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.

History of TV: Why 'I Love Lucy' still has our hearts

January 28, 2022

I remember knowing who Lucy was before I’d ever even seen I Love Lucy. Likely because even though I hadn’t seen the 1950s classic, the clip of Lucy (Lucille Ball) shoving chocolate in her mouth while she and Ethel (Vivian Vance) struggle to keep up w...

Write On with 'Archive 81' Showrunner Rebecca Sonnenshine

January 28, 2022

The hit Netflix horror series is adapted from a found footage horror podcast about ritual, stories, and sound. Showrunner Rebecca talks to Write On about the adaptation process: "In terms of adapting something, you just have to crack it wide open, an...

17th Annual Final Draft® Awards to honor Guillermo del Toro, Jane Campion, Nicole Holofcener, Danny Strong, Jeymes Samuel, Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson for screenwriting achievements

January 26, 2022

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 25 – Final Draft, a Cast & Crew Company, now in its 31st year as the industry standard for screenwriting software, today announced the honorees for the 17th Annual Final Draft Awards. The awards, which recognize outstanding and ...

Filmmaker Goran Stolevski's horror with heart, 'You Won't Be Alone'

January 25, 2022

Rarely do I ever find myself watching a film with as much heart, character development, and honesty as with Govran Stolevski’s You Won’t Be Alone. The horror film follows a curious young witch as she sets out on her own to learn more about life as a ...

Filmmaker Ray Giarratana on bringing Kate DiCamillo's 'The Tiger Rising' to the screen

January 25, 2022

The Tiger Rising had a one-year Covid bump, which serendipitously puts it precisely in the Asian zodiac Year of the Tiger for its release. Based on Kate DiCamillo’s award-winning 2001 children’s book of the same title, the film was ten years in the m...

5 Screenwriting Takeaways: How ‘Scream’ makes a self-aware sequel/reboot

January 21, 2022

What’s a requel? It’s sort of like a sequel, but also something like a reboot. It’s what Halloween did when it brought back Jamie Lee Curtis or what the Saved by the Bell show did when rebooting the series. This is what Scream, the latest film in the...

History of TV: Contemplating 'Six Feet Under'

January 20, 2022

Six Feet Under is inextricably linked to my university years. We were both just starting in 2001, and as a bird who’d just flown the nest for the first time to experience life, this show about death became utterly captivating. On a rewatch now two de...

The Bricks of Breaking in: Showrunner Glen Mazzara on building your career and craft

January 19, 2022

It was the books showrunner Glen Mazzara (Damien, The Walking Dead, The Shield) read as a child that ignited a lifetime passion for writing. As a little kid, he started creating comic books and short stories — experiences Mazzara remembers fondly.

Equipped, Part II: Joshua Feldman is 'This Close' to co-writing a deaf, Indigenous protagonist for Marvel

January 19, 2022

Welcome to part two of "Equipped," a biweekly interview series picking the brains of your favorite showrunners, show creators, EPs, and all-around legends. In part one, we toured the mind of Dan O'Shannon, a longtime member of the Writers Guild of Am...