Taking Bollywood more seriously: the career of Salman Khan
WriteMovies Director Ian Kennedy writes: Why Bollywood should take ITSELF more seriously! The career of Salman Khan and the Bollywood tropes that hold the Indian film industry back…
Taking Bollywood more seriously: classic SHOLAY’s scriptwriting
Ian Kennedy writes: In this series of articles, I’m exploring some reasons we should take Bollywood cinema more seriously – it’s definitely not for everyone, but I for one find it a refreshing way to enjoy movies on different terms to the normal Hollywood mindset. Here, I’ll be looking at the biggest classic of the Bollywood system, SHOLAY (1975), to show why it’s got something distinctive to offer English-speaking audiences.
SHOLAY’s scriptwriting works differently to Hollywood classics and as a script analyst and producer I find that refreshing. On my editors’ suggestions, the film and its songs also found a place in several episodes of the drama series I used to write for, so I had a personal connection to it long before I saw the movie, which made it even more enjoyable to finally see it years later.
Academy Lite Relaunch – $99 per month for daily screenwriter mentoring!
That’s less than $5 a day, for a limited time only!
Are you looking to improve your creative writing or screenwriting? Our WriteMovies Academy Lite is the most convenient creative writing and screenwriting course you’ll find, with mentoring to take you to the next level, in your own time – and it costs less than $5 a day!
WriteMovies Academy Lite is loaded with creative challenges, tips, writer prompts and activities to get your creative brain working and test your understanding of you how the real industry works!
You will also receive daily feedback from an international script expert on each activity you complete. Sign up now – for $99 a month, under $5 a day – for a LIMITED TIME ONLY! All main currencies supported.
$99 screenwriter mentoring!
Mentoring from under $5 a day!
Get closer to how the real industry works.
Highly proven resources.
Free entry to our contests!
Daily creative writing activities.
Work at your own pace.
Daily creative writing prompts
Creative Challenges
- A daily prompt to fulfil a short daily routine that will keep you positive, motivated and progressing
- A 30 minute task to achieve this, which includes:
- 20 minutes spent either writing, making sketches or notes, based on a short and simple prompt
- 10 minutes of reflection and sharing from the activity you’ve done, to recognize what it has taught you about yourself and your writing, and get peer support via social media, or by submitting to us at WriteMovies.
- The momentum and stimulation to carry forward into the rest of your day – hopefully enabling you to be creative, productive, focused and successful every day through the lockdown and beyond.
Free Contest Entry
If you join the Academy Lite – you can submit a script to our contests for FREE every month – saving you $49 – half the value of the month’s Academy Lite! You can’t go wrong!
Daily Mentoring
When you submit your outcomes to us by email, we’ll send you daily feedback as well!Join our Academy Lite now for only $99 a month for a limited time… all currencies supported.
Alternatively – click here to email us at info@writemovies.com to discuss your needs and get a personalized offer!
Complete the form above to join our WriteMovies Academy Lite for only $99 a month!
Alternatively, CLICK HERE to email us at info@writemovies.com to discuss your needs and get a personalized offer!
50% OFF entry to our online film school!
50% off Hollywood Virtual Film School course!
Built from the best.
Get closer to how the real industry works.
Highly experienced presenters, proven resources.
Inventive ways to unlock your potential.
Practical focus, detailed insights, simple but powerful tools
Structured activities and mentoring to ensure YOU will stand out.
Acclaimed by users at all levels of skill or experience.
Our unique online film school will take you to new heights and place you closer to the real industry than film schools – for a fraction of the price. And for a limited time only, we are also offering a huge 50% DISCOUNT for anyone who signs up to the Academy's Phase 1, Concept & Theme Development, at $250 (under £250 - available in all currencies)!
This summer we're refreshing all of our WriteMovies services with exclusive special offers, starting with our unique Hollywood virtual film school, WriteMovies Academy. Phase 1, Concept & Theme Development, is loaded with exclusive online videos, courses, interactive activities, daily mentoring and feedback designed to constantly sharpen your understanding of screenwriting concepts, the industry and its needs from writers, and above all the quality and success of your OWN concepts and pitches for scripts that will attract producers and global audiences. Whatever your level and experience, get mentoring and powerful new approaches at your own pace - sign up today right here, using the form on the right!
Alternatively CLICK HERE to find out more about WriteMovies Academy, or email info@writemovies.com to discuss your needs and build a personalized package.
What you get, in every Phase...
Our courses enable you to work from home at your own pace, focus on the areas you need most, and generate INDUSTRY-READY concepts, materials, scripts and plans from the start!
- A reading list and watching list to complete before or during your course based on purely upon the books the industry ACTUALLY uses and refers to.
- Industry-quality insight into all the areas you’re upskilling, in a clear logical sequence.
- Creative Challenges and feedback designed to get you inspired, generating pitch-ready material, and progressing every day.
- A series of exclusive online Mini-Masterclass videos (password access) and other tools, activities, articles and materials (provided by email every week)
- Documents and resources and activities to test your understanding on real productions and make your own ideas stand out.
- Expert input and daily or weekly feedback on your work from our Hollywood writing experts.
- Opportunities to turn your learning and materials into production-ready scripts and Proofs-Of-Concept as you learn.
- Personalized focus and scheduling.
- Free Consultancy/Mentoring reports provided in the industry-standard formats we provide to WriteMovies customers, at the end of key Phases of your project, to show the current standing of your project in the marketplace and what to do next
- Free entry to any main WriteMovies contest - where the top 3 are guaranteed a year of free script development from us and pitching to industry!
- A professional-print-quality certificate you can keep to prove your achievements
- Exclusive access to all of the new Mini-Masterclass videos we share in the future!
Sign up using the form at the top right of this page.
What you get in Phase 1 - Concept And Development... click here!
Anyone can throw genre cliches together, but it’s the concept and the depth of how you explore your theme which will really mark you out and create your ‘voice’ as a writer. Whatever your skill level and experience, trust our industry experts to give you new and unique insights, tools and approaches to unlock and focus your potential. For a limited time only, this course is available HALF PRICE at $250 (under £250 - all currencies supported).
Phase 1 includes full access to all of our extensive online courses, sessions and resources exploring these topics, both now and whenever we add more in future. It also includes an extensive set of activities to extend and mentor your upon, at your own pace. These online courses include:
- Introduction to Concept and Development
- What Producers Want From Writers
- Killer Concepts – Generating Ideas for Your Scripts
- Key Aspects of Writing and Storytelling
- Killer Concepts – Choosing the Right Ideas
- Personal Identities: Creating Compelling Characters
- Genre Workshop – Comedy and Sitcom
- Genre Workshop – Action and Thriller
- Genre Workshop – Horror
This exclusive half-price offer is only available until August 8th! Upgrade your screenwriting skills this summer - sign up now using the form on the right!
Why us?
We've been selling scripts and other works to the international entertainment industry for decades and develop writers of ANY age and experience level. If you're considering film school, you don't have to leave the house or go $100k into debt! No one gives you an industry writing job because you went to a specific film school. You get one because of the quality of your writing sample. Our complete course is a fraction of the $100k cost of Film School and available from home wherever you are, in your own time! NOBODY is better qualified than our founder Dr. Alex Ross in why films succeed and fail - click here to see why.
Our Academy sessions have already received much acclaim, all of which we publish here, with an overall user rating of over 9/10 across all Phases! For example, our first 53 user feedback reports gave the quality of the Mini-Masterclass presenters a 93% rating, the presentation media and resources a 91% rating, the presentation content an 89% rating, the activities an 89% rating - and meanwhile their own confidence in the subjects covered leapt 18.5% and their confidence in their own projects leapt 17% - per Phase of the course!
Join our Academy now! Phase 1, Concept & Theme Development, is just $250 (under £250) for a limited time... all currencies supported.
Alternatively - click here to email us at info@writemovies.com to discuss your needs and get a personalized offer!
Sci-Fi and Fantasy Award – Extended to May 16th!
If you missed the deadline for the WriteMovies Sci-Fi and Fantasy Award, there’s no need to travel back in time – we’ve extended the contest for another week, giving you until May 16th to enter!
Charlie Chaplin – A Tribute
On April, 16th 1889, writer, filmmaker, actor and icon, Charlie Chaplin was born. His films have gone on to be loved and enjoyed universally, and a frontrunner in showing the power of film and what it can emotionally do to an audience.
From his first feature film, ‘The Kid’ (1921)’, where the world first lay witness to his infamous ‘Little Tramp’ character. To genre-defining films such as the romantic comedy, ‘Modern Times’ (1936)’, and political satire ‘The Great Dictator’ (1940)’, he truly helped shape cinema and comedy.
To celebrate this, we asked Shintaro Ogai, winner of our 2020 Fall Contest, with his script ‘Riding With Charlie’, why he thinks Charlie Chaplin is so loved universally.
Here is his response:
WriteMovies: “Why has Charlie Chaplin been loved by people all over the world for over a century?”
Shintaro Ogai: “Because his films address issues important to people of every era: the ideas of class consciousness and status. His character, The Little Tramp, was influenced by his own experiences of financial hardships during his childhood. Throughout time, the themes of class, wealth, and social standing play an important part in every one of our lives, and Charlie’s comedy sheds light on all of these topics.”
If you want to read more about Shintaro Ogai and his winning script ‘Riding With Charlie’, click here!
Winter 2021 Screenwriting Contest – Semi-Finalists Announced!
Another round of judging is down, and we’re getting closer and closer to deciding our winners – it’s time to announce the Winter 2021 Screenwriting Contest Semi-Finalists!