Whether we like it or not, a huge part of being in the industry is being in a business—if you're a screenwriter, you're selling your ideas, and producers hope to turn a profit if they invest in your project. You need to know what audiences want and how much money you can potentially make. So we can learn quite a bit from examining which screenwriters have been the most successful. We'll acknowledge that a lot of this has to do with volume, and volume is often tied to franchises, as we'll see. That might not be everyone's dream, but these screenwriters still have a lot to say about what works for them.And while writer-directors like Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, and Andrew Stanton have generated billions through their dual roles, this list focuses on pure screenwriting contributions.Fran WalshThe co-writer of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies helped bring Middle-earth to life with her husband, Peter Jackson, and collaborator Philippa Boyens. Walsh's journey from Wellington punk rocker to Academy Award winner is the dream for many of us. Heck, she won three Oscars for The Return of the King alone (Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Original Song). She sits at about $6.6 billion in terms of box office.Walsh is famously evasive, choosing not to do a ton of press or be photographed. In 2012, The New York Times interviewed her for The Hobbit, where she discussed her process. One thing she typically does is overwrite, then cut...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Yesterday