People & News
The Buzz
Madeline Stowe turns down $5,000,000 for her spec, two great websites, and the resurrection of monster movies.

Anatomy of a Spec Sale
Lou Berneys Tangled Up in Blue

Lost Scenes
Fatal Attraction

DVD Spotlight
The three best DVDs of 2003, plus the Indiana Jones box set.

Production Co. Spotlight
Twelve companies and what theyre looking for.

Breaking In
Group 101 Films
Trevor Sands
David Berenbaum

Book Reviews
Screenwriting books for tree people and forest people.

People
Josh Olson
John Bradford Goodman
Steve Susco
Dennis Palumbo

The Code
Can a script have too much dialogue?

Why I Write
Amy Holden Jones talks about her road from documentaries and Slumber Party Massacre to Indecent Proposal.

Coming Soon...
In America
Jim Sheridan enlisted his daughters to help him write an autobiographical film about the powers of magic and loss. By Den Shewman

The Statement
Oscar-winning screenwriter Ronald Harwood returns to themes of Nazi Germany, but with a modern thriller twist. By Steve Ryfle

The Alamo
Writer-director John Lee Hancock grew up in Texas hearing tales of the Alamo, so he was a natural choice to direct the latest film incarnation of the immortal saga. By Patricia B. Smith

The Cooler
Frank Hannah and Wayne Kramer win some and lose some with a risk-taking script about love, luck and Las Vegas. By Nancy Hendrickson

Big Fish
John Augusts broad adaptation is unafraid to tug the heartstrings and rub the funny bone in ways no Tim Burton movie has ever done before. By Steve Ryfle

Columns
The Busine$$ of Screenwriting
Why Is Your Script Special?
Some scripts stand out for all the wrong reasons. Avoid these pitfalls. by Ron Suppa
Writer Beware!
The Phony Pseudonym
The script was his, but the writers name wasnt. by David Lanning
Agents Hot Sheet
Give Me Some Sugar, Baby
How agents avoid tired selling techniques, and when packaging is appropriate. by Jim Cirile
Belly of the Beast
The Embedded Screenwriter
Sometimes you just gotta step out from behind the typewriter and get in the trenches. by Michael Lent

Our Craft
Is Plot Master Or Servant?
Is there room in a really good screenplay for a scene that doesnt advance the plot? by Jeff Newman

The Contest Beat
Are Rules Made For Breaking?
If you want to win the contest, you have to follow the rules. by Patricia B. Smith

The Final Scene
Cold Mountain by Anthony Minghella

Features
Traversing Cold Mountain
Academy Award-winning screenwriter Anthony Minghella talks about his own odyssey of adapting the Odyssey-like Civil War novel for the big screen. By Jeff Goldsmith

The Craft of Rewriting
After youve turned in your next script, the studio might hire one of these guys fix it. Scott Frank, Kenneth Lonergan, Alan Spencer and Ed Solomon tell Jeff Goldsmith exactly how they'll do it. By Jeff Goldsmith

The New B Market: In the Trenches of Direct-to-Video
In the 80s, the direct-to-video market was a morass of hastily-produced action and science fiction flicks, as well as innumerable horror sequels. The DVD boom has dragged the market back into the green, creating a Corman-esque niche where tyro scribes can earn their first credit or experienced scribes can actually get a movie made. By David Michael Wharton

Growing Up Mank
Whether youre talking Citizen Kane, All About Eve, or Superman, the name Mankiewicz has been synonymous with great filmmaking. Tom Mankiewicz recalls the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of growing up in one of Hollywoods most famous literary families. By David Konow

Mike Rich Tunes In to Radio
Ex-newscaster Mike Rich specializes in writing small, adult, sports-themed dramas about how people deal with the potential for change. Here he talks about why great actors want fewer words and the responsibility of the writer to his subjects, his work and his audience. by Den Shewman

Talented Bastards & Unchanged Men: Walon Green and The Wild Bunch
The second script that Walon Green wrote earned him a career, an Oscar nomination, and a place on the short list of screenwriters of modern-day classics. Green talks about the origins of Pike Bishops outlaws, working with Sam Peckinpah, and the violent darkness of The Wild Bunch. by Bill Baer