Screenwriting tips from this year's Academy Awards Best Original and Best Adapted Screenplay Nominees

0:00 - Intro

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

2:47 - Don't Look Up
Writers: Adam McKay, David Sirota
Research and think about what kind of narrative is rooted in us as audience members and as people and subvert the expectation of that familiar premise.

3:53 - The Worst Person in the World
Writers: Joachim Trier, Eskil Vogt
Use love as a theme for something more than just two people kissing.

4:43 - Licorice Pizza
Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson
Don’t chase themes when writing. Let them naturally emerge.

5:47 - Belfast
Writer: Kenneth Branagh
Absorb what you learn from brilliant screenwriters but don’t second guess your instincts when it comes to your own script and focus on capturing the spirit of what you’re writing about.

7:34 - King Richard
Writer: Zach Baylin
Choose the most precarious time in your character’s lives to make the story dramatic.


ADAPTED

8:20 - Dune
Writers: Denis Villeneuve, Eric Roth, Jon Spaihts
When adapting material, find the right balance of giving out information so that the people who’ve read the material will enjoy it as much as someone who is just getting introduced to this world.

9:59 - The Power of the Dog
Writer: Jane Campion
The story needs to keep evading your best expectations, but feel true at the same time.

10:47 - Drive my Car
Writers: Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Takamasa Oe
Have the actors play out the backstories you have written for them, because that way, the backstories aren’t just thoughts and ideas but they become memories and experience.

12:27 - The Lost Daughter
Writer: Maggie Gyllenhaal
It’s inherently dramatic to tell the truth about something taboo. The audience will feel comforted to know they’re not the only ones with dark feelings.

14:49 - CODA
Writer: Sian Heder
When you’re writing a story about something like a disability, don't define the characters by their disability but find their own personal flaws within them.


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