Step 1: Mastery of Drama and Family

Lone Star (Drama)

The screenplay for LONE STAR features in my screenwriting classes for its elegant use of flashbacks. The scene you’ll transcribe today has a transition from present day back to 1957.

How will you describe this effectively in the script?

The characters in the scene are HOLLIS, who tells the story, FENTON, who helps him remember, and SAM DEEDS (Chris Cooper), who listens. In the flashback we see a young Hollis, SHERIFF CHARLEY WADE (Kris Kristofferson), and Deputy BUDDY DEEDS (Matthew McConaughey).

That’s about all you need to do the job well.

Now, can you write the transition as elegantly as John Sayles filmed it?

Finding Nemo (Family)

FINDING NEMO doesn’t need much of an introduction. The credited writers are Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson and David Reynolds, but we know that all films from the early Pixar days were the joint work of the Brain Trust. At the time, the Brain Trust included people such as John Lasseter, Brad Bird and Pete Docter.

Andrew Stanton probably wrote the script once the story – even the animation – and dialogue were all set in stone.

Did you know…

Andrew Stanton once confessed to being a terrible screenwriter, so he attended Robert McKee’s story seminar with his Pixar mates, hoping to get better at it.

For this short scene, you only need to know the names of NEMO, MARLIN and the little Long-bill called TAD (“He touched the butt!”).

To indicate suspense, many successful writers use the double-dash (- -), but as you will see later from the full script, Andrew Stanton uses the ellipsis. (…).

What will you use?