Watch the winning readings performed by professional actors.

1st Scene Festival Short Script: MY LOVE, MY CAT, I CUT IT, by Egy Fachriansyah
https://storypitches.com/2020/01/25/1st-scene-festival-short-script-my-love-my-cat-i-cut-it-by-egy-fachriansyah/

1st Scene Festival Short Script: Between A Book and A Computer, by Callan Hand
https://storypitches.com/2020/01/25/1st-scene-festival-short-script-between-a-book-and-a-computer-by-callan-hand/

LGBT Festival Short Script: BROTHER, by Aleksei Borovikov & Jacob Mueller
https://storypitches.com/2020/01/25/lgbt-festival-short-script-brother-by-aleksei-borovikov-jacob-mueller/

“I just kept working,..You just have to keep your nose to the grindstone.” NFL football player Austin Reiter My favorite story coming out of Super Bowl LVI was regarding Austin Reiter. He was cut by the Cleveland Browns in 2018. When he played for the Browns during the 2017 season they did not win a […]

via Being Optimistic—Yet Realistic—in the Face of Adversity — Screenwriting from Iowa

In light of last night’s Iowa Caucus and the counting confusion this morning, what’s needed is a little Election humor from screenwriter Alexander Payne and actress Reece Witherspoon.

via Voting in Iowa and Why Tracy Flick Isn’t Upset — Screenwriting from Iowa

”How to tell a good story? I don’t think anybody has that answer. Like when I sat down to write Dear Basketball I was like what do I want to say? You have certain acts and how you can structure things, ebbs and flow of story, certain formulas that have been there since the beginning […]

via ‘Nothing in this world moves without story’—Academy Award Winner Kobe Bryant — Screenwriting from Iowa

“That’s the part that keeps people back the most—it’s like, ‘Well I don’t have an idea, so I can’t start.’ No, it’s like you only get the idea once you start. It’s this totally reverse thing. You have to act first before inspiration will hit. You don’t wait for inspiration and then act or you’re […]

via The Problem with Waiting for Inspiration — Screenwriting from Iowa

Here are links to the 2020 Oscar nominated screenplays (except Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood, which I haven’t found yet). ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Jojo Rabbit by Taika Waititi Joker by Todd Phillips & Scott Silver Little Women by Greta Gerwig The Irishman by Steven Zaillian The Two Popes by Anthony McCarten ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY 1917 by Sam Mendes & […]

via Links to 2020 Oscar Nominated Screenplays — Screenwriting from Iowa

“Movies are about life-changing events in these character’s lives.” Screenwriter John August Scriptnotes, Ep. 218 The 25 cent word of the day is synecdoche. Author/Princeton professor Joyce Carol Oates uses the word synecdoche in her MasterClass talk as a literary device meaning “one stands for the whole” and states that “it is the principle of […]

via All Art is Based on the Principle of Synecdoche (Joyce Carol Oates) — Screenwriting from Iowa

via ‘Ford v Ferrari’ Behind the Scenes — Screenwriting from Iowa

“You know, when you first start writing you’re going to suck. And so it’s good to keep it to yourself, until maybe you don’t suck as much.” David Sedaris The sweet spot for the essays that David Sedaris writes is five pages. The shortest are the two pages he does for CBS Sunday Morning and […]

via David Sedaris on the Hard Advice Most Writers Don’t Want to Hear — Screenwriting from Iowa