challenges of Book-to-Screen Adaptation

February 2, 2019

Rebecca Dinerstein, author of The Sunlit Night, never expected her novel to get published. She never envisioned the book would be made into a movie, and she certainly never thought she would be the one to write the adapted screenplay. “Every phase of...

The Bricks of Breaking in: Sal Calleros on Mentorship

January 31, 2019

Mentorship can be vital to a writer looking to break into the industry, but finding a mentor and building a relationship with that person can be challenging.

The Weekend Movie Takeaway: January 28, 2019

January 29, 2019

The first weekend since Oscar® nominations were announced didn’t see notable action on the box office front; but plenty of interesting, film-related developments happened elsewhere.

Weekend Writing Inspiration: Can You Release Familial Fears Getting In The Way of Your Writing?

January 26, 2019

"How can I rid myself of the fears around writing and being an artist that my family project onto me?" As many myths and misconceptions about art and writing abound as real challenges facing the artist, it’s easy to get fearful — parents and family m...

The Hero's Journey: Aquaman

January 25, 2019

Within the first fifteen minutes, we realize Aquaman is a superhero genre script, an origin story, and a buddy movie all rolled into two hours and 30 minutes. That is a hefty haul for most writers, but David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick and Will Beall h...