Film School Journal.com

Screenwriter John August came up with “Scrippets,” a WordPress plugin which allows for properly formatted script excerpts to appear in a WordPress post. Check out how it looks below, using a scene from John August’s GO.

Pretty cool, right? I will be using Scrippets to highlight popular scenes from movies so you can see how they were written before they were filmed.

The internet is a great research tool for any subject, including screenwriting. There are many sites that provide free scripts for the majority of movies. The best way to learn is to read lots of screenplays and study their style. Notice what they have in common with each other and how they are unique. I find this particularly useful when I see a cool and unique scene in a movie and wonder “Hmm… I wonder how this scene was written in the screenplay”.

The following websites provide scripts for free:

http://www.simplyscripts.com/movie.html

http://www.dailyscript.com/

http://www.script-o-rama.com/snazzy/table.html

http://www.imsdb.com/

http://www.movie-page.com/movie_scripts.htm

http://sfy.ru/

http://www.moviescriptsandscreenplays.com/

http://www.awesomefilm.com/

There are times when I am writing something and I come to a dead end. I don’t know which direction I should take the story in or what dialogue to use. The problem being that I have been writing consecutively for days without really taking a break to soak it all in.

The downside is you get tunnel vision. I like to take a few days or even a whole week off from that project and do something else… maybe some editing or sound production to keep my creativity juices flowing.

After you return to your script in progress, you’ll often find that you now have an idea where to go next. You’ve read through it with fresh eyes and it’s time now to continue writing. So next time you find yourself trying to write the next scene without success, take a break!

So tonight Diablo Cody won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay. Why should you care? It was her first screenplay. If this doesn’t inspire you, the aspiring screenwriter, then I don’t know what will. She went from being a blogger to writing a screenplay and now she’s an Oscar winner.

This just goes to show that anybody can make it as a screenwriter long as you write something good. It doesn’t matter where you come from or if you know someone who knows someone at a studio. If you genuinely write something good, it will get noticed.

So let Diablo Cody’s win be an inspiration to you to keep writing. But remember to write from the heart and not from the wallet. Don’t worry about whether or not you think your screenplay will sell. Worry about telling a great story with great characters because while big budget, special effects driven movies make a lot of movie, they aren’t remembered 20 years down the line. Nobody will say, “Hey, remember Transformers?”, they’ll say, “Remember No Country for Old Men? Remember the coin toss scene at the gas station? Wasn’t that an amazing scene that sent chills down your spine?” And you will agree.

Question: When someone says: “She received $200,000 against $400,000 for her screenplay”, what do they mean by against?

Answer: What this means is the writer will receive $200,000 up front and the rest of the money (another $200,000 in this case) when the film begins principal photography. There is one thing you should take note of though and that is the fact that the up front money is usually paying you for two rewrites. So don’t think you’re work is done once you cash that first check!

Question: What’s the difference between a screenplay and a script?

Answer: There is no difference. Script is just another word for screenplay. The terms are interchangeable. However, this only applies to films. If you are writing for television then you will be writing scripts. Another word for a television script is a teleplay.

Question: What’s the difference between Story By, Screenplay By and Written By?

Answer: If a person wrote only the story (plot, characters, etc) but did not write the actual screenplay, that person will get the “Story By” credit. If a person only wrote the screenplay, then they’ll get the “Screenplay By” credit. Lastly, if a person wrote both the story and screenplay, they’ll get the “Written By” credit.

Here’s a question that every screenwriter will seek the answer to when they first begin to write:

“What’s the diffrence between a spec script, treatment and pitch?”

The answer is really quite simple.

A spec script is a screenplay that a writer has written on his own without getting paid for it. The ultimate goal for the writer would be to sell his completed screenplay. Another reason would be to have something to show potential employers. They want to see a sample of you work.

A treatment is pretty much an outline of the screenplay’s plot. Treatments are usually written in paragraph form and don’t include dialogue. Treatments vary in length. Sometimes a potential employer will ask for a treatment of your screenplay.

A pitch is an oral presentation where the screenwriter pitches his movie to studio execs. If the execs like it, congrats, you’ve got yourself a paid job!

I find it that the best way to get ideas for a story and characters is to open one’s eyes and look around. The world around you is the best inspiration. You’d be surprised how the people that surround you can easily translate into a character in your screenplay. Your neighborhood can also be a source of inspiration for a location in your screenplay.

I guess the point I am trying to make is that if you’re stuck, take a break and head outside and pay close attention to your surroundings. I would suggest heading to a mall, sitting down at the food court with pen and paper and start writing what you see. Observe the people and how they act, how they walk and talk. This will hopefully spark something in your brain.

If you’re working on a screenplay that you want an opinion on, the best people to ask are your friends. And I’m not talking about your friends from work or your classmate friends, I’m talking about your lifelong friends. The friends that you would get into a fist fight for. They’re the ones who will give you their honest opinions because no matter what they say, you’ll still be friends. The “other” friends will try not to hurt your feelings or burn a potential bridge.

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