People & News
The Buzz
People making movies: LAs Alpha 60 filmmaking cooperative, Jerry Lewis, and a 14-year-olds smash hit: Purgatory House.

Anatomy of a Spec Sale
Josh Cagans double dip, two sales in two weeks: Will and Gotta Dance.

Lost Scenes
We've the got the yeyo on what film influenced Oliver Stone the most when he was writing his Scarface remake.

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

People
Angela Robinson
Ben Trebilcook


The Code
Remember when

Why I Write
Richard Linklaters films explore his own hopes and fears. And one of his fears was that he would never become a writer.

Breaking In
Marc Wolff
Benjamin Brand
Mark ORowe


Coming Soon...
Spider-Man 2
The scripts changing on a daily basis, but heres our snapshot on the pros and cons of the production draft. By Jeff Goldsmith

The Village
We called and M. Night refused to answer, so we decided to do a script review of this auteurs latest and seemingly laziest work. By Jeff Goldsmith

A Home at the End of the World
Michael Cunninghams debut foray into screenwriting is an adaptation of his acclaimed novel. The results are mixed. By Peter N. Chumo II

The Manchurian Candidate
Sick to death of remakes? Good thing Daniel Pyne respected the original and wrote a very smart and reverent adaptation. By Jeff Goldsmith

Bright Young Things
Stephen Frys film is the story of another generation on a different continent. So why does it hit so uncomfortably close to home? By Nancy Hendrickson

Alien vs. Predator
Shane Salerno hopes to deliver an action/horror film that will please the masses, as well as the die-hard Internet denizens. By David Konow

We Dont Live Here Anymore
Larry Gross walked away with the 2004 Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for a screenplay over twenty years in the making. By Jeff Goldsmith

Maria Full of Grace
Joshua Marston used his love of travel as a source of inspiration for his award-winning first film. By Jose Martinez

Columns
The Busine$$ of Screenwriting
How Not to Take A Meeting
Dont fool yourself: every meeting in the film business is a pitch meeting. by Ron Suppa
Writer Beware!
Big Dollars, Little Sense
Producers reps make big promises, but they may ask for big money first& by Steve Ryfle

Agents Hot Sheet
The Big Money (Part 2)
Theres still plenty of money to be made out there&but the hoops you have to jump through are now farther apart. by Jim Cirile

Belly of the Beast
Whats the State of Our Art?
Industry standard script format is steeped in Hollywood tradition and evolves ever so slowly. Here s the latest. by Michael Lent

Our Craft
Teach Yourself More
How do your favorite movies handle Conflict, Theme, and Exposition? by Jeff Newman

The Contest Beat
Going For Exposure
Three competitions that put their winners in front of some major Hollywood players. by Patricia B. Smith

The Final Scene
Collateral by Stuart Beattie

Features
Collateral: Stuart Beatties Character-Driven Thriller
Set inside a taxicab, Collateral is half character drama, half thriller. Stuart Beattie initially intended his story to be a small, independent film set in New York City. But that was before Michael Mann signed on to direct, and Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx were cast as the stars& By David Goldsmith

The Craft of Selling Your Spec Script
A cross-section of Hollywood has been assembled to give you great tips on how to sell your spec. Writers, Execs, VPs they all agree on one thing: you gotta have a solid story and characters over a snappy idea. So stop trying to outwit the market and check out this months Craft Of! By Jeff Goldsmith

The Cable Telefilm Market
With so many cable networks competing for your attention, original telefilms are a proven market for writers to establish themselves and carve out a niche on the airwaves. Theyre also an alternative market for screenwriters burned out by the studio creative process who want to actually see one of their films made. By David Michael Wharton

Writing for the DVD Market
DVDs have blossomed into a $3 billion a year business, but not all releases come from the big studios. Mini/micro-studios supplying the DVD market actually welcome certain kinds of unsolicited scripts. by John Strysik

The Christian Market
Thanks to the overwhelming success of Mel Gibsons The Passion of the Christ, the market for films that have Christian-based content is the biggest and fastest-growing trend since the advent of special effects. But not all Christian films are based on Bible stories. Learn the surprising ins and outs of writing for this audience. by Catherine Clinch

The Canadian Screenwriting Market
When the climate forces you to spend most of your time indoors, you can either create children or create art. Creating children is beyond the scope of this magazine; if, however, you write screenplays or teleplays in Canada, this article will give you some idea of how to start your professional career. by Ira Nayman