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...

While finally bringing myself to watch Resident Evil: The Final Chapter on Netflix recently, I noticed something which had strangely gone...

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...

With the recent success of Marvels' Avengers Endgame still a talking point around the water cooler, I thought it might be interesting to...

I often get asked about writing flashbacks in screenplays. I know that, for some people, writing flashbacks can be seen as the lazy way...

Active questions act as the backbone of your narrative. They give the audience something to anticipate, keeping them hooked on the story.

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...

Introduction Story structure is such a huge part of screenwriting. There is a resistance to such an emphasis on structure in some...

A blog title called Inception: Keeping it Simple, might sound like an oxymoron given the incredible complexity of Christopher Nolan's...

| by John Finnegan Crafting action sequences in a screenplay is a common challenge for screenwriters. While it may seem straightforward...

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...

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...

| 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...

Films like The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Psycho illustrate how identification is a fluid, powerful tool in storytelling.

In this post, I’ll break down why Alien: Covenant deserves more credit.

I don't think I can recall a more enjoyable time in the cinema recently than when I saw Ready Player One earlier this summer. A big...

Let’s dive into why third acts are tricky, explore techniques to make them unforgettable, and study The Dark Knight.

Original storytelling is a cornerstone of great cinema and a vital practice for screenwriters who wish to craft compelling narratives.

| By John Finnegan Students frequently ask me, "How do you write good dialogue?" My response is typically, "What does good dialogue...

Wonder Woman was a huge success at the box office and no one can dispute the impact the film has had on our culture. In an industry...

| by John Finnegan For fans of Peter Jackson’s original LOTR trilogy, it’s hard not to reminisce about what made those films so...

I always get excited by the prospect of a new Tarantino film, and I'm really looking forward to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. But I've...

Anybody who has seen Jaws will remember the terrifying story that Robert Shaw's Quint recounts one evening after dinner on his boat. He...