Listen Up Philip: Knowing When to Break the Rules
Writer/director Alex Ross Perry on narrators, characters who don't arc, and making a screenplay feel like a book.
As screenwriters, we’ve been inundated with rules we need to follow to tell a satisfying story on film. So what happens if you decide to break a lot of those rules? You get the clever, witty and honest film Listen Up Philip, written and directed by Alex Ross Perry. Listen Up Philip is about a […]
Life After Beth: Our Wild Fascination with Zombies
Life After Beth screenwriter, Jeff Baena, explains our wild fascination with zombies. It’s not what you think – it’s worse.
By Shanee Edwards. Life After Beth isn’t just a zombie comedy. It actually plays out as a powerful metaphor for grief and loss that’s somehow unexpectedly moving. We sat down with writer/director Jeff Baena (I Heart Huckabees) to find out what it’s like to direct his girlfriend, Aubrey Plaza (Parks and Rec) and why zombies […]
Calvary: Writing the Exact Opposite
John Michael McDonagh gives Creative Screenwriting exclusive access to Calvary’s storyboards.
By Shanee Edwards. Calvary, the latest film written and directed by John Michael McDonagh (The Guard), will twist your insides from the opening first line of the film to the brutal and bitter last image. This film is dark and ironic while managing to be pure of heart at the same time, a feat rarely […]
I Origins: Passion, Atheism and Kaleidoscope Eyes
Writer & Director Mike Cahill envisions new dimensions.
By Shanee Edwards. I Origins writer/director Mike Cahill has a truly unique vision as a filmmaker. You may remember his last film, Another Earth that won the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011. His latest film continues his own personal journey to explore the complicated relationship between science and spirituality. In […]
Divergent and Hope Springs Writer Vanessa Taylor
Describes her bumpy transition from Game of Thrones to feature film writing and gives advice for women working in Hollywood
by Shanee Edwards Television scribe Vanessa Taylor has had great success on the small screen. She’s written for such shows as Alias, Everwood, Tell Me You Love Me, and most recently, seasons two and three of the uber-popular Game of Thrones. But moving to the large screen with last year’s Hope Springs and the upcoming […]
