The Screenplay Writers

0034: Mystery

Mystery is about confusion. It’s about bouncing around, so the audiece doesn't know exactly where you're taking them—and yes, that's a good thing. Don’t feel the need to explain every last detail in your screenplay. The audience isn’t stupid—they’ll figure it out—eventually. Nathan explains his bounce-around rule, the guys perform script surgery on "Clue," and Nathan pitches his idea "Chamomile Nights."

0033: Cliffhangers

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Cliffhangers are all about creating scenes in which the reader is unsure what's about to happen, but they really, badly want to find out. Ryan and Nathan go through all the essentials of writing a cliffhanger-rich screenplay, and they touch on the essential related Hare's Rules. They do script surgery on "Cliffhanger" and Ryan pitches his idea "Belgrade Cafe" in Logline Cage Match.

0032: Oscars

In this exclusive special edition episode, Nathan and Ryan run through the major categories for the Academy Awards (the “Oscars”), explaining who will win each in 2018. From Dunkirk to Sound Editing, the guys cover many of the screenplays and categories.

0031: Buddy Comedies

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To write a buddy comedy, one of the most popular genres in existence, you have to start wtih comedy. That means humour. That means jokes. That means laughter. Good buddy comedies pair great characters with a fantastic screenplay, which is exactly what Ryan and Nathan cover on this episode. They perform script surgery on "The King's Speech" and Ryan pitches his new idea, "Accidental Carbon Copy," in Logline Cage Match. Nathan provides an update on his ill-fated personal website project.

0030: Ideas

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So you think you’ve got a screenplay idea—what do you do with it? First, run it by Ryan and Nathan or another friendly expert to see what they think. The guys talk about how to know a good idea when you write it, what to do when you realize you’ve got a good idea, and how to skirt trademark infringement laws. They do script surgery on Idiocracy; Ryan pitches his idea “Life Force Fitness” in Logline Cage Match.

0029: Drama

Drama is more than just a genre. It's a key element of all kinds of screenplays. Tension, intrigue, interest, conflict. These are the hallmarks of drama. Nathan and Ryan discuss how to make your comedies better using drama, and touch on their favorite dramatic genre, the driller, or dramatic thriller. They do script surgery on Downsizing; Ryan presents his idea, Bright Web, in Logline Cage Match.

0028: Action

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Action is what screenplays are all about. It’s more than just what the director says to start actors acting. It’s the “ing” version of verbs, come to life on the page. A screenplay without action would just be a bunch of people talking, which sounds awful. The guys do script surgery on "Muriel’s Wedding" and Nathan pitches his unique, original concept, “Weird Events.”

0027: Montages

The point of a montage is for the audience to learn something and for a character to change in a short amount of screenplay time. Nathan and Ryan talk about "Star Wars: The Last Jedi," and how it could have benefited from a montage or two. But not the casino part, which they loved. They do script surgery on “Coco.” In Logline Cage Match, Ryan reveals his latest big idea, “Urban Leprechaun.”

0026: Rewrites

The rewrite phase is what separates a truly exceptional screenplay from a merely outstanding one. That’s why Ryan and Nathan strongly recommend doing rewrites on the majority of your pages. In this episode, Nathan and Ryan give Agent Nick a call, to follow up their two screenplays Agent Nick greenlit just seven days ago. After several reminders, Agent Nick seems to remember what they're talking about.

0025: Agents

What are agents? What do they look like? Where do you find one? Nathan and Ryan answer these questions and more. Above all, agents should represent your interests; they shouldn't not do that. To illustrate, Nathan and Ryan get on the phone with the notoriously difficult-to-track-down Agent Nick, a close personal friend who is closely connected to the film industry, to discuss “In Memoriam,” their buzzworthy screenplay. Nathan also pitches his idea, “Lunch Lady Undercover” and Ryan pitches “Unassisted Living.” Agent Nick responds really, really positively to both.