Final Draft Blog

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Big Nate Writer Emily Brundige Shares What it Takes to Break into Animation

March 24, 2023

There is no single form of animation. Any parent can tell you about sitting through Cocomelon with their toddler then Big City Greens and Bluey with their kids before sending them to bed so they can watch South Park or Family Guy. That doesn’t even i...

5 Lessons Shazam 2 Teaches Screenwriters About Defining Characters and Destroying Cities

March 22, 2023

Kids love superheroes. For decades, kids have read comic books, dressed up like their favorite superheroes and forced their parents to buy toys, lunchboxes and shirts that show off their pride for epic crimefighters. Shazam! is the type of comic book...

5 Tips for Cinematic Formatting

March 20, 2023

In my article 5 Tips To Making Your Screenplay Look Professional, I wrote about how in an extremely competitive marketplace it's important for screenwriters to make their scripts look as professional as possible. In addition to having your screenplay...

5 Tips To Revising an Old Screenplay

March 20, 2023

Whether you’re an aspiring or professional screenwriter, chances are you might have more than one underproduced script in your arsenal. Although it’s good to be looking forward and to keep generating new concepts for new screenplays, sometimes an old...

The Bricks of Breaking In: Abbott Elementary Writer Brittani Nichols On The Importance Of Community As A Writer

March 17, 2023

How did WGA nominated and NAACP Image Award winning writer, actor and comedian Brittani Nichols (Abbott Elementary, A Black Lady Sketch Show) first fall in love with entertainment? Just like so many, her passion came from watching television. She exp...

How John Wick 4 Writer Broke in With His Extreme Spec Script

March 16, 2023

John Wick is one of the most visually spectacular and emotionally unrelenting action franchises around. Chapter 4 is about to hit theaters - part Western, part Kung Fu film, part Samurai story and part redemption tale, this genre mash up is thrilling...

‘Take 5’ How Scream 6 keeps a horror film franchise fresh

March 13, 2023

In the month of March 2023, franchise sequels are abundant: Creed III, John Wick 4 and Scream VI. Between sports dramas, action and horror, each franchise has its own set of rules and tropes. The Scream franchise is a compelling study because of the ...

Big Break Winner Michael Morra on his Inspiration, Style and Biggest Writing Regret

March 10, 2023

When Michael Morra started receiving notifications that his screenplay, About McKenna, was advancing in the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest he was both excited and curious. With each email, he was advancing to the Top 10 then winning the ...

5 Steps to Preparing for a Screenwriting Contest

March 9, 2023

Every year there’s a new wave of screenwriting contests that a writer can enter in the hopes of getting more eyes on their spec script. Some of these annual contests, like the Final Draft Big Break Screenwriting Contest, show winning scripts to A-lis...