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.

Write On with Coach Carole Kirschner - Fellowship & Mentorship Season

May 4, 2021

Carole Kirschner talks to Write On about mentorships, fellowships, and training opportunities for writers and showrunners. “You cannot teach somebody how to be a showrunner in six Saturdays, but what you can do is… give an idea of what to expect."

Filmmaker Michael DiBiasio-Ornelas on humanizing mental health in ‘The Sleepless’

April 30, 2021

Once in a while a film comes along that invites the viewer to meander along with it, enjoying the view and the conversation for what it is. No crazy plot twists, no breathtaking set-pieces. Simply humanity for what it is — and can be — in one of its ...

Write On with The Black List's Kate Hagen

April 30, 2021

Since 2005, each December The Black List releases its annual list, a survey of the most liked unproduced screenplays of that year. The Black List also works to foster a large community of writers through screenwriting labs, online resources, and in-p...

The Virtuoso' looks into the paranoid world of an assassin for hire

April 30, 2021

Ideas come in a variety of ways. Sometimes it’s the lyrics of a song, an article you find online, or even a conversation you overhear. For director Nick Stagliano’s The Virtuoso, the idea came from an unlikely place — one of his previous films.

Native excellence with comedic revelation Jana Schmieding of ‘Rutherford Falls’

April 29, 2021

Jana Schmieding stars in and serves as a staff writer on the revolutionary new series, Rutherford Falls. Helmed by co-creators Sierra Teller Ornelas, Mike Schur, and Ed Helms, the new comedy is the very first Native sitcom. Schmieding stars as Reagan...

Write On with 'Selena' Creator Moisés Zamora

April 28, 2021

Moisés Zamora, creator of Netflix's Selena: The Series about the legendary singer, talks to guest host Lee Jessup about why it was important for this show to have a writers room primarily made up of Mexican American voices. "All of the writers I hire...

Limbo' writer-director Ben Sharrock on using humor to share the story of the refugee experience

April 28, 2021

Standing alone in a telephone booth on a remote Scottish island, Omar (Amir El-Masry) calls his parents to share the progress of his asylum request. He looks down at the plaster cast on his arm as his father badgers him over his inability to play his...

Growing Up Milwaukee' seeks to go beyond statistics

April 27, 2021

Statistics out of Milwaukee are shocking and depressing for Black kids in the city. In a report that came out in August 2020, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Center for Economic Development stated that "Black Milwaukee is generally worse off toda...

Natasha Henstridge attempts to survive one wild night in ‘Night of the Sicario’

April 23, 2021

Night of the Sicario follows a group at a retirement home just trying to ride out a hurricane. Things go sideways when members of a cartel show up because the determined Taylor Ward (Natasha Henstridge) has agreed to shelter two witnesses in a drug t...