Also known as Sluglines, Scene Headings, establish the location where a scene is set, time (day or night) and whether things are happening inside (INT) or outside (EXT).
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Script Writing: From Start to Finish
Screenplays are blueprints for films, TV, plays and other visual mediums.
Before any big-budget deals are made, casting decisions solidified, and sets get built, there needs to be a screenplay in place to dictate the creative direction of any film.
To learn more about the elements of script writing, we spoke with:
How to Write a Screenplay
Scene Headings
Action lines
Action lines define what happens in a scene. They describe everything the audience is seeing on screen. They’re always written in present tense.
Dialogue
All spoken dialogue, whether in voiceover or in-scene should be written as dialogue. The name of the character speaking should appear in caps, centered on the page. The dialogue is also centered, and appears directly beneath their name.
All to say, do not underestimate the importance of a treatment!
Parenthetical
Sometimes you’ll want to make certain aspects of your characters’ dialogue be clearly distinct or very specific, and that’s when you can put a parenthetical between the character’s name and their dialogue to provide some extra direction and context on how the line is meant to be performed.
Transition
Script transitions are cues to the reader on how changes to the next scene can be executed. They can be effective communicators on the mood when a scene comes to a finish. Transitions are always capitalized and followed by a colon, with the exception of the final FADE OUT or CUT TO BLACK, which should be followed by a period.
When you’re writing, take into consideration the notion that scripts should be seen as blueprints, not novels. Your job is to tell a compelling story with engaging characters, strong conflicts and high stakes, but it’s also very important to remember to keep everything moving along at a fast clip. Just as the pace of a motion picture is important, so too is the pace of a screenplay. Always keep momentum in mind as you’re crafting and executing your story.
Summary
It all starts with the script. Screenwriting is arguably the most crucial aspect of the visual storytelling process, as it dictates not only what the images should be, but what everyone in them should be doing. Scripts are ever-evolving documents, so it’s important for screenwriters to remember to be prepared for changes as they become necessary.
FAQ
How do you start your script writing?
Scripts are begun in a number of ways, and ultimately it comes down to the personal method of the writer behind the work. But in a more general sense, the best way to begin is to have a clear idea of what your story will be (characters, plot, theme, setting), research as much as needed, and then put pen to paper (or finger to keyboard, as the case may be).
How do you write a script?
Scriptwriting requires not just knowledge of story, character, and theme, but also an understanding of the professional screenplay format (more on this in a moment). It helps to read scripts and watch movies you’ve read the scripts for (seeing how one translates into the other can be immeasurably educational).
1. Craft a logline
A logline is a one or two sentence description of a movie that hooks the reader through efficient and careful wording. The trick here is to be descriptive without being too wordhy. You want to give your reader a sense of the movie they’re in for and ideally leave them with a desire to know more about it.
2. Build a beat sheet
A beat sheet identifies a screenplay’s key characters and moments, mapping out events in the order they’ll unfold in the film.
3. Write an outline
An outline is a more detailed version of the beat sheet. Essentially the beats in this iteration will be fleshed out with details, adding weight to the characters and story.
4. Compose a treatment
Once an outline is complete, the document can be converted into a treatment. This is where all the elements that had been delineated in the outline are set in a synopsis form. Here, the story should seem less mechanical and possess its own narrative flow.
5. Write the first draft
This is the first (of many) version of the screenplay. Here, the treatment is turned into a fully formatted screenplay. First drafts (sometimes referred to as “kitchen sink drafts”) tend to run longer than subsequent drafts, as they’re meant to incorporate all the ideas that existed in the prior iterations of the story.
6. Rewrite (and then rewrite some more)
Once the draft is done and the screenwriter is able to take a bit of time away from the piece, it’s time to rewrite. Sometimes writers will give scripts to colleagues for feedback. Screenplays can go through many, many drafts before they’re ready for sale (and then even more before they’re ready for production – it’s extremely rare for a screenplay to survive the production process with no rewrites).
7. Submit
Whether that be to an Agent, manager, studio head or competition, once a script is ready to go out, a writer should have a strategy in mind for where – and to whom – they’re sending their work.
How much does the average screenplay sell for?
This answer varies, as writers can raise their rates once they’ve become established names and start generating work that brings in big money, but the WGA minimum for a screenplay with a budget of $5,000 or more is $145,469 while the WGA minimum for a screenplay of less then $5,000 is $77,4951.
How can you sell a script without an Agent?
This is challenging, but not impossible. While agent’s can act as gatekeepers and seekers of potential work, a writer can also sell their own material. The way to do this is through making your own connections and getting your script into the right hands on your own. Of course, should someone want to buy your script, it would be helpful to have an entertainment lawyer vet the purchasing contract.
What is the format for script writing?
As mentioned, screenplays follow a very specific format. Elements such as Scene headings, Action lines, Dialogue, Parenthetical, Transitions all make up a screenplay.
To break these down…
What makes a good script?
Many factors go into making a good script, and ultimately this is a relative term, but well-drawn characters, a clear and compelling story structure, strong conflicts, engaging dialogue, theme, deep emotional impact and a fast moving pace are all factors that can ultimately contribute to creating a good screenplay.
The WGA released a list of the 101 best screenplays of all time. All are worth studying for a variety of reasons. This can be found here.
Here’s an exercise to try. Refer to one of the scripts from the above list (preferably a screenplay/movie you’re familiar with and admire). Now, break down its elements and ask yourself some questions…
- What is it exactly about this screenplay that appeals to you so much?
- Is it the characters?
- If so, what about them?
- Are they strongly drawn?
- Is the dialogue snappy but real?
- Or maybe it’s the plot. What is compelling you to keep turning pages?
- How is this script making you feel as you read it?
Keep working your way down the list of what makes a good script and see how your answers play out. There’s always much to learn from the greats.
What are the five stages of script writing?
The truth is that every Script Writer will develop their own process of developing and writing a screenplay. But if you’re just starting out, it can help to have a map of how to proceed from one step to the next. The following stages can lead you from idea to completed script:
- Stage one: Create a logline. A logline is a single sentence that describes the story of your script.
- Stage two: Create an outline. An outline is a document that details the major plot points of your script and allows you to see how the arc of the story unfolds.
- Stage three: Write a treatment. A treatment is a prose retelling of your script. While a treatment can be incredibly helpful for Script Writers themselves, they are also often asked for in lieu of a script by Producers and Executives who are interested in the script’s concept.
- Stage four: Write the script. With your logline, outline, and treatment in hand, you should have a solid starting point for your script. That’s not to say it won’t be a challenge, but those supporting documents will prove invaluable during the actual screenwriting process.
- Stage five: Edit. But first, forget your script. Give yourself some time away from it. Then return to your screenplay with fresh eyes and tighten up what isn’t working. And remember, no first draft should ever be a final draft.
How much do Script Writers earn?
The salary of a Script Writer depends on multiple factors, including the nature of the material they’re being asked to write and the production company or studio asking them to write it.
For instance, a Script Writer who is hired to write a feature film – or someone who sells a feature script – will generally make more than someone who is hired for a single season of a streamed television show or web series.
The fees for a Script Writer are just one component of a production budget, but typically the bigger the budget, the bigger the fees. For this reason, a feature film backed by a major production company or studio can afford to pay more than a startup or independent Producer.
Some Script Writers may also belong to the WGA, or Writers Guild of America, a union that sets minimum rates for its members. Often being a member of the WGA means an overall higher payday.
Because Script Writers can be hired for projects big and small, it’s incredibly challenging to determine an annual salary. In some cases, a Script Writer may make nothing in a given year or earn only royalties from a prior project.
However, should they be consistently working, a Script Writer might earn anywhere between $30,000 and $110,000 in a given year.
Is it hard to write a screenplay?
It is very hard to write a screenplay. It should be hard to write a screenplay. It’s a wonderful way to make a living–telling stories all day long. It beats digging a ditch. It beats working in an emergency room and getting COVID. It’s a great job and therefore it shouldn’t be available to everybody.
It’s hard because we collectively, as a culture, have seen a lot of movies and a lot of TV shows. We’ve seen many stories play out and so our standards are very tough to beat.
By that, I mean stories that surprise us. We’ve seen just about every twist there is. We’ve seen lots of different characters and lots of different conflicts, so what’s difficult is staying within the rules of good screenwriting and yet breaking them in a way that is unexpected and perhaps paradigm-shifting.
The fact that it’s hard doesn’t mean it cannot be done. It doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try. You become a writer by writing. You don’t become a writer by thinking. You have to sit down and do it.
What I would say to a 15-year-old wanting to write a screenplay is that a goal without a plan is just a wish. Start applying your plan to your goal, and that plan should involve reading screenplays. They are very easy to get online. Or watching movies that you’ve seen two times. Watch them three more times and see what makes them work.
Ask yourself at what point of the story do you become engaged or at what point in the story do you fall out of that engagement? When do you stop caring and why? It could be that a moment sixty minutes into the movie is supposed to make you cry and it didn’t. Ask yourself why. Chances are it’s because you weren’t engaged enough on page five.
When I was first coming up, I was interning for these two TV Producers when I was still at UCLA. It was a big internship and I read every script that came through that office. And I would ask myself, “This script is working. Why? This script is not working. Why?” And you start to do that kind of analysis and you learn right where you want to be.
Writing a screenplay is a lot like golf. I guess it’s not hard to play golf–but it’s hard to play golf well. I would say the same thing for screenwriting.
You could probably get on your computer and write 90-100 pages of a screenplay. There will be characters talking and things happening but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be any good.
It’s not just about getting to the finish line. Screenwriting is a craft. Like anything else, it takes years and writing multiple screenplays to get better and to start to really understand how it works. I’m still learning. Every script, I’m learning.
Some days it feels like new worlds, beautiful dialogue, lyricism and art simply pour out of you. Other days you feel like you are a complete and utter failure and will never write a decent page again. Over the years, I’ve better come to understand those swings, but it still doesn’t make the hard days easy! But, I love to write. I love what I do desperately, so I push through for the days when the little bell rings true.
So if you are passionate about writing above all else, if you know in your gut there is simply no other path, if you are ready to put in years upon years of incredibly hard work, then dive in. For the potential rewards at the end of that long road are spellbinding.
Remember, too, that writing is a responsibility. If you are successful, your work could influence hundreds, thousands, possibly millions of people. If your screenplay is lucky enough to transform into a film–your words, characters, and messages could touch people, influence people, inspire people, make change! If you are successful…you might even create a legacy. Write wisely.
How do you write a script?
I think there’s no right way to write a screenplay. You usually want to have a sense of where you’re going. You probably should read a book or two. Save the Cat! . . . is a good resource for showing beginners how a movie is structured. It doesn’t have to be structured the way he does it, but it’s a good starting-off point to get you thinking.
Some people write their scenes out on notecards or white boards and piece it together like a puzzle before they start. Others like to outline. I like a rough outline, so I know where I’m going–but I like to leave a lot for discovery and surprise along the way. That’s the real fun part for me. Coming up with ideas and scenes that you didn’t even know were in you. Painting characters into a corner and figuring out an interesting way for them to get out of it.
I would advise against charging into the writing process for a beginner, because most of the time you’ll hit a wall and not know why you’re stuck. Then it’s harder to go back and try to untangle why you’ve gotten there.
I would also say, not to let anybody read your script until you’ve hit the end of your first draft. Once you’re done, give it to as many Writers or Teachers or industry people as you can. Everyday friends can’t give you real valuable screenwriting feedback–just because you like movies doesn’t mean you’re going to be able to quantify how a screenplay isn’t working or how to make it better. And when you get feedback, you have to let yourself be open to criticism and know that it’ll only make it better in the end. You need to be thick-skinned to be a Screenwriter and willing to kill your darlings. Writing is rewriting.
To me, you should start by reading as many screenplays as you can. Read the type of work, and the genres, you love and resonate with–and hope to stylistically write. You can Google search for screenplay PDFs, or order them online. Read books about screenwriting, such as Save the Cat by Blake Snyder, Screenplay by Syd Field, and Story by Robert McKee.
Learning about structure is essential, and will ultimately free you creatively once you learn more about how a screenplay is more formally constructed. Write spec scripts. You will probably throw out most of them later on, but that’s okay. You must work, and write, to develop your style. And that will take years. It is an ever-evolving process.
Personally, when I sit down to write a screenplay, I have gestated the idea for a long time. Before I put my fingertips to the keys, I do quite a bit of thinking, walking around in nature, listening to classical music (I have an ever-growing “writing” playlist). I work through beat sheets and outlines.
If I am writing something original, I spend hours upon hours imbuing meanings behind my character names. I have days where I feel like I’ve failed, others when I feel like I’ve succeeded. Over the years I’ve become less afraid to throw bad pages out or start all over again. Once I have a draft, I speak the dialogue aloud, feeling out how it sounds in the air–does it sound truthful, real, authentic?
That whole process can sometimes take a long time–weeks, months, years–every project is different. But once I am ready to write, it feels like a little bell going off. And then there is a settled feeling, and I personally tend to write a first draft quite quickly. After that initial draft is out, however (which is so exciting) the work has only just begun.
From there I re-write like crazy. Later, if I am lucky enough for that project to go somewhere and transform from a hundred or so black and white pages into a living, breathing film or another medium, and I begin working with the Producers, Actors, and other creatives, I re-write again.
Screenplays and stories are ever-changing, ever-evolving, and I love the collaboration that comes from that, especially getting to know the characters once they are alive and in front of me. I enjoy studying speech patterns and idiosyncrasies. And when you’re sitting in that first table read, hearing your words aloud for the very first time–it is truly surreal. All the hard work is worth it.
The first thing you need to do is decide what you want to write. You’re always going to have a lot of ideas competing for bandwidth inside your head and you have to pick the one that’s going to be the right one.
I apply a really simple litmus test. It’s the idea I wake up thinking about. If I don’t wake up thinking about an idea—if there isn’t something inside me subconsciously trying to claw its way out—I won’t do my most inspired work. So that’s the first thing.
Once you decide what it is you want to write, ask yourself, “What does that movie or TV show feel like tonally? Does it feel like an action movie? Does it feel like a drama? Does it feel like a horror?”
Once I’ve settled on a tone, then I think about other movies that have already been made in that tone. I will go out and get the soundtrack from one of those movies, play it and get myself in the emotional headspace of what that tone feels like. Then the ideas come to me.
As the ideas come to me, I’m constantly writing them down. I open a file on my computer where I start putting together a treatment. Just random ideas about scenes, characters, what the world looks like, what the theme should be. Any idea I can come up with at that moment gets thrown in there. I don’t edit myself during that process. I don’t judge myself in any way. I know some of the ideas are going to be dumb. That’s absolutely fine.
It’s just letting yourself have a certain consciousness about it at that time. Anything that sounds intriguing, just write it down. Once you’ve been doing that for a while–it takes a couple of weeks–then you step back.
Do you know how to do a sculpture of an elephant? You start with a block of granite and you chip away everything that’s not an elephant, right? All these ideas are your block of granite. You step back and say, “What’s the story in here? What’s the simple, emotional journey I’m trying to tell?” Anything that isn’t that just falls out of the treatment and now you’re left with your elephant, which is the story you’re supposed to be telling.
I never write a script without starting with a treatment first. It usually ends up being 30 or 40 pages with a bit of dialogue but it’s just scratch-track dialogue.
When I wrote the script for Captain Phillips, I was working off a treatment that was 65 pages because I had so much information I had learned about the Merchant Marine and how it worked. When I wrote The Comey Rule, the treatment was 144 pages. It was every note I had taken from every interview. It was every note I had taken from every book, the IG report, available recordings. So treatments can vary in size.
But when I start to write the script, I stay inside that same treatment. The scenes that I write cannibalize the ideas that I have in the treatment, so pretty soon the treatment stops being ideas and starts being scenes.
The reason I do that is that it takes the terror out of writing. You’re not going to start your screenplay by staring at a blank page and a blinking cursor telling you that you don’t have any talent. By the time you sit down to write the first draft, you’ve got 30 pages of treatment in front of you and it just makes you more confident.
What is a Screenwriter responsible for?
The Screenwriter is responsible for the story. That means the structure, how the whole thing hangs together, the development of characters, the event choices. The Screenwriter is responsible for thematic material, which is what are we actually trying to say.
That can be something simple like there’s no place like home in The Wizard of Oz or it can be something complicated and dark like the rich get away with murder, which is the theme of Chinatown. It can also be something unbelievably nuanced like Annie Hall where Woody Allen is writing about a woman who’s a mess and then she meets a man who turns her into someone strong enough to leave him. That’s pretty incredible. That’s all writing.
Most people think Screenwriters are responsible for only dialogue. I would say that’s about five percent of it.
A Screenwriter is responsible for the creation of worlds. From the characters you dream up, the locations you explore, the journeys you pen, and emotions you elicit. All of that translates into how you hope to make an audience member feel when your screenplay is hopefully transformed one day.
It could become a film, a television show, a short, a documentary, or another form of media in our ever-changing world. You might like writing across different mediums, or you may have a particular genre that feels like home.
That is just a bit of the creative side, for there is a definitive business side to writing as well. A Screenwriter is responsible for pitching ideas (which is sometimes nerve-racking, but part of the job, and trust me–it gets easier over time), liaising with Producers, Directors, Actors, and other creatives–upholding your unique vision while also being open to suggestions.
For a film is more than a screenplay, it is a powerful collaboration of sometimes hundreds of people over the course of many years to realize a collective vision.
Whether it’s your own idea, or you are adapting someone else’s into a movie or TV show–it’s the Screenwriter’s job to create a compelling story–and then to make sure the story tracks and the characters remain true to themselves while making the changes everybody else wants. The Director, Actors, Producers will all bring ideas to the table and you have to find a way to execute them while staying true to the story.
What makes a screenplay great?
I think what makes a screenplay great is a Writer’s unique vision coupled with the collaboration of a passionate team. A screenplay is only as good as the other people involved in the process–because unlike a novel, or a poem, a completed screenplay still isn’t in its final form. It longs to take that next step, to metamorphosize, to become a film.
Your vision and hard work at the writing stage, bolstered by great Producers who believe in what you’ve crafted, a wonderful Director to bring the script to life, brilliant Actors to embody your characters, and a dedicated crew to help execute it–that’s what makes a screenplay great, to me.
A great screenplay is lightning in a bottle. There’s definitely an extra something about it that you can tell when you read it, but can’t exactly quantify–as is the case with all art. Even great Screenwriters won’t succeed every time up to bat.
But beyond that, if you have a strong concept, great characters, and emotional themes executed well, you’ll have at least a really good screenplay. Is your movie about something interesting, compelling, emotional, or personal? Then chances are that will translate on the page.
That being said, I believe that perfect is the enemy of good, and you should not stop yourself from telling your story because you’re afraid it won’t be great. A great screenplay can be achieved in one draft or twenty. There’s no one way to get there but you won’t ever know if you don’t try.
There are a lot of things. One is the Writer having a unique voice. A screenplay that feels like only one person in the world could have written it. One thing that inexperienced Writers always forget is that there is no one in the world that has your voice. Nobody has your past, your history, your talent, your pain, your energy, your joy–that’s unique to you.
It’s like a snowflake in that way. No one can write the screenplay that you can write, including me. But I want to see that translate on the page. I don’t want to see a screenplay that anybody could have written. So that’s one of the things that I look at first.
Does the person develop characters in a way that’s interesting? Does the person pick a world that’s really specific and detailed? Do people behave in an idiosyncratic way? (Which is a very good thing.) Can they write a scene? Can they actually keep my interest for a scene?
The most important thing of all of it is, do they make me care? Screenplays are an intellectual exercise designed to elicit an emotional response. If I write a script and someone calls me and says, “This is the smartest script I’ve ever read,” I have failed 100 percent. Because I’m reaching them in their head instead of their guts. Belief and love are the ones that hit you in your guts. They’re the ones that make you feel. They make you root for something.
“God, I hope Dorothy makes it home. God, I hope Chief Brody catches the shark. God, I hope Rocky wins the fight.” That’s because you’re invested. The primary job of a Screenwriter is to make sure the audience is going to be invested. You want to do the thinking so they can just do the feeling. That’s the thing I’m looking for most.
What else should beginner Writers know about screenwriting?
I would add this. Never let anybody outwork you. Never let anybody out-hustle you. I am not more talented than the people I’m competing with, but I outwork them. I work harder at fifty-seven than I did at twenty-seven and it’s not even close–and I worked hard at twenty-seven.
I go into every meeting as if it’s an audition. Even if it’s with someone I’ve worked with for twenty years and written three scripts for, I still pretend it’s the first time they’ve ever met me. I literally do this. This is my chance to make a first impression. That first impression is “you have never worked with anyone who is going to work harder, be more open to notes, be more collegial and be more energetic.” You have to mean that.
I don’t think my first drafts are better than anyone else’s. Where I separate myself as a Writer is when we’re on the fifteenth draft, most Writers would be burned out, pissed off, and out of energy, but I treat it as if it’s the first draft. I approach it with that same level of energy. That’s why I’ve been able to get in the doors I’ve gotten into and that’s why people know they can trust me.
For inexperienced Writers–this is going to sound so much like the old man on the mountain, and I don’t mean it to–but make sure that your scripts don’t have typos. Make sure that it doesn’t have words misspelled. Make sure that it doesn’t have “is” where it should be “are.”
When I read scripts, if the person can’t get their act together enough to even proofread and spell check their script, I don’t feel like I’m in the hands of a caring storyteller. I don’t feel as if I’m in the hands of someone who sweated the details. It may not distract other people, but it really distracts me because I work really hard on that stuff.
And I know that I’m not in the hands of someone who read it five times to make sure it was ready. That script is your calling card. That’s your headshot. You’ve got to make sure it’s bulletproof before it goes out.
How can you be a good Script Writer?
Two of the most important traits that someone must have to be a good Script Writer are consistency and determinedness.
Consistency is important in that you can’t become a good Script Writer if you don’t write scripts. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. (Though no script is ever truly perfect!)
Determinedness is just as important because the world of screenwriting is a highly competitive one filled with many disappointments – even for Screenwriters considered to be highly successful. Though a Script Writer may option or sell a script, or get hired for a film or television show, they will still deal with many rejections over the course of their career.
Outside of these traits, good Script Writers are always reading other scripts to learn what makes for a great story, as well as working on their own shortcomings to become more well-rounded Screenwriters.
Sources
Ashley Avis
Ashley Avis is an award-winning American filmmaker. She recently wrote, directed, as well as edited the feature film Black Beauty for Disney+ starring Oscar winner Kate Winslet, Mackenzie Foy (Twilight), and Iain Glen (Games of Thrones). Disney debuted the movie worldwide in November 2020.
Black Beauty will mark Ashley’s fourth feature film, in addition to writing, directing, and producing hundreds of commercials and branded content to date.
Upcoming projects include writing and show running the television series Breyer Hollow for Imagine Entertainment’s Executive Producers Ron Howard, Brian Grazer, and Stephanie Sperber; as well as directing and producing the documentary Wild Beauty: Mustang Spirit of the West (2021).
Commercially Ashley is known for the elegance and storytelling of her short-form work. She has directed for clients such as Chevrolet, Mercedes-Benz, Pfizer, Footlocker, Asics, Red Bull, Coca Cola, Cali Burger, and dozens of independent brands.
In 2016, she won the Mercedes-Benz Award for her auto-fashion fusion spot “Bespoke,” and in 2019 she directed as well as edited Chevrolet’s fourteen-part “Goalkeepers” campaign featuring Olympians Mia Hamm, Hilary Knight, and Laurie Hernandez, encouraging young girls to stay in sports.
An Editor of over a decade, she cuts the majority of her own work–and is the co-founder of Winterstone Pictures, a boutique production company in Marina del Rey, California.
Ashley’s visual style has been called “timelessly romantic,” (White Lies Magazine), while Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times has said her work on Black Beauty is “beautifully uplifting… writer-director Ashley Avis and her production team have created a gorgeous, sweeping epic.”
In the fall of 2020, Ashley founded and launched The Wild Beauty Foundation–a new organization to help illuminate key issues wild and domestic horses are facing today through entertainment, youth-focused educational programs, and on the ground rescue efforts.
Ashley lives near the ocean with her husband and producing partner Edward Winters. When she isn’t working, she can be found passionately rescuing horses in need, and recently adopted two wild horses of her own.
Matt Lieberman
In a span of about 2 years, Matt Lieberman has had seven screenplays produced by major studios. These include his Black List Free Guy script due May 21, 2021 (starring Ryan Reynolds with Shawn Levy directing), Scoob! released on May 15, 2020 (starring Will Forte, Zac Efron and Mark Wahlberg), Playing with Fire (starring John Cena) released November 2019, The Addams Family (which grossed over $100 million dollars domestically in 2019) and Rumble due to release May 14, 2021 (starring Will Arnett). In addition, he wrote The Christmas Chronicles (2019’s Netflix holiday hit from his spec script starring Kurt Russell) and its sequel, released November 25, 2020 (directed by Chris Columbus).
Matt sold his spec script Meet the Machines to Lionsgate. He is currently writing The Jetsons and Rin Tin Tin for Warner Bros.
Originally from New Jersey, Matt is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, daughter and French bulldog.
Billy Ray
Billy Ray wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for Captain Phillips, for which he won the WGA award. He also wrote, directed, and executive-produced Showtime’s The Comey Rule, which had the biggest debut of any limited series in that network’s history.
Ray’s films as Writer, Co-writer, or Writer-Director include The Hunger Games, Richard Jewell, Shattered Glass, and Breach. His current feature projects include ’68: the true story of Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos, and The Silent Wife for Nicole Kidman. Ray is a member of the AMPAS Board of Governors. He believes in democracy, justice, and the Dodgers.
References
- 1Theo Friedman . "WGA Minimums — Writers Guild Pay Rates Explained". Studiobinder. published: March 2021. retrieved on: June 2023