In part 3 of this post, we talked about adapting another published work into a screenplay, screenwriting awards and accolades, and getting other prominent people involved in promoting your script. In this final post about writing a script that sells, I’d like to talk a little bit about promoting your script and choosing the right genre. Promote your Screenplay If …

In the previous post, How to Sell your Script Part 2, we talked about selling a script with an unappealing (less commercial) idea versus selling a screenplay with a great idea (more commercial) premise. Now, let’s look at some other ways to put the odds in your favor when attempting to sell your script. Adapt a Novel If your screenplay …

In my last post I spoke a little about what you need to do to sell your script. In this post, which is a follow up to my previous post, I’d like to go over this topic in a bit more detail, specifically some of the things you need to do to write a screenplay that sells. Now, there is …

You’ve finished your screenplay. It’s all written, polished and streamlined. You’re now ready to put it out into the big, bad world! Now, all you have to do is wait for your agent to take your script and shuttle it express-post to all the major power players in Hollywood. The Script That Won’t Sell Only, there’s one slight problem. Your …

In case you don’t know who she is, Callie Khouri won the Academy Award for Best Screenplay for Thelma and Louise. So, here are some insights into screenwriting that Ms. Khouri gave in a recent interview. Graduating from Purdue with an acting major, Khouri believes that acting helped her learn to write, but her biggest influence was the jobs that …

At a recent Bafta and British Film Institute lecture series, Tony Gilroy, the screenwriter of the Bourne series, gave his top ten tips on how to write the next Hollywood blockbuster. In addition to writing the Bourne movies, Gilroy’s screenwriting credits include Armageddon, The Devil’s Advocate and the oscar nominated screenplay Michael Clayton. So here they are, Tony Gilroy’s top ten …

(Breaking Bad – the greatest TV series ever made?) We live in a golden age of TV. On September 29 Breaking Bad aired its final episode and, after five seasons, many critics and fans proclaimed it to be the greatest TV series ever made. It’s a bold statement and a statement not everyone will agree with. Over the past decade …

It’s often said that a screenwriter should write what they know. But if all screenwriters wrote what they knew then 99% of movies out there would never have got made. I remember an agent once telling me that if people wrote what they knew then no one would go to the cinema because movies would be so boring. So, as …

Julian Friedmann, agent and editor of ScriptWriter magazine, discusses the effectiveness of screenwriting courses and how a screenwriter should dedicate themselves to their craft. In a recent presentation in London, Friedman gave the following advice. Screenwriters must be very pro-active about learning to write screenplays because this is a largely self-taught industry. Friedmann then asked how many people read feature …