“Never think of somebody else when you write.” The Farrelly Brothers
The Farrelly brothers on flushing out clichés, tabling scripts, and the purpose of humor.
By Daniel Argent. This article was first published in Creative Screenwriting Volume 8, #6, 2001. The Farrelly brothers have created their own niche in screenwriting. Their mix of sweet if befuddled heroes, almost-anything-goes humor, and the fluids, sounds, eruptions and ejaculations of the human body combine to form a very specific subgenre of comedy. Not […]
“It’s just as hard every time.” Robert Towne on Screenwriting
Robert Towne discusses the rules of writing action melodramas, building character from action, and how writing never gets any easier.
By Daniel Argent. Oscar-winning writer, producer, director and actor Robert Towne is widely considered to be one of Hollywood’s finest screenwriters, contributing to such films as Bonnie and Clyde and The Godfather. In the 1990s he wrote screenplays for several of the biggest blockbusters, including Days of Thunder and Mission: Impossible, hitching his career to […]
M. Night Shyamalan on Screenwriting
In this extensive interview, M. Night Shyamalan discusses his two most famous films, explores his writing process, and reveals what he should have made The Sixth Sense about.
By Daniel Argent. In a career that already spans over twenty years, Oscar and Bafta nominated filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan has produced thirteen films, directed fourteen, and written screenplays for sixteen. Yet perhaps he remains best known for two of his early films, The Sixth Sense and Unbreakable. Creative Screenwriting first met M. Night Shyamalan […]
“Nobody Knows Anything” – William Goldman
Except that William Goldman knows a great deal. Here, he discusses his craft, including the challenges of adapting novels for cinema.
By Daniel Argent. From Marathon Man and Butch Cassiday and the Sundance Kid, to the much-loved The Princess Bride, Academy Award-winning screenwriter and novelist William Goldman has lit up the big screen for over half a century, winning him a special place in the hearts of many. He has also written several works of non […]
