William C Martell
@wcmartell.bsky.social
210 followers 9 following 520 posts
Writer of 20 produced films... Mostly awful.
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wcmartell.bsky.social
Tuesday's Script Tip: PITCHING YOUR TAKE! Your great horror screenplay gets you the chance to write the sequel CUTTING CLASS 2! Brad Pitt is back! What's your sequel story? Pitch your take!

www.scriptsecrets.net/tips/tip167....
#screenwriting #filmsky #amwriting #scriptsky #scriptsecrets
Screenwriting Tip Of The Day by William C. Martell - pitching your take
Monday's Screenwriting Tip by William C. Martell
www.scriptsecrets.net
wcmartell.bsky.social
Note cards in my pocket.

Once, working my day job in a warehouse, I wrote a scene on the top of a box of canned peas, sliced it off and took it home. The grocery store probably wondered what happened.
wcmartell.bsky.social
"I guess a scar isn't so bad, not if it's only on one side... I can always go through life sideways."

From a movie released on this date. And "going through life sideways" is a great description of the character, too!

#writing #filmsky #scriptsky
wcmartell.bsky.social
Original writers are dead, so no check required.
wcmartell.bsky.social
FOLLOWED HOME: A CRIME TIME THRILLER. Bowden knew the best place to find a victim is somewhere they feel safe. Diane Taylor would be his next victim... Could she survive? Short story.

www.amazon.com/dp/B00HY4WU44/ #scriptchat #Filmsky #amwriting #writing #screenwriting #booksky
Followed Home (Crime Time Thrillers)
Amazon.com: Followed Home (Crime Time Thrillers) eBook : Martell, William C.: Kindle Store
www.amazon.com
wcmartell.bsky.social
There were going to be 2 follow up articles showing how variations of this are used in different genres... But both are still rough drafts on my laptop.
wcmartell.bsky.social
Go to local film festivals. Meet local film makers. Become part of that community.
wcmartell.bsky.social
Monday's Script Tip: THE MIND OF THE VILLAIN. Villains believe that they are the hero of their own stories... so how do you get into that midset? Motivating the villain. BLACK PANTHER, great horror film FRAILTY, more.

www.scriptsecrets.net/tips/tip261....
#scriptsky #filmsky #writing
Screenwriting Tip Of The Day by William C. Martell - vilain's motivations
Monday's Screenwriting Tip by William C. Martell
www.scriptsecrets.net
wcmartell.bsky.social
I don't know. Were those credits buried in the closing credits?
wcmartell.bsky.social
I think every studio needs a "Blumhouse division" - genre movies for $5m or less. That's a training ground for new directors and talent, and a "farm league" that the director of an expensive flop can be demoted to.
We also need a midrange division - not every film should cost over $100m.
wcmartell.bsky.social
Happy COLUMBO Day!

COLUMBO is a symbol of America's determination to solve problems and make this a better world... even if it means arresting rich and powerful people.

#ColumboDay
wcmartell.bsky.social
On this day in film history - October 13, 1985 - Rorshach sneaks onto a military base to meet with Dr. Manhattan in WATCHMEN.

(I saw the movie with the Wordplay gang ages ago!)

amzn.to/4nPIxJu
#writing
#filmsky #scriptsky
Watchmen (Ultimate Cut)
Watchmen (Ultimate Cut)
amzn.to
wcmartell.bsky.social
Yeah, all of those things there are scammy.
wcmartell.bsky.social
That's an easy one.
Amazon owns MGM and all of their copyrights.
MGM made SHOP AROUND THE CORNER.

So Amazon is unlikely to sue themselves for copyright violation.

They have been actively mining the MGM catalog. Shane's Parker movie is a good example - they own the character.
wcmartell.bsky.social
Great thread!
Whenever I did the rounds I would do recon on each production company and find a couple of my scripts that fit what they made, or ideas that fit what they made - and casually mention them. You want them to say "That sounds interesting, tell me more."
wcmartell.bsky.social
Today is Godfrey Tearle's birthday. Here's his big moment in Hitchcock's THE 39 STEPS. I gasp every time I see it, and I know it's coming!
wcmartell.bsky.social
On this day in film history - October 12, 802,701 - George meets the Eloi and the Morlocks, is tended by Weena in THE TIME MACHINE.

amzn.to/4ocd4AJ

#writing
#filmsky #scriptsky #ad
Time Machine
Time Machine
amzn.to
wcmartell.bsky.social
ScriptSecrets @ ScriptMag: CHANGE UP! There are plot twists, and there are movies where *everything changes*. We look at BARBARIAN (plus PLANE and MISSING) and how to make your story unpredictable.

scriptmag.com/screenplays/...
#writing #filmsky #screenwriting #scriptsky
SCRIPT SECRETS: 'Barbarian' - Change Up!
How do you keep your screenplay unpredictable? We look at 2022's 'Barbarian' for the answers... and a technique I call the “Change Up!” - a major plot twist that completely changes everything in the s...
scriptmag.com
wcmartell.bsky.social
Planner, but willing to accept any great ideas that come when writing.

The problem with being a professional is that a treatment is almost always a required step - and you need to stick to the approved version.

So the outline is the story. You need to run all of the possibilities at that stage.
wcmartell.bsky.social
Too many words to cut and paste...

#scriptsky #filmsky #writing
wcmartell.bsky.social
On this day in film history - October 10, 1986 - a burning wheelchair containing Freddy Lounds' corpse is found in MANHUNTER.

amzn.to/42CExU5

Who played that creepy little man on fire in the film? He's in a new movie I'm excited about!

#writing #scriptsky
#filmsky #ad
Manhunter (Collector's Edition)
Product Description Former FBI profiler Will Graham (William Petersen, To Live and Die in L.A., CSI: Crime Scene Investigation) reluctantly returns to his old job to track a horrific serial killer known as "The Tooth Fairy. ", But in order to get into the mind of this maniac, Graham must face another: Hannibal Lecktor (Brian Cox, X-Men 2, RED), the imprisoned psychiatrist whose own insanity almost cost Graham his life… and whose insights into "The Tooth Fairy", could prove as dangerous as the killer himself. Tom Noonan (Heat, RoboCop 2), Joan Allen (The Bourne Legacy), Dennis Farina (Get Shorty), Kim Greist (Brazil) and Stephen Lang (Avatar) co-star in this gripping thriller from director Michael Mann (Heat, Miami Vice) and adapted from the novel Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. Manhunter is one of the most unnerving serial killer movies ever made. Special Features Include:Disc 1: Theatrical Version (HD) -“The Mind of Madness” – an interview with William Petersen (18 minutes) -“Courting a Killer” – an interview with actress Joan Allen (16 minutes) -“Francis is Gone Forever” – an interview with actor Tom Noonan (22 minutes) -“The First Lecktor” – an interview with actor Brian Cox (40 minutes) -“The Eye of the Storm” – an interview with director of photography Dante Spinotti (36 minutes) -“The Music of MANHUNTER” – including interviews with composer Michel Rubini, Barry Andrews (Shriekback), Gary Putman (The Prime Movers), Rick Shaffer (The Reds), and Gene Stashuk (Red 7) (42 minutes) -Theatrical Trailer -Still Gallery Disc 2: Director’s Cut (HD with Standard Definition inserts) -Audio Commentary by writer/director Michael Mann -Director’s Cut (Standard Definition) -“The Manhunter Look” - A Conversation with cinematographer Dante Spinotti (10 minutes) -Inside Manhunter with stars William Petersen, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, and Tom Noonan (18 minutes). Review Manhunter is undoubtedly a cult classic and worthy of the Collector's Edition treatment it has received from Shout Factory. As usual Shout Factory shows immense respect for the fans by creating new interviews that help put the film in context. Michael Mann fans will want to own this as the best version of the film to date presented in high definition. Recommended. --May 26, 2016
amzn.to
wcmartell.bsky.social
Once again I have 11 (ELEVEN!) books on Amazon's Top 100 Screenwriting Books (Kindle), topped by this one in the Top 20!

Thank you everyone!

#scriptsky #filmsky #writing