Film writers discuss the art and craft in "Masterclass"

By Gregory McNamee Sun Apr 9, 9:37 PM ET
[snip]

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Want to make it as a Hollywood screenwriter? Then (1) buy a lot of index cards and fill your walls with exactingly mapped-out plots and characters, (2) don't show anyone your first draft, and (3) don't tell the director where to put the camera.
Plenty of directors, producers and actors might disagree, but most writers quietly believe (or wish) that they are central to the filmmaking enterprise, a sentiment that runs through the interviews Kevin Scott collects in "Screenwriters' Masterclass: Screenwriters Talk About Their Greatest Movies." But more than argue their importance, those interviewees pass along plenty of helpful hints about the writer's work, so that Scott's book lives up to its title.

If you need some motivation, head over to Yahoo and read this article. You'll sigh with relief when reminded that even A-list screenwriters wrestle constantly with the dreaded blank page.

UPDATE, May 2011: original article gone, so repointed link to cached archive.org copy.

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Andrew Stanton (PIXAR) - transcript - Keynote, Screenwriting Expo 5 (2006), Understanding Story: or My Journey of Pain

UPDATE, March 2012: New TED 2012 Talk by Andrew Stanton, covering much of the same material recorded here. READABILITY TIP: For easier reading and to prevent eye strain, narrow the width of your browser tab to reflow the text into shorter lines. I recommend a words-per-line count of 12 to 15. As soon as I found it on Google Video, I knew I would have to transcribe it. Here is all of Andrew Stanton's keynote from Screenwriting Expo 5 (2006). He named it: "Understanding Story: or My Journey of Pain." I have not transcribed the Q&A that followed the keynote. Perhaps I will tackle it one day. Not for a while -- this transcription consumed quite a few of my nights, and I'm happy to be done with it. And now that I can look at it from head to toe, I can see it was worth every coffee-fueled keystroke. With Stanton's experiences and lessons to guide us, we cannot fail to become better storytellers. Note: Andrew talks FAST, so this transcript ...

The 4-Act Story Diamond

Update: new version of the 4-Act Story Diamond graphic here . Update 2 (2023): Even more 4-act structure , courtesy of Stan Williams. I don't believe in the three-act screenplay story structure. It's four acts, plain and simple. I said so ten years ago on Jack Stanley's Scrnwrit list, and nothing has changed since. Four acts, no more, no less. I'm sorry those screenwriting gurus sold you on three acts and then five acts and then seven acts or -- what are we up to now? Nine? Twelve? Look, we're all grasping for the magic template that will reign in the chaos and tame our wild stories, so I don't blame you for listening to those guys. The four acts were there all along and the screenwriting gurus knew it, or at least sensed it. Certainly Syd Field knew it, although he failed to make a clean break from the dogmatic Aristotle three-act structure . I swear, if I hear once more that line about "Get your hero up a tree, throw rocks at him, then get him ...

4-Act Story Diamond v2

This model represents the Hero's Journey in four acts. It supplements my old story diamond. Click the image for a larger view. Discussion about the eight plot points is here .

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