Sometimes, we know exactly what the opening moments of our next screenplay will be. We can see them clearly in our minds.Other times, we have no idea how the heck we're going to set up the story we want to tell. And that's okay, too. Tony DuShane wrote the screenplay for Confessions of a Teenage Jesus Jerk, based on his own semi-autobiographical novel, which was directed by Eric Stoltz and released in 2017. The film is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.With this experience, DuShane understands the difference between opening a novel and opening a screenplay. Recently, he spoke with Film Courage about how to start. As in, literally what to do on page one. "I think, especially with a novel, there's a lot more grace than in film and on the first page of a screenplay," he said. That lack of grace means screenwriters face even more pressure to nail those opening pages. Enjoy the full convo below, then dive into three big takeaways for screenwriters. - YouTube www.youtube.com Your Opening Will Change 40-50 Times (and That's Fine)If you think you'll nail your opening scene on the first pass, DuShane has a reality check for you. When asked how many times he'd changed the first sentence of his latest piece, he answered honestly."Oh, with this last draft, I probably 40 times, 50 times," he said. "When I'm writing the first sentence, I'm trying to nail the problem with the character, a problem that the character has."For screenwriters, this revision obsession...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Tuesday, 14 October