K-Tock's Korner - Thoughts on screenwriting and the movies

Learning From L.A. Confidential: Show and Tell

July 30, 2012July 30, 2012L.A. Confidential, Show, Visual

SPOILER ALERT: This series of posts is spoiler-heavy. But, seriously, the movie is from 1997!!! If you haven’t watched it by now… This post is a collection of examples of how Helgeland puts into practice the

Quick Tips: Million Dollar Baby and Double Duty

July 17, 2012May 25, 2022screenwriting, tips

I’ve had Million Dollar Babyon DVD for a while now, but only found the time to watch it a few nights ago. It’s certainly not an ‘up’ sort of ending, but it is a powerful

Learning From L.A. Confidential: Thus Far, Pt 1

June 30, 2012June 30, 2012L.A. Confidential, learning, tips

SPOILER ALERT: The following series of posts are spoiler-heavy. But, seriously, the movie is from 1997!!! If you haven’t watched it by now… There are a number of screenwriting gems to be gleaned from a

Learning From L.A. Confidential: Character Arcs

June 25, 2012June 25, 2012arcs, characterisation, L.A. Confidential, learning

SPOILER ALERT: The following series of posts are spoiler-heavy. But, seriously, the movie is from 1997!!! If you haven’t watched it by now… In this post, I’ll be looking a little at how Brian Helgeland

Learning From L.A. Confidential: Introductions

May 28, 2012May 28, 2012characterisation, introductions, L.A. Confidential, learning

SPOILER ALERT: The following series of posts are spoiler-heavy. But, seriously, the movie is from 1997!!! If you haven’t watched it by now… Orientation:Set in the 1950s, L.A. Confidential follows three policemen, Bud White, Jack Vincennes and

Learning from L.A. Confidential

May 14, 2012May 14, 2012L.A. Confidential, learning

I’m currently writing a crime-thriller. It has innocents drawn into an underworld of intrigue, double crosses, and corruption. I thought I’d sit at the feet of some of the masters of the craft to learn how best to

Need a Kickstart?

April 30, 2012April 30, 2012Competition

I was disappointed a few posts ago to discover that the Persona Non Grata competition was only open to residents of either the US or UK. Well, Australians have got their revenge in the form of

Fade In

April 18, 2012April 18, 2012Celtx, Fade In, Final Draft, Movie Magic Screenwriter, software

I have been an avid Celtx user for my screenplays since moving on from the frustrations of formatting Microsoft Word with custom tabs and margins. Celtx has served me well. Especially the price point! ($0) Celtx provides an ordered

Chekhov’s Gun and Phasmids

April 4, 2012April 4, 2012Chekhov's Gun, Deus Ex Machina, foreshadow, Kung Fu Panda 2, Master and Commander, Megamind, phasmid, plant, story theory

What does Chekhov’s Gun have to do with phasmids, dehydraters and cannonballs? Well, a couple of months ago I went through a movie binge – two dozen movies in two weeks – that helped answer that question. Firstly, though,

Double Trouble

March 20, 2012March 20, 2012dialogue, overwriting, plot, screenwriting, tips

I’m doing a rewrite on a script of mine that did fairly well in a couple of screenwriting competitions. To that end, I read through my judge’s feedback from the PAGE International Screenwriting Competition a few years ago.