screenplay writing – Golden Way Media Films in 2026

Blazing the Path Through the Jungles of Film and TV Scripts

gwmfilms — Mon, 14 Sep 2020 06:45:13 +0000

How to breakthrough in movie business? It is a question of all script writers and filmmakers.

Hollywood film studios and TV networks used to buy three types of scripts before such as:

Paradigm scripts: These are formula driven scripts like many TV comedies which have the same story structure but different jokes
Imitated scripts: These are scripts that were imitated from successful TV series like breaking bad or Mad Men
Pitch perfect authentic scripts: These are original scripts that nobody has ever seen before. They have different kinds of worlds and characters such as Orange is the New Black. They are completely original and followed by their loyal audience.

In TV market HBO, ShowTime, AMC used to buy paradigm driven scripts. A writer had to follow a specific formula to write the script. For comedy writing, a screenwriter used to write an episode of a drama to prove that s/he can imitate a show. This is how they got hired in the past.

Executive producers know what’s original. Because they are the generation of video on demand and have seen a lot of movies and TV shows.

What I found out that HBO, AMC and Amazon chase key demographic 18 to 49 years old. This is why my scripts are written for this particular demographic. There is so much on TV that audience will be attracted to those shows that grab their attention.

Every script that sold in the last 3 years was pitch perfect script.

You can sell paradigm scripts if you are a celebrity executive producer in Hollywood, but show runners won’t look at imitated scripts. If you write a paradigm script, does that make you a great writer? No. Based on my research I explored that the recent years the majority of seminars and writing classes’ topics were taught on the subject of how to write and imitate scripts and follow a certain formula. Writers were trained for writing about the world which doesn’t exist anymore.

Major Film Studios

The mistake so many writers make is that they simply write the wrong types of scripts. Today major player film studios produce 3 types of films such as: Pixar films, marvel films and Star Wars films. That’s it. One of my friends got her first writing job at Pixar but the script which she wrote was a pitch perfect authentic script. So even though they hired her because of the uniqueness of her script, but they wanted her to write a Pixar script. And you know what? As a writer you don’t break in with a Pixar script, you break in with an original script that everybody loves it and can relate to.

How some writers get hired to write for for big film studios? They either have an amazing track record of script writing or have written an authentic pitch perfect script that no one had seen before.

What Major film studios really want?

After pitching to so many Hollywood executives and film studios in L.A and London, I explored that the big 6 film studios more care about pre-awareness of your script than its uniqueness. If so why do they buy scripts based on established IP ? Because they follow a blue print to make money for example the following movies were proven to hit the box-office in 2019: How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Toy Story 4, and The Secret Life of Pets 2; genre films like John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw, and Godzilla . What the studios really buy is pre-awareness. For example studios did not buy a show like “Baywatch” because they loved it, they bought it because of the pre-awareness around it. The studios go after shows and films that have already audience because it makes their investment less risky. So the principle of what they love is “pre-awareness”. This is what I am doing for Ghostware my sci-fi fantasy movie using my unique transmedia and film marketing strategies. Your job as a screenwriter and producer should be to create pre-awareness around your show to make it commercially viable. This way you solve the problem of selling your script or movie.

You have to think outside the box. Create pre-awareness and build audience around your story.

Think like an Entrepreneur

You should think like an entrepreneur or inventor who has built a consumer brand in order to build a successful script writing career. Build an entertainment brand the way an entrepreneur builds a business brand. This is how you build it differently. Just being great at your individual craft isn’t enough unless you are an A list in your town.

Everybody is living from pay check to pay check including those Hollywood A list actors in film industry. They fear that some new and younger actors may come and take their place, so you see there are a lot of pressure and uncertainty in this market. This is why you should think outside the box. So get out there and use all the tools available and figure out how to apply them in the best possible way.

To Your Success

Maria Johnsen

Script Coverage Service

The post Blazing the Path Through the Jungles of Film and TV Scripts first appeared on Golden Way Media Films in 2026.

Avoid Writing These Cliché Moments in Your Script for Television or Film

gwmfilms — Mon, 03 Aug 2020 07:34:14 +0000

If you have watched movies, particularly Hollywood films over time you have probably noticed similar plot points in different genres. When repeated often enough, they become clichés. Such clichés become a crutch for writers who do not challenge themselves enough to come up with a new plot point or situation.

For screenwriters who are just starting out, what follows are some cliché moments in screenplays that you should recognize and avoid when writing a script for television or film.

The Single Punch Knockout

One blow to the head is enough to render anyone unconscious. It’s become more than a cliché it is a tradition in action movies. Plus, when the person wakes up, they suffer no consequences from the obvious concussion they have suffered.

Dogs Rarely Die

Particularly in disaster films, humans are killed with impunity, but the dog somehow makes it through. If a race of extraterrestrials watched Hollywood disaster films, they would conclude the dogs are virtually invulnerable.

The Double Nightmare

A character wakes up from a scary dream only to discover that they are in yet another nightmare. It happens in several different genres to show the state of the hero’s mind.

Punctual Bombs

All bombs have large, easily readable timers to let audiences know just how long before they explode.

Suspended Detective

A detective gets suspended while on the case, yet they defy orders and catch the criminal anyway. And yet somehow their punishment for defying orders is a light slap on the wrist.

Explosive Automobiles

Shoot at a vehicle or drive a car off a cliff and it will explode. Sometimes even before the car hits the ground.

Horrible Marksmen

When enemy soldiers or henchmen cannot hit the broad side of a barn. For example, most movies in the Star Wars franchise.

Finicky Ignition

The car ignition always works until it’s really needed, then it takes time to turn the engine over.

Retired Hero

The hero is often a retired cop or soldier who is seemingly too young to actually be retired.

Meet Cute

When two people meet under unusual circumstances and fall in love.

Knowledgeable Battery

The battery on a smartphone or flashlight fades out just when it is needed the most.

Walking Away from Explosions

The unfazed hero calmly walking away from an explosion, despite the deafening noise and impact.

Stay Behind, Don’t Stay Behind

When one character tells the other to stay back, they never stay back. Then they save the day while the hero chews them out for not staying back.

Silent Henchmen

Ever notice that most henchmen never say a word? That’s because the studio would have to pay them more if they did.

Wunza Movie

Buddy movies in which one is a cop and one is a crook for example. In other words, they are opposites thus the made-up word “wunza”.

These are just some of the many clichés that fill movies. By recognizing them, you can find different ways for your characters to act. This avoids lazy screenwriting and makes your work more compelling when it finally reaches the television or movie screen.

The post Avoid Writing These Cliché Moments in Your Script for Television or Film first appeared on Golden Way Media Films in 2026.

Using The Einstein Technique in Screenplay Writing

gwmfilms — Mon, 13 Jul 2020 04:14:23 +0000

It may seem strange at first that the father of modern physics can have his thinking process associated with writing screenplays. But Albert Einstein was not only brilliant in terms of what he thought such as the Theory of Relativity, but in how he thought which can be applied to many different applications that includes writing screenplays.

The creative thinking process that Albert Einstein employed was shared to a French mathematician in 1945, who had studied Einstein and was trying to better understand how his process worked. In paraphrasing Einstein’s response, his related that the thinking process was not focused on words or languages. Instead, it was centered on images of psychical entities that could be combined, reproduced, and elaborated on as the process continued.

Called the combinatory play, it takes images of the elements that are being imagined and puts them together in a logical way before the application of works or language is used. Called “The Einstein Technique”, he began this process at the age of sixteen when thinking about beams of light. As mental exercises, Einstein could see in his mind the properties along with the anomalies and inconsistencies of the beams of light all without the use of words or language.

The same process can be applied to writing screenplays. By using the creative thinking technique, you can visualize your script to bring out the settings, concepts, and characters before you write.

How the Story Works

What makes a screenplay come alive is how readers can visualize the story elements in their minds. You must do the same when writing your screenplay, so start by visualizing all the essential elements of the story before you begin.

Just like a movie, you can start by visualizing the trailer to your screenplay. A trailer consists of the basic elements of your story in short form. Once you have visualized the trailer, you can then write it down as an outline. Now, take each element of the outline one at a time and expand it visually in your mind. You can focus on any part of the story that you want but visualize it first.

Try Different Situations

In other words, do not write about the first thing that you imagine. Instead, you follow what Albert Einstein did and test out each situation by imagining it differently. Part of Einstein’s genius was that he would take days, weeks, or months to test out different theories before coming to any conclusion.

The same is true when writing a story. Visualize your characters come to a decision in a certain situation, then making another decision and see where it takes you. Keep going until you decide which decision works best for your characters while still remaining in the confines of the story in total.

For example when I wrote my epic fantasy novel ” The Battle of Hulders” which will be a feature film called “Elf and Huldra” I studied various war techniques and battle strategies for more than six months, then I imagined different battle with different scenarios and finally chose the winner one that makes more sense.

Extend the testing to the real world once you have completed your screenplay. Let others read it and see if they can spot any issues. Then, you can hone the final screenplay into its best possible shape. By employing Einstein’s creative process, you can apply it to writing screenplays or other endeavors that require creative thinking.

The post Using The Einstein Technique in Screenplay Writing first appeared on Golden Way Media Films in 2026.