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.

Afro Horror: Horror and Mental Health

February 26, 2021

For about five years now, I’ve been actively seeing a therapist. It started when I quit an extremely toxic survival job while trying to break into writing. I worked as a manager in a French restaurant. I was overworked and underpaid, which resulted i...

Write On with 'Supernova' Writer-Director Harry Macqueen

February 26, 2021

Supernova is the moving story of Sam (Colin Firth) and Tusker (Stanley Tucci), who after Tusker’s dementia diagnosis travel across England in an RV to visit family, friends and places from their past.

5 Screenwriting Takeaways From 'The United States vs. Billie Holiday'

February 26, 2021

When did the War on Drugs begin? That’s the question author Johann Hari poses in his 2016 book, "Chasing the Scream". He argues that it begins in the 1930s, when a federal agent named Harry Anslinger joined the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.

Tiller Russell On 'Silk Road' and Creating Fiction From Reality

February 25, 2021

Tiller Russell is no stranger to delving into the minds of detectives and the criminals they hunt. His storied career as a director, writer and producer includes the hit Netflix docu-series Night Stalker: The Hunt for a Serial Killer. While his lates...

History of TV: Paging Dr. Ross Back to the 'ER'

February 25, 2021

Whether you watched it back in the day or not, you knew the show: ER. NBC’s undeniable ‘90s hit ran a marathon 15 seasons, becoming the epitome of that decade’s “must-see TV” and paving the way for many a medical show to come (you’re welcome, Dr. Gre...

Writer-Director John Swab on 'Body Brokers'

February 24, 2021

Writer-director John Swab's latest film Body Brokers follows protagonist Utah (played by Jack Kilmer); a drug addict who finds himself at the center of true-to-life rehab schemes, where patients are funneled in and out of facilities, allowing rehabs ...

Write On with 'Land' Co-Writer Jesse Chatham

February 23, 2021

Jesse Chatham talks to guest host Sade' Sellers about how his screenplay about a bereaved woman seeking out a new life off the grid went from placing in the Nicholl Fellowship to becoming a feature directed by and starring Robin Wright ( House of Car...

Thomas Clay's 'The Delivered' Explores the Concept Of a Puritan Western

February 23, 2021

Where does an idea come from? Maybe it’s a conversation you overhear at a party, or inspiration strikes while on a long walk.

5 Screenwriting Takeaways: The Uneasiness of 'Malcolm & Marie'

February 22, 2021

From the outset, Malcolm & Marie wants to make the audience feel uneasy. Malcolm walks in circles through a gorgeous Malibu home that he currently cohabitates with his equally gorgeous girlfriend Marie on what’s supposed to be the greatest night ...