Final Draft Blog

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“The Revenant” Teaches Us About Writing Action Sequences

March 1, 2016

The Revenant screenplay by Mark L. Smith and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, based on the book by Michael Punke, is one of the best action films of the year. Set in 1823, the action scenes lack sophisticated weaponry, machinery or major explosions – all...

Through-lines and "The Empire Strikes Back"

February 23, 2016

I never heard the term “through-line” before I became a professional screenwriter. After I sold my first script, however, and started working with producers and studio execs on various projects, I started to hear it all the time.

Music Cues In Your Screenplay?

February 17, 2016

Conventional wisdom says don’t. But this same wisdom also tells you never to direct in your script, nor telegraph what a character is feeling, etc. I respectfully disagree with this.

"National Lampoon": Five Lessons in Writing Comedy

January 12, 2016

The original Vacation (1983) was written by 80s cinema legend John Hughes. It was based on his National Lampoon piece “Vacation ’58”, and it was the script that catapulted him into the film business. After the Harold Ramis directed film became a box ...

Hiding Plot Points

September 15, 2015

Billy Wilder was nominated for the Best Screenplay Oscar® eight times and won the award three times. He was a top screenwriter in his native home of Germany until he fled to the United States after the Nazi’s came to power ... and ended up sleeping o...

Script Secrets: I've Seen That Before | Part II

July 23, 2015

Yes, it’s a sequel.

Script Secrets: I've Seen That Before | Part I

July 15, 2015

Imagine eating a McDonald’s Big Mac for every meal for the rest of your life. Aside from whatever health problems this might cause, how long would it be until you got bored of the food and stopped tasting it? You eat one Big Mac, you have eaten them ...

Brave New Worlds

June 5, 2015

You all know the trailer voice over cliché “In a world ... ” which was kind of the trademark of the late Don Lafontaine, who even used it in a couple of trailers for movies I wrote. There’s even a great little indie film by Lake Bell called In A Worl...

Why Your Script SHOULDN’T Stand Out

April 14, 2015

If I want you to read this blog post, what would it take to catch your interest? I would probably have to tell a joke or two, perhaps throw in an engaging anecdote early on to catch your interest. Would you forgive my post if I had a few typos thrown...