Eli Attie: From the White House to the West Wing
Writer Eli Attie discusses writing speeches for Al Gore, writing scripts for Aaron Sorkin, and the demands of different genres.
By Lauri Donahue. It’s a credit to Aaron Sorkin and John Wells that West Wing is a world where speechwriting is a sexy noble job, which is never how it was in the real White House. One of the premises of the West Wing, which I think is a wonderful thing and a rare thing, is that intelligence […]
The Fault in Our Stars: Written in Six Days
Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter on collaboration and being the second fastest screenwriters in the business.
By Lauri Donahue. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber are a screenwriting team – one of the busiest (and probably the fastest) in Hollywood, working on both indie and studio projects. Their first hit was the spec (500) Days of Summer in 2009, and they went on to pen The Spectacular Now and the highly […]
Comic-Con for Screenwriters: Austin Film Festival
Getting the most out of the World’s Greatest Festival for Screenwriters.
By Lauri Donahue. What Comic-Con is for comic book fans, the Austin Film Festival’s Writer’s Conference is for screenwriters. In the words of one panelist, Think of this as summer camp – the best, nerdiest summer camp you could ever go to. You’re on a journey to build a career as a writer. It’s a […]
Moneyball for Movies: Market Research for Screenwriters
How screenwriters are using market research to sell their screenplays
by Lauri Donahue When Variety reported on July 22 that Piedmont Media Research had developed a system for predicting a movie’s box office take before the film was even made, the firm started fielding calls from some unexpected customers: screenwriters. Within weeks, Piedmont had heard from more than 50 scribes hoping to use the company’s […]
Back to the Black List
An Interview with founder Franklin Leonard
by Lauri Donahue Launched in 2005, The Black List quickly became a Hollywood institution. In 2008, Entertainment Weekly reported: In just four years, the Black List has become Hollywood’s equivalent of the Rookie of the Year award—a neon arrow pointing to the work of undiscovered or unappreciated writers. It has launched careers, been an increasingly […]
