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Lessons Learned from Tom Schulman About His Oscar-Winning Script 'Dead Poets...
A few days ago at the 21st Austin Film Festival, I had the pleasure of moderating the Script-to-Screen: Dead Poets Society panel with the film's screenwriter, Tom Schulman, who won an Oscar for this...
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Austin Film Festival Screenplay & Teleplay Competition Offers Free Comments...
When you apply to a screenwriting competition, you should ask yourself, "What am I getting for my money?"The reality for many screenwriting competitions is thousands will enter, few will win, and maybe...
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Looking Back on 'Mad Men' with Creator Matthew Weiner
Few shows get the opportunity to do a deep dive and examine a character over a decade of his life. Then again, few shows take the risk to explore a character deeply. Thanks to creator Matthew Weiner...
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Watch Tom Schulman Deconstruct His Oscar-Winning Script 'Dead Poets Society'
Back in October, shortly after I interviewed Oscar-winning screenwriter Tom Schulman for Austin Film Festival's Script-to-Screen: Dead Poets Society panel, I posted a few lessons learned from our...
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3 Lessons on How to Make Something That Doesn’t Suck from Jay Duplass
"I think it's an incredibly difficult thing to make something that doesn't suck. And it took me ten years of making things." - Jay Duplass Together with his brother Mark, Jay Duplass has made a lot of...
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'Groundhog Day': How a Script Everybody Loved but Nobody Would Produce Became...
It's Groundhog Day. Again. When screenwriter Danny Rubin sent out his original draft of Groundhog Day to the studios, he knew he hadn't written a conventional studio film. In fact, he hadn't even...
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Learn How to Launch Your Screenwriting Career From the Industry Gatekeepers
How do you break in as a screenwriter? Find out from the people who can actually help. There is no one way to break into the industry as a screenwriter. In fact, every screenwriter's story will be...
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Watch: Dissecting 'Se7en' with Screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker
It's so much more than what's in the box. Just after the 20th anniversary of Se7en, I had the opportunity to have a conversation with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker during the Script-to-Screen:...
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How Do Disney and Pixar Come Up with Those Ingenious Stories? Through...
Filmmakers of any genre can learn from the best story developers in the business. At the 2016 Austin Film Festival last month, Bryan Davidson, Senior Creative Executive for Walt Disney Animation...
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Got a Screenplay, Teleplay, or Digital Series? The Austin FF Screenplay...
Submit your screenplay, teleplay, short, or digital series screenplay to the one festival dedicated to the craft of screenwriting. The Austin Film Festival and Conference is the one festival in the...
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Screenwriter Mark L. Smith Reveals How 'The Revenant' Was Brought to Life
Oscar-winning film 'The Revenant' went through several director and actor attachments, but Smith survived them all to tell his tale. Well before the legendary production tales of chasing snow around...
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7 Tips for Multitasking as Co-Writer, Director, and Star of Your First Feature
Three friends helmed their first comedic feature, '5 Doctors,' as a trio. Here's how they kept their friendship intact. Sketch comedy trio Max Azulay, Matt Porter, and Phil Primason have been friends...
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Bringing It Full Circle: Discover the Craft and Emotional Journey of Writing...
Watch screenwriter Eric Heisserer break down his award-winning sci-fi screenplay on Austin Film Festival's 'On Story.' Endings are beginnings and beginnings are endings. In recent memory, no other...
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'The Amaranth': How Pushy Octagenarians and Paul Thomas Anderson Inspired An...
Oh, the things we'll do to stay young. When a wife and husband first arrive at The Amaranth, an idyllic retirement community, everything seems perfect. Too perfect. Lilly, the wife, has trouble...
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'The Dancing Dogs of Dombrova': Why Wintertime in Eastern Europe is Perfect...
They can bear the cold. They just can't bear each other. In The Dancing Dogs in Dombrova, grown siblings Aaron and Sarah are sent on a fool's errand to a small town in Poland. They are compelled to go...
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'Waiting for the Miracle to Come': How Willie Nelson's Ranch Inspired a Dream...
You never know who might appear on Willie's ranch. Shortly after the death of her father, Adeline discovers a note from him directing her to seek out a gold mine on a distant ranch. Instead, Adeline...
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Jump-start Your Career with These Five Big Screenwriting Competitions
Screenwriting competitions can provide the jumping-off point for major writing and directing careers. Maybe you're like Evan Daugherty, and you just need the help of a competition like Script...
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Listen Closely: Taking 'A Quiet Place' From Script to Screen
But listen quietly. I need to state something upfront: I am not a horror movie fan. This has nothing to do with the genre or how good or bad the movies may or may not be. Instead, my lack of fandom...
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How to Win at Screenwriting Contests
Which contests are worth your time, what do readers want, and how can you jump-start your career. We're going to answer all those questions! There are a lot of aspiring screenwriters out there, which...
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'Suspiria' Writer David Kajganich Reveals the Secrets to Writing Great Horror
The Terror showrunner gave some invaluable advice about how to approach tone, tension, and characters in your horror movies or TV shows. Dave Kajganich has made a huge impact on the horror genre with...
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