Years ago, my screenwriting group and I wrote a comedy show for Turkish TV. It had a rich premise with amazing potential. We felt confident that it was going to be a big success.
We were interviewing one of the most talented comedians in the country. Or rather, he was…
Japanese movies make me scratch my head. They are always beautiful, so I can’t dismiss them by saying “weird!” but sometimes I find them hard to follow and connect with. Like art-house films, they speak to a certain type of intelligence or taste, which doesn’t always include me. …
I wrote a scene for our TV show, and it was lovely. I built it on a brilliant idea. It ran smoothly and had perfect pacing. And it ended with a genius, heartfelt dialog. I felt so proud for coming up with that final touch! …
Resisting “the formula” might be hurting your story. When I began screenwriting, I hated the three-act structure, believing it was a formula that would stifle my creativity. It turned out structure was one of the most basic requirements of creativity. It gives ideas room so they can bloom! …
I wanted to throw the book to the wall, but it wasn’t mine. And my job was to read it and write a summary to share with my screenwriting group. So all I could do was to take a deep breath and turn the page.
The book was Syd Field’s…
A European friend once said, “all Turkish girls lie to their parents.”
It was a shock. At first, I said I didn’t do it. My parents were not like the rest of the Turkish parents; they weren’t overly strict or controlling. I had no reason to lie to them.
But…
“You should start planning how you will get me a fancy new car,” my future self says, “and a good-looking driver, too.”
The old bitch is deluded. She gets more and more entitled every day. She gets angry with the idea of taking the bus like the rest of us…
There are two kinds of plotting troubles: sometimes we don’t pay attention to the ending and we can’t decide how to finish a story. Sometimes it is the opposite. We know the ending before we even begin, but don’t know how to get to that point.
I fell in love with Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) at the sixth minute. And it was a miracle because I was still confused trying to figure out who Miles Morales was. And why I was watching him and not Peter Parker, the “one and only Spider-Man.” (Spoilers ahead!)
I…
In 1987, Jennifer Grey starred with Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing, one of the most popular teen romance films of all time. The movie grossed over 200 millions and defined being a teen in the 1980s.
Jennifer had the time of her life. Her fame crossed the oceans; her posters…
