My manager called and asked if I told a writer I recommended he send his script and that my manager should read it. Except I didn’t. Don’t even know this person. It was deleted, no read. Don’t do this kind of crap. They check.

At Fox today, supporting the strike.

🧵The reason studios focus on rebooting Harry Potter, eg, rather than finding the next Parasite, is called “cascade theory” and it is a safety net applied by buyers to provide financial reasoning for backing projects. Here’s how to tap it to position an original like a cascade:

In summer 2020, I worked a three week mini-room for Apple TV. The showrunner, three other writers and I were tasked with breaking an 8-episode season and writing 4 eps. In three. Weeks.🧵 #BadApple #WGAStrike

HOW TO WRITE LOG LINES! MJM reminded me how weak a lot of loglines out there are, and I recently did a talk on them I thought I'd repost as a thread (this is 1/14)-- I said I wasn't going to do this during the strike, but since I got paid--

And most rank-and-file WGA writers can’t hit this $70k / low income benchmark. That’s why we say writers can’t make a livable wage. That’s why we’re on strike.

Early in my screenwriting career, I was insecure, hungover, and a pain to work with. I sobered up & wanted to change my reputation, but didn't know how. Then Craig Mazin gave a talk at the WGA on thriving in development. These are 5 takeaways that helped change how I worked.

Watch SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher blast "insulting" AMPTP behavior in fiery strike speech: "Shame on you!" bit.ly/3NJrGHm

MARTIN SCORSESE is hilarious in this ad for American Express.

This week a financier exercised their option on a screenplay I wrote in 2008. I no longer own it. While I don't know if it will get made, it is already the most bizarre journey of anything I have written. Let me tell you about it. 🧵👇

HOW TO MAKE A MONSTER for your horror script! I'm going to walk back not giving unsolicited horror-writing advice while on strike because I need to feel fulfilled. So here's a thread on cooking up and then writing something horrific and evil! 1/25

We're told early not to direct the screenplay on the page. It's just terrible advice. You want the reader to see the movie on screen as they read. This will often mean evoking shots. Here's how to do it without ever referencing the camera. 🧵👇

My best year financially as a screenwriter was 2017. My second-best year was 2002. Third-best was 1997. Some real ugly years in between. One of the biggest mistakes the new screenwriter makes is the assumption that after that first big deal, their income only goes UP.

Out on the strike line today at Fox supporting the WGA and SAG.

What makes a movie a big budget and a small budget: There are critical choices a writer can make at the script stage which directly influence a project’s budget… and its potential viability for getting set up. gointothestory.blcklst.com/screenwriting-… #screenwriting #Filmmaking

I learned something today about WGA reacquisition that I wanted to pass along. It's an interesting but complicated process. The basics - if you write sell or write an original project there is a window for you to reacquire the matierial if it falls out of active development.

1/3: WRITERS, in case you're wondering, things are not back to normal. As you watch the twitter brags, also remember that a lot of thing are getting shit-canned, shorter orders, cancelled, deals not re-instated. People don't talk about that, but it's happening. It'll-- (cont)

Jaime Primak Why you? (your personal connection/expertise) Why now? (zeitgeist/market/audience) Overview (title, format, comps/tone, world, series logline) Big beats of the pilot. Character descriptions. Future season story arcs. Focus on relationship dynamics/emotions rather than plot.