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.

Creed II Screenwriter Juel Taylor Talks His Big Break, Collaboration and the Importance of Having a ‘Fire Script’

February 7, 2019

Locking himself in a room for days is not necessarily Juel Taylor’s idea of fun, but for the 31-year-old co-writer of Creed II, it’s what got the job done.

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 Weekend Movie Takeaway: Super Bowl Edition

February 4, 2019

Though the last three days at the box office showed the weakest Super Bowl weekend results since 2000, there are plenty of pop culture-related takeaways to be discerned from the deceptively uneventful 72 hours.

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...

Weekend Writing Inspiration: Tame Your Inner Writing Gremlins

February 2, 2019

The inner game of writing has been our subject for the last two weeks. In week one we discussed how to survive hearing the constant stream of “No” when it comes to our writing. Then we covered dealing with familial fears about our chosen path — inclu...

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.