Final Draft Blog

All the tips, tricks and information you need to inspire your writing!
Read interviews with the pros, catch up with industry news, and listen to Write On: A Screenwriting Podcast by Final Draft.

Moonshot Initiative Wants To Help You Pitch Your Pilot in Hollywood

April 12, 2024

Getting into a room to pitch your ideas for a new series is the dream for screenwriters. These meetings are a big part of selling scripts, landing writing assignments, or breaking into writers' rooms in Hollywood, but getting into the room can seem i...

Write On: WGAeast Mentors Andrew Bergman and Caroline Kaplan and NY Screenwriting Fellowship Mentee Irina Rodriguez

March 13, 2024

“Just write a story you want to tell and don't try to write something which you think you can sell to somebody because that way is madness. You have to write what you want to write whether it works or not for other people. But if it's not authentic t...

‘Your Place or Mine’ Writer Aline Brosh McKenna on Creating Modern Romantic Leads

February 19, 2023

If you love writing romantic comedies, you’re in luck - they are making their way back to the audiences that adore them. While recent titles like Ticket to Paradise (starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney), The Lost City (starring Sandra Bullock) ...

How the showrunner of Lopez vs Lopez turned real life into a sitcom

January 5, 2023

Creating a sitcom based on real-life situations is nothing new. Ray Ramono created Everybody Loves Raymond based on his standup which reflected his real family. Even back in the 1950s I Love Lucy had echoes of Lucy and Desi’s life.

Kajillionaire' Is A Cautionary Tale of the Great American Grift

September 24, 2020

Miranda July’s long-anticipated new film Kajillionaire opens on a shot of her main characters (a family of Los Angeles grifters) standing in front of a downtown Los Angeles Post Office. At the time July conceived the movie, the USPS was not in danger...

5 Screenwriting Takeaways From Hulu's 'Pen 15'

September 23, 2020

Sometimes the state of the world may make adults think we have a monopoly on existential dread, but Pen15 is here to remind us that junior high schoolers have it pretty bad, too. The show's big hook—two women staring down middle age yet effortlessly ...

Write On with Writer-Director Isabella Eklöf

February 20, 2019

With the support of the Danish Film Institute, Swedish writer-director Isabella Eklöf premiered her feature debut ‘Holiday’ at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Eklöf discusses her creative and development process and her overall career in filmmaking.

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...