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.

All the Write Moves: If Beale Street Could Talk

January 21, 2019

Like his previous film, the Oscar-winning drama Moonlight (2016), Barry Jenkins’ new picture, If Beale Street Could Talk, might seem like a difficult artifact from which to extract screenwriting lessons. While both films have received considerable ac...

Write On with Cleve Landsberg

January 16, 2019

Cleve Landsberg has led a long career, working on films such as 'Weekend at Bernie's', 'BASEketball' and 'Bruce Almighty'. Cleve has also previously been honored with the DGA's Frank Capra Achievement Award, given to an Assistant Director or Unit Pro...

Write On with Mimi Leder

January 11, 2019

In this episode of Write On, director Mimi Leder discusses her latest film 'On the Basis of Sex' and her connection to Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s story.

Playwriting for the Screenwriter II: Submissions & Successes

January 10, 2019

Photo courtesy of Julieta Cervantes / www.broadway.com So you’ve written a play! You’ve honed your characterization and dialogue, you’ve kept in mind theatre’s technical challenges, and you’ve generated ideas to creatively inspire an audience. Congra...

Peter Hedges on Ben Is Back

January 3, 2019

When novelist, playwright and Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Peter Hedges sat down to write the screenplay for the new addiction drama Ben Is Back, he drew from a personal place. “I grew up in a family ravaged by alcoholism,” Hedges said.

All the World’s a Stage: Playwriting for the Screenwriter

December 28, 2018

When it comes to dramatic writing, the allure of the stage is clear. Picture this: every year, approximately 50 thousand scripts are registered with the WGA, and that’s not even taking into the account the number of screenwriters who never register t...

‘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...

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®.

Writing Your Way to Success: Wisdom From the Women in Entertainment Summit

December 14, 2018

The fourth annual Women in Entertainment Summit united all-star creatives to share their expertise on such topics as finding one’s voice, diversity in story, and approaching an investment, production or distribution company. Marvel’s Victoria Alonso,...