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Review: Dark Waters (2019)
By John Finnegan | Mark Ruffalo is quickly building an impressive portfolio of work which sheds light on social problems (see Spotlight)...
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Dunkirk Film Analysis – Going to War with Convention
Writer/director Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk held the Number One spot at the American box office for its first two weeks.
It’s Getting Crazy Out There: Reinventing the Joker Again
It’s hard to go in to watch Todd Phillips’ Joker without any pre-conceived thoughts and ideas.
Growing Pains: The trouble with the multi-generational narrative in IT Chapter Two
Growing Pains: The trouble with the multi-generational narrative in IT Chapter Two
Update: Murder on the Amalfi Coast (Italia Noir)
One of the things that I love about running this podcast is the opportunity to create or source all the incredible images and posters...
New Project: Murder on the Amalfi Coast
It’s fitting that I write this while touring Tuscany. On top of all the amazing projects we’ve got lined up for the coming months, we’ve...
Our Mission Statement
I’m writing this post on my phone as I’ve abandoned my laptop for a few days of R&R (as you can tell it’s going well!) so this is a bit...
John Wick 3: Following the Rules
John Wick 3: Parabellum is taking the box office by storm. It overtook Avengers Endgame at the box office and has proven to be one of the...
Resident Evil: Why they work as 'video game' movies.
While finally bringing myself to watch Resident Evil: The Final Chapter on Netflix recently, I noticed something which had strangely gone...
The Trailer as Prologue
I wrote a blog post a while back about the problem with spoiler heavy trailers, and referred specifically to The Girl in the Spider's Web...
Comparing The Avengers and The Justice League
With the recent success of Marvels' Avengers Endgame still a talking point around the water cooler, I thought it might be interesting to...
We've Moved (sort of).
It's been a year since we officially launched The Script Department and a lot has happened in that year. We've built a successful...
The Imitation Game: How to Write Flashbacks
I often get asked about writing flashbacks in screenplays. I know that, for some people, writing flashbacks can be seen as the lazy way...
Understanding Active Questions in Screenwriting: A Guide to Keeping Your Audience Hooked
Active questions act as the backbone of your narrative. They give the audience something to anticipate, keeping them hooked on the story.
2008-2018: My List
If you follow Mark Kermode's blog, you'll know that he recently did his 10 best and worst films of the last ten years. Naturally, it got...
Building Your Own Story Map
Introduction Story structure is such a huge part of screenwriting. There is a resistance to such an emphasis on structure in some...
Inception Explained: How to Balance Complexity and Clarity in Your Script
| by John Finnegan Christopher Nolan’s Inception is one of the most complex and intricately structured films in modern cinema. It’s a...
How to Write Effective Action Sequences in a Screenplay
| by John Finnegan Crafting action sequences in a screenplay is a common challenge for screenwriters. While it may seem straightforward...
Hannibal: More Important than Silence of the Lambs
I recently wrote a post arguing how Alien 3, one of the least popular Alien films, is actually the most significant entry as far as...
The Girl in the Spider's Web: Plot Heavy Trailers
I'm a big fan of the Lisbeth Salander stories and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is probably one of my favourite books. I love the films...
Alien 3 Explained: A Case for Ellen Ripley’s Greatest Journey
| By John Finnegan “I’m sort of stunned that it is an influential character but I’m delighted, and I can kind of understand it because I...
Writing Relatable Characters: From Final Girls to Norman Bates
Films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho illustrate how identification is a fluid, powerful tool in storytelling.
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