Maggie Gyllenhaal’s Bride! sits at the intersection of horror, romantic thriller, and sci-fi, creating intentional tension. Playing with genre expectations gives filmmakers a shared language with the audience - then lets them surprise without confusion.
#MaggieGyllenhaal #filmmaking #DeathorStory
John Waters' 1988 kitsch classic "Hairspray" isn't just about big hair. Tracy Turnblad leads a revolution! But what if you had to distill it down to one long sentence? Check out the 'writer's logline' for Hairspray!
#Johnwaters #deathorstory #screenwriting #hairspray #writerslogline
In The Voice of Hind Rajab, by Kaouther Ben Hania, a young Palestinian girl’s voice recordings become the audience’s window into a life-or-death moment. Ben Hania embraces limited perspective and shapes it into the film’s emotional core.
#kaoutherbenhania #thevoiceofhindrajabfilm #DeathorStory
Stop everything! Incoming transmission from the Department of Dialogue: avoid generic, indistinguishable dialogue at all costs. No two people speak alike - the more you know your characters, the harder it becomes for them to sound the same!
#screenwriting #DepartmentofDialogue #deathorstory
Chloé Zhao is an inspiring reminder that some of the most powerful moments in a story happen without words. A look, a pause, the way two people sit beside each other - such gestures can carry more meaning than a whole page of words.
#ChloeZhao #Hamnet #screenwriting #filmmaking #DeathorStory
Let's get to the heart of Harrison Ford's character in Shrinking - Dr. Paul Rhoades - with three simple questions. What does he want? What does he need? And what is his main flaw? #Shrinking #charactersketch #deathorstory #TVwriting #harrisonford
Boseman’s tragedy of racial injustice and state violence unfolds through rap, beatbox, dance, poetry - while time becomes restless and fluid. Details stay deliberately opaque. The result is an ambiguity that questions, unsettles, and resists binaries. #ChadwickBoseman #DeepAzure #deathorstory
In Nia DaCosta’s reimagining of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, the protagonist Hedda is brilliant, restless, and terrified of being ordinary. Track her wants, needs, and flaws to unpack the alchemy driving the story engine that propels Hedda to haunting consequences. #Hedda #screenplays #DeathorStory
Mudbound tells a story with unsettling immediacy, despite its specific place in time. Characters don’t exist in a bubble. Neither do stories. They’re formed by memory, history, and inheritance, the past constantly shaping and informing the present.
#DeeRees #Mudbound #screenwriting #DeathorStory
Spike Lee’s classic film “Do the Right Thing” is hard to summarize in one sentence because it is so rich in sub plots and theme. BUT by focusing on the A plot only, you can create an at a glance view of the first second and third acts. #spikelee #dotherightthing #blackhistorymonth #deathorstory
People often confuse the crisis and climax of a movie, so we like to use examples to show writers how they differ. See how it works in Jay Kelly! But, SPOILER ALERT ‼️#jaykelly #screenwriting #deathorstory #noahbaumbach #emilymortimer
Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and King’s words feel newly relevant. Anger is best put to use as fuel. The task isn’t to write calmly, but furiously & with urgency. Take your anger & shape it into language, structure & purpose. Make your voice heard. #writing #inspiration #deathorstory
Zoë Boehm, played by Emma Thompson in Apple TV's Down Cemetery Road is a deliciously dark and complicated character. How on earth do you 'sum up' a lovable yet incorrigible character like this? Try our "Sketch a Character in 3 Questions" method! #cemeteryroad #deathorstory #screenwriting
Resist the temptation to explain everything so the audience never feels lost. A little confusion invites investment & engagement. But notice he puts a 5 minute cap on it. Push it too far & you lose the audience entirely.
#PaulThomasAnderson #onebattleafteranother #screenwriting #DeathorStory
Hark! Another memo from that pesky Department of Dialogue - in this installment find out why in the case of dialogue, the goal is Imperfection….
#Dialogue #screenwritingtips #screenwritersupport #writingclass #writing #firstdraft #rewrites #DepartmentofDialogue #deathorstory
In honor of the new year, let’s toast 🥂 to the exhilaration of taking creative risks! No one wants to read re-cycled scripts - so jump out of that cake and surprise us all with your fresh take 🙌
#MikeNichols #screenplays #storytelling #filmmaking #inspiration #DeathorStory
What's the midpoint of ELF? After struggling in NYC, Buddy’s father Walter brings him home to his wife and son! This is a big win for Buddy and changes the context of the journey, hinting at the crisis when Walter shouts, "Get out of my life!" #Elf #Christmasmovies #screenwriting #deathorstory
A Writer’s Logline is a one-sentence summary that clearly indicates the three acts of your story. Think of it as a three-clause sentence, one for each act - then give away the ending…Check out the writer’s logline for “American Fiction” to see it in action.
#Logline #screenwriting #deathorstory
DaCosta speaks to how we limit ourselves and internalize the forces that shape us - a universal thread that lets us meet Hedda across any era, any version of the world. The details shift. The centuries turn. But still we connect & good story prevails. #NiaDaCosta #Hedda #screenwriting #DeathorStory
We get this question a lot: What's the difference between the crisis & the climax? They both start will 'C' and can be found in the second half of your screenplay. But that's where the similarities end...Take a look at the crisis and climax of the Abbott Elementary pilot as an example! #deathorstory
In Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, someone says, “It would have been nice to have had unicorns,” wishing for a sense of wonder in the face of reality. For Stoppard, miracles are in the writing itself, the surprises that appear when you let the pen roam.
#TomStoppard #screenwriting #deathorstory
Sterlin Harjo doesn't shy away from deep emotional pain. He infuses difficult scenes with love for a profound universality. You don’t just wonder how the characters will get through their trauma - you're asking yourself, "How will I?" #SterlinHarjo #screenwriting #seminoleartist #DeathorStory
A screenplay is not a novel - but it IS a reading experience. We can't get inside someone's head, but we can describe how they look based on their emotional state. Look at this bad versus good example to see what we're talking about!
#screenwriting #writingvisually #deathorstory #screenplays
On occasion of the recent release of Patti Smith’s new book “Bread of Angels,” we are reminded of her words - have the courage to write before you’re ready & be free to write the wrong words until the true ones fight their way out.
#PattiSmith #screenwriting #DeathorStory #poetry #songwriting
Hide all your exposition in conflict, subtext, and relationship dynamics. Let your characters argue, dodge, or posture their way through the facts. In short, avoid information dumps at all costs! #dialogue #deathorstory #screenwriting #subtext #departmentofdialogue
Filmmaker László Nemes, known for the Oscar winning “Son of Saul” and now “Orphan”, wants to leave the audience haunted. Sometimes the absence of satisfaction becomes the film’s most powerful thought-engine.
#LászlóNemes #sonofsaul #orphan #bfilondonfilmfestival #screenwriting #deathorstory
Join us DECEMBER 6 to STRUCTURE YOUR SCREENPLAY! www.deathorstory.com/.../structur...
We’ll break down the key beats that give your script momentum and shape - and discuss the larger sequences they're part of to give you two perspectives!
#DeathorStory #screenwriting #writingworkshop
Happy Halloween! 🎃 👻 Let’s analyze Guillermo del Toro’s mad scientist Victor Frankenstein! His wants, his needs, his fatal flaws — discover a man wrapped in irony.
The real question has always been: who’s the true monster here?
#frankenstein #character #screenwriting #DeathorStory #halloweenmovies
In honor of the late, magnificent Diane Keaton, here’s a character sketch exploring the wants, needs & flaws of J.C. Wiatt from Baby Boom (1988) -the original shoulder pad-clad career woman who had it all together until a baby lands in her lap!
#DianeKeaton #BabyBoom #screenwriting #deathorstory
Bigelow speaks to her new film, A House of Dynamite — an astonishingly unsettling look at how the nuclear threat has faded into background noise of our distracted world. What story feels urgent to you right now?
#KathrynBigelow #screenwriting #screenplays #filmmaking #inspiration #DeathorStory
