What goes into writing a great movie script?

Your primary job is to create situations. Modern actors will fuck up your dialogue, despite whatever your contract says.

A critical function of storytelling is wish fulfillment. This is why video games are so popular. “That protagonist is JUST LIKE ME.”

Conflict is your power source; without it you have no drama and hence no script.

What was the most challenging shift you experienced as an ER physician? Can you describe the details and reasons behind it?

People choose what to see based on the high concept. Make sure to deliver an ending consistent with the high concept -- it is what the audience paid for.

Learn to tell a story orally and not through writing. Try telling your story to a friend.

Actors give better feedback than writers do.

What should you answer when someone says to you in French, "au plaisir de vous revoir"?

Only God gets it right the first time. Rewrite everything.

Audiences are smarter than you think. Something about turning down the house lights makes their IQs go up.

Cut everything that is not a payoff, or a setup for a specific payoff. “Omit needless words.” Think about the sparseness of joke telling, or Grimm Brothers.

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Make sure to pack enough explosives into the rocket.

Outline everything. Use story beats. Keep character’s mouths taped up, until they absolutely MUST speak. Write the script and the dialogue at the last minute, after you’ve revised the hell out of the outline.

Research the facts and then throw away the research.

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The DSM 5 is a wonderful character compendium.

Write in reverse time. Major characters need to change polarity; minor characters may remain the same at the end.

Get up there yourself. Be in a movie. Take some acting (not writing) classes. Learn how a trained actor approaches a text. Learn why actors take roles. They do as much if not more than the writer does.

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To develop a unique voice for each character, try interviewing your characters.

What you leave unwritten is as important as what you write. SUBTEXT.

Leave holes. Write and unwrite. Put it in, take it out.

Does a narcissist ever get their comeuppance/karma for the vile things they've done? Such as cheating, smear campaign, etc.

Maintain a slush pile/idea file. When you are ready to write, choose the best seeds to plant.

Primary characters must change polarities. Secondary characters can change less.

Use status to help drive conflict. King Lear/fool. Upstairs/downstairs.

My son died seven months ago at the age of 24 how do I know if he’s in heaven and can he see me and hear me and why have I not gotten any signs yet from him or Mom just not seeing the signs how do I know if he’s OK how do I know if he’s happy?

All rules are made to be broken, but you damn well better know WHY you’re breaking them.

Don’t direct from the page. Everyone, from the director on down, wants to be part of the process of making movies. Let them do their work.

A scene should change valence from beginning to end. Up to down, down to up.

In my experience, British people are fat, ugly and arrogant. Why is it and can it be changed?