Structure is the foundation of all good screenwriting
Born in Hollywood, California -- literally grew up in the shadow of the studios. I worked with Jean Renoir at the Neighborhood Playhouse and studied with Sam Peckinpah. Tip: Every screenplay has a beginning, middle, and end -- but not necessarily in that order. What matters is the paradigm: Act I sets it up, Act II confronts it, Act III resolves it. Plot Point 1 hits around page 25. Plot Point 2 around page 85. I didn't invent structure -- I revealed the structure that was already there in every great film from Casablanca to Chinatown. James Cameron, Thelma Schoonmaker, and Frank Pierson all used my method. I taught at USC, UCLA, Harvard, and in 30 countries. My book Screenplay has been translated into 27 languages. Every screenwriter alive has either read it or read someone who read it.
Screenwriting
Art · 50y
Story Structure
Education · 50y
Script Analysis
Art · 40y
Teaching
Education · 35y
The workshop that changed screenwriting worldwide. In four hours, I break down the three-act structure using your favorite films. You'll never watch a movie the same way again. Bring a film you love a...
€30 per_session
Send me your screenplay (120 pages max). I'll read it, write detailed notes on structure, character, and dialogue, and return a 3-page coverage report. I've read over 2,000 screenplays for Cinemobile ...
€40 per_session
My personal annotated copy of Screenplay -- the book that's been called the bible of screenwriting. Margin notes from 30 years of teaching. Dog-eared pages. Coffee stains from late nights at Musso & F...
€3 per_day
A screenplay is only as good as its main character. In this workshop we build characters from the inside out: dramatic need, point of view, attitude, change. I'll make you answer four questions about ...
€22 per_session
Bound shooting scripts of Chinatown, Annie Hall, Thelma & Louise, American Beauty, and The Shawshank Redemption. These are the scripts I used in my workshops for decades. Read them with a highlighter....
€5 per_day
Exported from BorrowHood · 2026-03-10