<–Go to Part I: Story Mapping Raiders of the Lost Ark One of the greatest tools for learning the craft of screenwriting is writing Story Maps of your favorite films. When I was working as a professional Reader back in the day I wrote coverage on the original spec script of The Sixth Sense the […]
As any normal screenplay consultant would do, I decided to record some thoughts about the power of Story Mapping Raiders of the Lost Ark while driving on the 405 and 101 South to the first annual Inktip Pitch Summit in the Universal Hilton in Los Angeles. Raiders of the Lost Ark is my favorite film […]
Major movie studio screenplay consultant and professional Script Doctor Dan Calvisi decided to drive and shoot at the same time on the topic of unlocking the structural secrets of the action-adventure classic Raiders of the Lost Ark… Hey guys, I got inspired to deliver a message about the power of Story Maps while driving on […]
As we close out the Summer 2010 movie season, here’s the final box-office Top 10… Rank Movie Title Studio Total Gross/Theaters Opening Weekend/Theaters Open Close 1 Toy Story 3 BV $405,726,000 4,028 $110,307,189 4,028 6/18 — 2 Iron Man 2 Par. $312,128,345 4,390 $128,122,480 4,380 5/7 8/19 3 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Sum. $298,003,000 4,468 […]
I’m honored to have my original screenplay “Donnington” reviewed on the fantastic site “Scriptshadow,” which is run by the indomitable duo of Carson Reeves and Roger Balfour. I’m a big fan of the site and check in daily to see what the guys have written up. It’s the best way to keep up on what’s […]
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Listen to the Inception Podcast: [audio:http://traffic.libsyn.com/storymapspodcast/Episode_Four_-_Inception_Podcast_1.mp3] Christopher Nolan and his co-screenwriter Jonathan Nolan used the Story Maps method to structure the screenplay of Inception. If you analyze the narrative, you will see every one of the elements of the “Basic” and “Full” Story Map. The most important element in the Inception screenplay is the GOAL […]
Analysis of Interstellar: Discussion of X-Men: Days of Future Past: Cast and Creator of “Justified” on the show’s excellent writing: Danny Devito and cast of Sunny in Philly talk about what they look for in a script: Me on the structural secret behind the famous ending in The Sixth Sense: More Screenwriting Videos.
Write a GREAT SCRIPT in a supportive group environment from the comfort of your home with guidance from a PROFESSIONAL SCRIPT DOCTOR. 8 WEEKS of firm DEADLINES and FEEDBACK on each week’s assignment from myself and your peers, using the simple yet powerful Story Maps method used by 95% of commercial movies.
The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn was one of my favorite books I read on the job for Miramax Films back in the heyday of literary development and now it’s in production as a major feature film starring Bradley Cooper and Robert DeNiro (from Rogue Pictures and Universal Pictures). It’s been a long road for […]
Million Dollar Baby (2004; Screenplay by Paul Haggis, based on stories by F.X. Toole; Directed by Clint Eastwood) Million Dollar Baby is an incredibly focused story. Screenwriter Paul Haggis achieves what I call “story cohesion” by making sure that every element logically flows from strong main dramatic elements while generating conflict. The first level of […]
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Congratulations and further good luck to my clients Joe Puterbaugh and Ron Cecchini and fellow The Writers’ Building member Stephen Hoover on making the semi- finals of the Silver Screenwriting Competition, the Top 20 which represents the top 2.5% out of more than 1,000 entries. Silver is quickly becoming one of the premier screenwriting contests […]
Detailed analysis of The Dark Knight screenplay by Professional movie studio Script Doctor Daniel Calvisi includes a FREE download of the full Story Map outline for the movie. Learn how to build a screenplay around your THEME.
You know who your story is about and what it’s about and why you’re telling the story…but HOW are you going to tell it? Think about the general way that you’re going to tell the story before you start to lay out the scene list. What’s your way into this story? E.T. was crafted to […]
Working, professional Reader Carson Reeves runs a site named “Script Shadow” — if you haven’t checked it out, you should do so now. Script Shadow consistently publishes detailed reviews of spec scripts that have recently sold in Hollywood. Carson reads and reviews the Black List finalists (in which most of the top scoring scripts have […]
A screenwriter is hired for a negotiated fee to write or rewrite a script within a certain timeframe. The writer is guaranteed of payment if he/she fulfills the terms of the contract (and the employer honors the contract). A work-for-hire generally consists of steps in which the writer receives a payment for each portion of […]
An Unsolicited Submission is a screenplay submission that is not coming from a professional source (an agent, lawyer, or manager). Many production companies and studios refuse to read unsolicited submissions, but they all keep a Submission Release Form on hand for when they get tempted by a new writer with a fantastic logline. Keep in […]
The plot of a screenplay written out in prose form, generally in one to two pages. The story, specifically the action of the story; beginning, middle, and end; very clearly written and meticulously proofread. The treatment should be very spare and straightforward — it should not contain extraneous emotional or cerebral content nor long excerpts […]
Three Act Structure (a.k.a standard structure) is the classical, proven form of storytelling in film. Form, not formula. It does not dictate your story choices, only where you might place the major plot points. This structure is based on Aristotle’s three act dramatic structure: beginning, middle, and end. Also known as Three Act Restorative Structure, […]