What goes into writing a great movie script?

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

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

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

‘Wicked: For Good’ Trailer: Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo Put Glinda and Elphaba to the Test in Dazzling First Footage From Sequel - Variety

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

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.

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

Kharkiv hit by ‘most powerful attack’ of entire war, mayor says, as Russia pounds Ukraine again - CNN

Make sure to pack enough explosives into the rocket.

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

Actors give better feedback than writers do.

JPMorgan’s Jamie Dimon Sees Bond Market Crack — Why And What To Do - Forbes

The DSM 5 is a wonderful character compendium.

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

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

What does it mean when someone tells you they love you and want you in their life, but doesn't want to commit?

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.

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

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

Why am I always so tired and I don't eat enough?

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

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

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.

The biggest binoculars we've ever tested: Celestron SkyMaster 25x100 hands-on review - Live Science

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.

Research the facts and then throw away the research.

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

What do the Kamala Harris/Tim Walz campaign ads following Taylor Swift's endorsement mean?

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

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

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.

What was the hottest inappropriate sex you ever had?