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

Learning From L.A. Confidential: To Arc or Not to Arc

September 22, 2012September 22, 2012arcs, character, L.A. Confidential, learning

SPOILER ALERT: This series of posts is spoiler-heavy. But, seriously, the movie is from 1997!!! If you haven’t watched it by now… I was doing some work on my script the other night, compiling a list of characters, major

Listen Up

August 30, 2012August 30, 2012On The Page, podcasts, Scriptnotes, The Q and A

The fifty-second episode of Scriptnotes was released this week. That’s right – a year’s supply. At the end of it, John August recommended some of his favourite podcasts. I thought I’d give a brief rundown

Learning From L.A. Confidential: Literary Techniques – Juxtaposition

August 27, 2012August 27, 2012juxtaposition, L.A. Confidential, learning, literary techniques

SPOILER ALERT: This series of posts is spoiler-heavy. But, seriously, the movie is from 1997!!! If you haven’t watched it by now… Unlike a novel, which is a final, complete piece of literature in and

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