What goes into writing a great movie script?

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.

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

Actors give better feedback than writers do.

For those who were actually old enough to have experienced the 1970s and not for those who were born in the 70s. What were the pros and cons of that era?

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

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.

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.

5 foods to add to your diet to prevent magnesium deficiency - Times of India

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.

Research the facts and then throw away the research.

Browns' quarterback competition is right where it's supposed to be | The Huddle - Cleveland Browns

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

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

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

* Underwater Smoke Signals: Humpbacks May Be Talking to Humans - SciTechDaily

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

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

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

Science news this week: 'Dragon Man's' identity and the universe's 'missing matter' - Live Science

The DSM 5 is a wonderful character compendium.

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

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.

The people who are 'allergic' to humans - BBC

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

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

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

Is visiting holy shrines (dargahs) or graves haraam in Islam?

Make sure to pack enough explosives into the rocket.

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

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.

Dog attacks on postal workers are the most they’ve been in 7 years - NBC News