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Category Archive: Film

Review: The Penguin Lessons (2024)

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Steve Coogan stars in this tale of how a rescued penguin helped to transform the lives of students […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Five to watch: Real-life historical figures in fictional narratives

The addition of a real-life historical figure can elevate a fictional narrative, whatever the genre. So, here, we […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmFive to WatchLists

Review: A Complete Unknown (2024)

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The early career of Bob Dylan is the subject of this impressive biopic, which departs from the traditional […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Review: September 5 (2024)

A sports broadcasting unit sent to Munich to cover the 1972 Olympic Games must pivot to live news […]

FilmReviews

Review: Saturday Night (2024)

Saturday Night takes us back to October 1975 and the 90 frenetic minutes leading up to the first […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Discover: Vietnam War Films

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Our series on key names, genres, and movements to know about in fact-based film and television moves on […]

Articles & AnalysisDiscoverFilm

Review: The Bikeriders (2023)

Jeff Nichols’ visceral crime drama benefits from some strong performances but takes us on an emotionally unsatisfying ride […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: Fact vs. Fiction – One Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)

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While its main narrative is fictional, Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 feature blends fiction with fact to entertaining and somewhat […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilm

Five to Watch: Contentious Real-Life Portrayals

To tie-in with the recent controversies surrounding The Apprentice (2024), we take a look at some other fact-based […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmFive to WatchLists

Review: Scoop (2024)

An ambitious TV news booker attempts to secure an interview for BBC’s Newsnight show with Prince Andrew to […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Five to Watch: Quirky Fact-Based Films

To mark the release of the zany Unfrosted (2024) here’s a quick run-down of a few films which […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmFive to WatchLists

Review: Unfrosted (2024)

The real-life rivalry between two leading cereal-makers in the 1960s leads to a poptastic breakfast creation in this […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Five to Watch: Fact-Based Films With Disputed Facts

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If you plan to tell a screen story inspired by real-life events, the facts of which are in […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmFive to WatchLists

Analysis: Ford v Ferrari (2019) and the Power of ‘Action’ Words

The screenplay for the James Mangold-directed racing film Ford v Ferrari (aka Le Mans ’66) is a great […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: Shirley (2024)

In 1972, Brooklyn schoolteacher turned Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm becomes the first black woman to run for president in […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Discover: Italian Neorealism

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Our series on key names, genres, and movements to know about in fact-based film and television moves on offer […]

Articles & AnalysisDiscoverFilm

Review: The Iron Claw (2023)

A “cursed” family of well-known wrestlers is the subject of this biographical drama, which, while largely impressive, suffers […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Review: Maestro (2023)

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The life and marriage of renowned composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein is the subject of this stylised “biopic”, […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Five to Watch: Fact-Based Films About Composers

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To mark the recent release of Bradley Cooper’s Maestro (2023), which focuses on the life of Leonard Bernstein, […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmFive to WatchLists

Review: Nyad (2023)

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Mother Nature is the foe in this inspiring sports biopic, in which retired open water swimmer Diana Nyad […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: Setting the Scene – First 12 Pages of The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

Who says exposition is boring and hard to weave into a script? In The Trial of the Chicago […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Researching the Fact-based Film – Part Three: Getting Organised

So far, we’ve looked at the importance of research and at identifying relevant sources. Before we get stuck […]

FilmResearchScreenplay researchScreenwriting focus

Analysis: Dramatic Conflict vs. The Facts – The Lost King (2022)

Even before its release, this fictionalised account of the real-life discovery of Richard III’s remains under a car […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilm

Analysis: Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022) & The Problem with Sports Biopics

While it’s based on compelling historical material, Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher offers a good example of […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilm

Analysis: The King’s Speech (2010) – A Few Thoughts on the Midpoint

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A clearly defined midpoint can help to propel your story through the long Act Two, raising the stakes […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: Elvis (2022)

Overblown, gimmicky, stylised – and utterly mesmerising. Baz Luhrmann harnesses the visual power of cinema to take us […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: Music Biopics – Imitate / Innovate

The recent release of Baz Luhrmann’s much anticipated Elvis (2022) offers the chance to take a closer look […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilm

Five to Watch: Fact-Based Films Featuring Richard Nixon

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In office from 1969 to 1974, US President Richard Nixon has been portrayed in various films and documentaries, […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmFive to WatchLists

Review: Benediction (2021)

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The troubled life of WWI soldier and acclaimed poet Siegfried Sassoon is the subject of Terence Davies’ affecting […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: Saving Mr. Banks (2013) and the Use of Flashback

When is the flashback more than just a flashback? When it’s the B-story! The use of structural flashback […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: Casino (1995) – Adapting the Source Material (Part Two)

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The second part of our analysis focuses on the opening to Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi’s sprawling Las […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: Casino (1995) – Adapting the Source Material (Part One)

In this analysis, we take a closer look at how Martin Scorsese and Nicholas Pileggi’s Las Vegas-set crime […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: The Duke (2020)

An unlikely art heist carried out in the name of social justice in 1960s Britain is the subject […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: Writing the Social Issues Film

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We’ve all seen films that have an agenda woven through the narrative. When done well, these ‘social issues’ […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: Serpico (1973) – Incorporating Character Weakness and Counterpoint

We’ve chosen a scene from Serpico that highlights how an alternative point-of-view and protagonist weakness can be incorporated into the […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: Milk (2008) – Notes on the Use of Voice-over

Voice-over is an often criticised screenwriting tool, but Milk highlights how it can be effectively employed to enhance a biopic […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: Hidden Figures (2016) – Notes on the Multi-Protagonist Narrative

Having more than one protagonist can be problematic, but it can also offer rich opportunities to develop several […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: Erin Brockovich (2000) & the ‘Investigative Biopic’ Narrative

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In the investigative biopic narrative, it is the protagonist and her development that drive the story… Even though […]

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Analysis: The Importance of a Strong Opening – The Report (2019)

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This dramatization of the investigation into the CIA’s post-9/11 detention and interrogation programme provides a good example of […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: At Eternity’s Gate (2018)

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The troubled final years in the life of artist Vincent van Gogh are the subject of this intimate […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: The Insider (1999) – First 10 Pages

The first 10 pages of any screenplay are important, as they set the scene, introduce the main characters […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: Dark Waters (2019)

A tenacious environmental lawyer comes up against the might of a multinational chemical firm when he investigates potential […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Review: The Most Hated Woman in America (2017)

Melissa Leo takes on the role of feisty Madelyn Murray O’Hair, founder of the controversial group American Atheists, […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: Overcoming Narrative Challenges – The Social Network (2010)

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The fictionalised account of the birth of social media platform Facebook provides an opportunity to look at how […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: The Laundromat (2019)

Meryl Streep leads a stellar cast in Steven Soderbergh’s quirky but uneven journey to the dark heart of […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: Character ‘Wants’ and Obstacles – The Damned United (2009)

The fictionalised account of Brian Clough’s turbulent and short-lived time as manager of Leeds United soccer club provides […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: The Wrong Man (1956)

Henry Fonda is wrongly accused of armed robbery in this interesting fact-based entry in the filmography of the […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviewsScreenwriting focus

Review: Judy (2019)

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Renée Zellweger turns in an Academy Award-winning performance as troubled entertainer Judy Garland, who arrived in London in […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: ‘First 30’ Narrative Breakdown – Spotlight (2015)

In this analysis, we break down the first 30 pages of Spotlight, which tells the story of how […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: The Rider (2017)

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Following a severe head injury, a horse trainer and rodeo rider struggles to comes to terms with the […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Review: The Mule (2018)

Clint Eastwood directs and takes the lead role in this tale of a fun-loving elderly man who falls […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviewsScreenwriting focus

Analysis: First Act Narrative Breakdown – Good Night, And Good Luck (2005)

In this analysis, we break down the story structure of the first act of this 1950s-set tale of […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: The Report (2019)

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Is torture permissible when national security is at stake? This was the question facing the US in the […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Review: The Irishman (2019)

Martin Scorsese takes a different approach to familiar territory with this epic tale of Mob hitman Frank Sheeran, […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: The Irishman (2019) and the Use of Technology in Fact-based Film

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There’s no doubt that technology has transformed the film industry, making the impossible possible and giving filmmakers the […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilm

Analysis: Fact vs Fiction: Quiz Show (1994)

One of the main issues of interest when discussing the fact-based film is the extent to which the […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Five to Watch: The Fact-based Films of Al Pacino

Ahead of the much-anticipated release of The Irishman (2019), in which Pacino plays Jimmy Hoffa, we’ve expanded our […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmLists

Review: Lenny (1974)

The troubled life of controversial US comedian Lenny Bruce is unravelled in Bob Fosse’s stark biopic… Director: Bob […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: Narrative Breakdown – Moneyball (2011)

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In this analysis, we break down the narrative structure of Moneyball, the Oscar-nominated story of how a baseball […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: The Old Man and the Gun (2018)

Robert Redford stars as an elderly gent who likes to rob banks in this low-key crime film based […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Five to Watch: Oscar-Nominated Sports Films Inspired by Real Life

One of the factors that lifts a sports film from good to great is that the audience doesn’t […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmFive to WatchLists

Review: The Bleeder – a.k.a. Chuck (2016)

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The pantheon of boxing movies gets a (kind of) new entry with a look at the life of […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Review: First Man (2018)

Ryan Gosling takes one small step for man as he dons the spacesuit to star in a biopic […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Review: Jersey Boys (Film) (2014)

For his 33rd film behind the camera, the legendary Clint Eastwood focuses on the seemingly unlikely world of […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Review: Love & Mercy (2014)

Love & Mercy is a different kind of music biopic, which chronicles the struggles of Beach Boy, Brian […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Review: Lee Daniels’ The Butler (2013)

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The Butler certainly feels like an important film. Based (loosely) on the life of Eugene Allen, the story […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Review: Stan & Ollie (2018)

Celebrated comedy duo Laurel and Hardy get the biopic treatment in this interesting and affectionate look at their […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: History-Scene-Screen: All the President’s Men (1976)

This series of articles takes a film based on real-life events and analyses the opening section, following the […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisCraftFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: The Post (2017)

Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks fight for the freedom of the press in Steven Spielberg’s intelligent and classy telling […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: Selma (2014)

The historical film is a tricky beast to tame. However, the filmmakers approach the story, there’ll always be […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: The Screenwriter as…Social Commentator

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The final article in the series on the screenwriter’s role explores a few issues around the idea of […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: Five Things Screenwriters Can Take Away from Green Book (2018)

Studying successful screenplays and films is a key part of learning how to write them yourself! In this […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

A real whale of a tale! Ron Howard directs and Chris Hemsworth stars in this true story that […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: The Killing Fields (1984)

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The Killing Fields is an Oscar-winning fictionalisation of the experiences of two journalists working in war-torn 1970s Cambodia… Director: Roland Joffé […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: The Screenwriter as…Journalist

The second article in our short series on the screenwriter’s role, looks at how employing journalistic skills can […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: The Big Short (2015)

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This critical and commercial hit focusses on the lead-up to the 2005 financial crisis and the Wall Street […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Review: Bridge of Spies (2015)

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It’s 1957, the height of the Cold War between the US and Soviet Union. Each side is paranoid […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: The Screenwriter as…Historian

The first article in our short series on screenwriter’s roles, looks at how the function of the ‘history film’ […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: Parkland (2013) & LBJ (2016)

With 22 November bringing the 55th anniversary of John F Kennedy’s assassination, we take a look at two […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: Reds (1981)

Reds tells of John Reed, an American journalist and radical who chronicled the 1917 Russian Revolution. Director: Warren Beatty […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: Does ‘the Truth’ Matter?

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We don’t go to the movies for a history lesson. So, why should makers of the fact-based film […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: Goodfellas (1990)

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In the nearly 30 years since its release, Goodfellas has been much parodied, discussed and downright adored. So, to accompany […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: Some Observations on the Fact-Based Films of Martin Scorsese

In this article, we take a look at some of the elements which make Martin Scorsese’s fact-based films […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilm

Review: Gangs of New York (2002)

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While Martin Scorsese’s historical epic is not strictly a fact-based film due to its original narrative, it’s a […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: The Historical Adaptation (Part 2)

In the second part of our article, we take a look at researching a screenplay based on a […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Review: The Monuments Men (2014)

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To tie in with our two-part article on the historical fact-based film, we follow George Clooney and his […]

Articles & AnalysisFilmReviews

Analysis: The Historical Adaptation (Part 1)

The first part of our article on adapting history for the screen looks at some things to think […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Discover: The Fact-Based Films of David Lynch

Alongside such cult classics as Twin Peaks, Wild at Heart and Blue Velvet, David Lynch’s filmography includes two […]

Articles & AnalysisDiscoverFilm

Analysis: Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

If you’re grappling with writing a fact-based film, a good exercise is to pick a classic film that […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: What is Authenticity?

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When adapting from any type of source material, it is accepted, and indeed required, practice to compress events, […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus

Analysis: American Sniper (2014)

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While it’s been a few years since American Sniper hit the big screen and the headlines, the film offers a […]

AnalysisArticles & AnalysisFilmScreenwriting focus
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