Act Four Screenplays

Gladiator screenplay

Gladiator (screenplay by David Franzoni and John Logan and William Nicholson; story by David Franzoni) is a true Hollywood epic that breathed new life into the swords-and-sandals genre, made Russel Crowe a star and gave director Ridley Scott another opportunity to make a brilliant, large scale Hollywood masterpiece.

The film runs at just under 2.5 hours but the story never slows, due to a rock-solid structure that’s focused on a hard-charging throughline and an ever-present controlling theme. read more

Story Maps book review on Slingwords.com

Story Maps: How to Write a Screenplay has received another glowing review, from best-selling author Joan Reeves on her site, Slingwords.com. Here’s some excerpts from the review…

“In truth, I found this book to be brilliant.”

-Joan Reeves

Keep reading, and, by the end of the book, it’s as if you absorbed the structure. There’s a harmonic resonance between the story map structure and your writer’s consciousness.
read more

The Shawshank Redemption Screenplay

The Shawshank Redemption screenplay by Frank Darabont, based on the novella by Stephen King, is a powerful character-driven drama that covers many years in the lives of multiple characters, all tied together around the theme of “preserving hope in the most hopeless of situations.”

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Elijah Wood wants a great script, not just a character (Video)

Dan’s 2-Minute Screenwriting School strikes again, this time with a short interview with actor Elijah Wood (the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Ice Storm, Green Street Hooligans, Sin City, and the American version of the single-camera sitcom “Wilfred”).

I’m equally attracted to just simply a great script and not necessarily great character.

I asked Elijah the same question I’ve been asking of other actors/filmmakers, like Louis C.K., Vincent Kartheiser and Graham Yost, and his answer was quite intriguing… read more

Book to Script Part II

<–Back to Part I

What initially caught my eye about this page of text from Mario Puzo’s novel The Godfather, with hand-written notes by Francis Ford Coppola, was that this is the scene in The Godfather that I have mentioned for years to my students and clients and one that I highlight in my book, Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay: read more

Adapting a book to screenplay with Coppola Part I

The Godfather may be the most famous example of a great movie made from a poorly-written book. With the release of this page of text from Mario Puzo’s novel with hand-written notes by Francis Ford Coppola, we can see this claim in action! In other words, if you click on the image below and actually read the text, you can see how bad Puzo’s writing really was and breathe a sigh of relief that Coppola meticulously planned his translation to the screen.

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Risky Business screenplay

Paul Brickman, writer/director of Risky Business, is one of those Hollywood enigmas. Risky Business was a very confident, stylish, well written and impressively directed film that performed well at the box-office. So why did Brickman go on to direct only one more film? (1990’s Men Don’t Leave with Jessica Lange) read more

Saving Private Ryan screenplay

I’ve been using Robert Rodat’s Saving Private Ryan screenplay for years as a case study for my writers and I cite it a number of times in my book Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay. The structure is rock-solid, the story is active and Rodat’s voice on the page is commanding. Here’s one of my favorite introductions of a Protagonist… read more

Avatar script

James Cameron’s script for Avatar was the template for an epic. At 162 minutes, the Avatar movie is a LONG epic, but here’s the deal:

Jake Sully meets his avatar eight minutes into the movie.

That’s page 8 in a script that uses proper screenplay format, and it’s prime real-estate for that Inciting Incident to really suck in the reader. read more

Die Hard script

One can’t think “action movie” without thinking Die Hard. I remember watching the epic commercials for the film during the 1988 Academy Awards, wherein they promised the movie would be the first in decades to be presented in full 70mm wide-screen, and feature 6-track Dolby Surround Sound (yes, SIX tracks!). But that wasn’t all. What really mattered was the tagline: “It will blow you through the back wall of the theater!” read more

Good Will Hunting Screenplay Analysis

Good Will Hunting is one of the finest screenplays of the 90s (a very strong decade in film) and it’s a great study in character and plot dynamics. There’s a new Good Will Hunting Story Map pdf online now that you should check out.

My talented student and friend, Robert Rich, has put together a fantastic site that showcases detailed analyses of popular films using my Story Maps method of narrative deconstruction. His latest analysis is of the Good Will Hunting script. The post begins by giving the history of the screenplay. read more

Kill Bill | Setups and Payoffs Part One

Like Hannibal in The A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together, but especially when it happens in a screenplay in the form of a terrific, unforeseen Payoff to an earlier Setup. If you can call back to an earlier scene and reward me for remembering it, then surprise me with a clever way to use that knowledge, you’ve got me. read more

Contest – Win free Story Maps E-books and E-Book Consultation!

Calling all screenwriters,

I’m launching a contest in which you can win a free copy of my e-book, Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay, and the first place winner gets the book as well as a free E-Book Consultation, which is a $49.95 value.

It’s FREE to enter and each entrant will receive a special discounted offer from me very soon. read more

Pro Screenwriters Panel at L.A. Film Fest (video)

Even Spike "the Story Analysis cat" is not entertained by me.

Dan’s 2-Minute Screenwriting School is back in action with an expert panel of top screenwriters including Dustin Lance Black (Milk, Big Love), Josh Olson (A History of Violence), Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeely (Captain America, Chronicles of Narnia) and Diablo Cody (Juno). These professional script doctors discuss the importance of writing multiple projects at once. read more

The “Mike Teavee is the Worst Character Name ever” Rule of Screenwriting

Dearest Screenwriters: If you find yourself wanting to give a character a supremely obvious name, please heed my “Mike Teavee is the worst character name ever” Rule, which states as follows:

Roald Dahl can name a character who watches too much television, MIKE TEAVEE, which is pretty much the definition of on the nose, because he’s Roald Dahl. You can’t because you’re not.

-Dan Calvisi

p.s. If you would like to receive more life-changing pearls o’ wisdom like the above, then you must redeem your (non-existent) golden ticket for Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay.

The “You are not J.R.R. Tolkien” rule of screenwriting

Dearest screenwriters: If you are thinking of giving two characters very similar names, please heed my “You are not J.R.R. Tolkien” Rule:

J.R.R. Tolkien can name two separate villains SARUMAN and SAURON, which is a horrible idea, only because he’s J.R.R. Tolkien. You can’t because you’re not.

-Dan Calvisi

p.s. If you would like to discover more nuggets of wisdom such as this, then you must enter the realm known only as Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay.

Black Swan story map screenplay analysis

Black Swan is a tight, merciless thriller that forges one, driving throughline that is supported by every character and element in the story. In order to become the Black Swan and achieve her dream of ballet perfection, Nina must prove to her director Thomas that she can transform herself on stage, fight off her mother’s attempts to stifle her and defeat her rival Lily, all while suffering from the rapid deterioration of her psyche. She loses the battle for her mind but she achieves her artistic dream, dancing a perfect Black Swan, at the ultimate cost of her life.

Download the FREE Black Swan sample Story Map read more

Raiders of the Lost Ark story map

Raiders of the Lost Ark is a flawless classic and my favorite film of all time. It is the benchmark of the action/adventure genre and features one of the most iconic heroes in cinema history.

Download the FREE Raiders of the Lost Ark
sample Story Map

read more

Sex and the City movie screenplay analysis

My Story Maps Booster Pack #1 includes a Full Story Map for the first Sex and the City movie, which is a great example of a well-written modern Romantic Comedy.

Sex and the City took proven, beloved characters from the television series and wove them into a classic Hollywood Romantic Comedy for the big screen. The first rule of the TV adaptation is “go bigger,” so they gave all of the women life-changing conflicts to navigate.

Download the FREE Sex and the City Story Map Excerpt

read more

Story Maps Booster Pack #1 breaks down 12 GREAT movies

The Story Maps Booster Pack #1 is now available! The Booster Pack breaks down 12 GREAT MOVIES, primarily from the past decade, into a detailed but easy-to-follow structural analysis known as the Story Map.

The Booster Pack #1 analyzes these twelve films:

• Juno (Teen Comedy/Drama) 2007
• The Social Network (Biopic) 2010
• Hustle & Flow (Music Drama) 2007
• Raiders of the Lost Ark (Action/Adventure) 1981 (Sample here)
• Black Swan (Thriller) 2010 (Sample here)
  
• Sex and the City (Romantic Comedy) 2008 (Sample here)
  
• Meet The Parents (Comedy) 2000
• The Matrix (Sci-Fi Action) 1999
• Rain Man (Drama) 1988
• Rocky (Sports Drama) 1977 (Sample here)
  
• Up (Animated Comedy/Action) 2009
• X-Men (Superhero “Origin” Action) 2000

These hit movies are great examples of professional screenwriting in many different genres and budget levels aimed at varied audiences. I stand by each title as a strong example of its genre and as a primer to learn the screenwriting craft at the level that you need to be: the “submission ready” tier that makes a good script into a GREAT script.

Sample Story Map for Black Swan

The Booster Pack is now available for purchase at a special rate with my E-Book Story Maps: How to Write a GREAT Screenplay or on its own. It is in PDF format and compatible with PC and Mac and any e-readers that can open PDFs. Other E-Reader formats are coming soon.

I hope you enjoy it and I look forward to working with you. Any questions, please feel free to email me via any of the contact forms on the left column of most pages on the site.

Good Luck and Happy Writing!

Dan

Related: Learn More about Story Maps: How to Write a Great Screenplay

Related: The Wrestler Story Map

*Illustration by Dustin Tanner. Images used without permission for educational purposes only. Copyright credits can be found in the Booster Pack document.