What is Chekhov’s gun? What are setups and payoffs? The concepts are interconnected, and all three should be included in any and all screenwriting endeavors. We will provide working definitions, take a look at illustrative examples used in great films, and discuss how to best incorporate the practice into your own writing. Before we jump into the benefits of setups and payoffs, let’s start by defining Chekhov’s gun.
Continue reading Chekhov’s Gun — How To Setup and Payoff in Screenwriting
The best dark comedy movies and TV shows go for the jugular. It’s not enough to just be edgy, or even malicious. You need to tap into deep, disturbing levels of discomfort… and build a summer home.
We made the ultimate list of dark comedy movies and TV shows, plus a video essay that takes a deep dive into one dark comedy, The Lobster. Let’s jump into our list of the best dark comedy movies and TV shows.
Continue reading 70 Hilarious Dark Comedy Movies & TV Shows
Oh yes, we’ve come back to the ever-feared spec script; code-word for a script that isn’t commissioned. Writers far and wide, famous and infamous, all work on spec scripts. But what is a spec script? And what does it look like? Fear not, we’re going to answer those questions by looking at some spec script examples. By the end, you’ll know how spec scripts are written and where to look for more advice on how to start your own.
Continue reading Spec Script Examples — What Does a Spec Script Look Like?
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@media (min-width: 300px){.thrv_symbol_136621 [data-css="tve-u-18a69dc2ccc"] .tve_w_menu{border-bottom: none;}.thrv_symbol_136621 [data-css="tve-u-18a69dc2ccc"]{overflow: scroll;margin-right: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;}.thrv_symbol_136621 .thrv_widget_menu #m-17688d19bdf li:not(.tcb-excluded-from-group-item){border-bottom: 1px solid rgba(0,0,0,0);text-align: center;--tve-font-weight: var(--g-bold-weight,bold);--tve-font-family: inherit;box-shadow: none;--tve-applied-box-shadow: none;--tve-text-transform: none;padding: 15px 50px !important;margin-left: 0px !important;margin-right: 0px !important;}.thrv_symbol_136621 .thrv_widget_menu #m-17688d19bdf li:not(.tcb-excluded-from-group-item) a{font-family: var(--tve-font-family,inherit);font-size: 14px !important;font-weight: var(--tve-font-weight,var(--g-bold-weight,bold) ) !important;text-transform: var(--tve-text-transform,none) !important;}.thrv_symbol_136621 .thrv_widget_menu #m-17688d19bdf li:not(.tcb-excluded-from-group-item) strong{font-weight: 500;}.thrv_symbol_136621 .tve-regular #m-17688d19bdf .tcb-mega-drop-inner:not(.tcb-excluded-from-group-item) li.lvl-1{max-width: calc(33.3333% - 40px);width: calc(33.3333% - 40px);margin-left: 40px;margin-top: 15px !important;}.thrv_symbol_136621 .tve-regular #m-17688d19bdf .tcb-mega-drop-inner:not(.tcb-excluded-from-group-item) ul{margin-left: -40px;margin-top: -15px !important;}.thrv_symbol_136621 .tve-regular #m-17688d19bdf .tcb-mega-drop-inner ul li a:not(.tcb-excluded-from-group-item){border: none;text-transform: uppercase;letter-spacing: 1px;font-family: var(--tve-font-family,inherit);--tve-font-weight: var(--g-bold-weight,bold);--tve-font-family: inherit;text-align: center;--tve-color: rgb(0,0,0);--tve-applied---tve-color: rgb(0,0,0);--tcb-applied-color: rgb(0,0,0);box-shadow: none;--tve-applied-box-shadow: none;font-weight: var(--tve-font-weight,var(--g-bold-weight,bold) ) !important;color: var(--tve-color,rgb(0,0,0)) !important;font-size: 13px !important;padding-top: 26px !important;padding-bottom: 26px !important;--tve-applied-color: var$(--tve-color,rgb(0,0,0)) !important;margin-top:… Keep reading
What’s black and white and red all over? It could be a newspaper — or it could be a neo-noir film.
It’s hard to tell. Neo-noir is notoriously difficult to classify. An offshoot of the historical film noir genre, it’s painted in such broad strokes that it can subvert, parody, heighten, or reimagine the prototypical stories of its predecessor and still be considered “neo-noir.”
Many of the greats have made their bones in the genre, even if their movies don’t appear the same at surface level.
So — how can you tell? We’ve put together a list of the best neo-noir movies to answer that.… Keep reading
