Write Your Screenplay Podcast

BIRDMAN did not begin with a high-profile director saying, “let’s figure out a cool gimmick that nobody has ever done before.” BIRDMAN began with an observation by writer-director Alejandro González Iñárritu. His observation was that life doesn’t happen in cuts. Life doesn’t feel like cuts. Instead, he wanted to make a movie that felt more like life. He wanted to make a movie that felt cyclical, t...

Sometimes, even a flawed script can give you tremendous insights as a writer, not only as to what makes a screenplay succeed or fail, but also about the strengths and weaknesses of your own writing. So, as we talk about 50 Shades of Grey, we're going to be setting aside the question of whether or not it is a good movie, whether or not you enjoyed 50 Shades of Grey or found it sexy, or even if you...

Jacob Krueger discussed one of the more controversial movies of this year: American Sniper by Jason Dean Hall. "Let me just start off by saying that my politics are certainly not Clint Eastwood’s politics and that made American Sniper a hard movie for me. I think it made American Sniper a hard movie for a lot of people." Listen to Jacob breakdown the elements in the movie that succeed as well as t...

Adapting a stage musical to the screen is never easy. On stage, musicals work because of their theatricality—the feeling of pretend, play, magic, and performance. Whereas in the relatively naturalistic world of film, those elements are very hard to pull off. Which makes the surprisingly successful film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s stage musical INTO THE WOODS even more worth...

Sometimes, when we have a strong socio-political point that we want to make, as writers, the urge is to get up on our soapbox and start preaching. But Nightcrawler succeeds precisely because the screenwriter, Dan Gilroy, was able to step off the soapbox and trust his story. In this podcast, Jacob Krueger discusses Gilroy’s script for Nightcrawler and his spectacular ability to express a strong pol...

Everyone agrees that some of the best writing in Hollywood right now is happening in television. And with brand new web networks like Netflix and Amazon hungry for quality new series, now is one of the most exciting times to be a TV Writer. So what do you need to break into this exciting industry? In this podcast, three experts in the industry come together to teach you exactly what you need to su...

Everyone agrees that some of the best writing in Hollywood right now is happening in television. And with brand new web networks like Netflix and Amazon hungry for quality new series, now is one of the most exciting times to be a TV Writer. So what do you need to break into this exciting industry? In this podcast, three experts in the industry come together to teach you exactly what you need to su...

This week, Jake discusses James Gunn's script for "Guardians of the Galaxy." Jake calls the script "shockingly successful" and argues that the film "actually redefines our expectations for what a superhero movie can be... "Guardians of the Galaxy" is not a movie about capturing some crazy crystal, defeating some evil lord, or saving the galaxy. "Guardians of the Galaxy" is about coming to grips wi...

Join Jake as he breaks down a new film each podcast, looking at movies from a unique and clever screenwriting perspective to find strengths and weaknesses that you can use in your own writing process. This week, Jake helps drive your story forward by filling necessary conflicts and character motivation with the following piece of advice: When in doubt, make it hard. To look at this, he analyzes th...

Jacob Krueger sits down with action movie screenwriter, George Strayton to discuss "The Amazing Spiderman 2" and what all writers can learn from these types of action movies. Find out more about Jacob Krueger Studio: ACTION MOVIE WORKSHOP: www.writeyourscreenplay.com/action WRITER RESOURCES: www.writeyourscreenplay.com/category/sc…g-articles/ WORKSHOPS & SEMINARS: writeyourscreenplay.com/classes

How does a screenplay that seems to ditch all the formulas that Disney has relied on for generations turn into the highest grossing animated film of all time? Listen to Jacob Krueger discuss Jennifer Lee's screenplay for Disney's Frozen. FROZEN SEMINAR: www.writeyourscreenplay.com/frozen WRITER RESOURCES: www.writeyourscreenplay.com/category/sc…g-articles/ WORKSHOPS & SEMINARS: writeyourscreenplay...