“Wednesday” Season 2: Crafting a Modern Gothic Heroine from The Addams Family Universe
When Netflix released Wednesday in 2022, few predicted that a series centered on the deadpan, pigtailed daughter of The Addams Family would become a streaming sensation. Created by Alfred Gough and Miles Millar, with Tim Burton directing the pilot episodes, the show reimagined Wednesday Addams as a Gen Z heroine who lives in her own […]
Jaws: A Timeless Classic That Redefined the Blockbuster Experience Turns 50
Released on June 20 1975, Jaws, directed by Steven Spielberg, is often credited with the birth of the modern blockbuster. Fifty years later, its legacy still inspires filmmakers and audiences across the globe. The origins of Jaws begin in Peter Benchley’s novel, published in 1974. Benchley, inspired by a series of shark attacks along the […]
How USA Network’s “The Rainmaker” Series Reinvents Grisham’s Classic Novel for Modern TV
Adapting a successful legal novel and an iconic film into a new television series is never a simple task—especially when the source is as beloved and enduring as John Grisham’s book The Rainmaker (1995). With USA Network’s launch of its 10-episode serialized adaptation, showrunner Michael Seitzman and his writing team have faced the delicate balance […]
How to Write a Film or Television Show, Build a Franchise, and Create Spinoffs, Worlds, and Universes
Writing a film or television show that evolves into a franchise is no small feat. Creating a compelling story and characters that engage audiences is just the start. For a TV show or movie to extend into a broader franchise, it requires a cohesive, expansive world and a universe with spinoffs and cross-platform potential. Writers […]
From Story Beats to Screen: The Essential Guide to Crafting a Screenplay Outline
Since the age of chiseling words into stone slabs or dipping one’s quill in ink before delicately putting the nib on papyrus, writers have been wrestling with the question: “Do I really need an outline?” While some screenwriters swear by the spontaneity of freeform or intuitive writing – leaping from one scene to the next […]
