Do you have an idea that you think would make a great movie, TV show or webisode, but have no idea how to write a screenplay? It is not uncommon for people to have a screenplay idea, but have no clue where to start.
Like many other skills in life, learning to write a solid screenplay takes a good amount of research, practice and repetition. The following are some things that you can do to help yourself learn:
· Read screenplays
· Understand the format of a screenplay
· Watch television shows and movies
· Study some of the most successful screenplay writers
· Come up with an idea for a screenplay
· Develop screenplay ideas through outlines and storyboards
While Neil Simon is generally recognized more as a playwright, he also has a prolific list of screenplays and television scripts to his name, as well as several credits as a producer. Simon has written over thirty plays and has nearly the same number of film screenplays. He has received more Oscar and Tony nominations than any other writer, and has been active in the entertainment industry from 1950.
Neil Simon was born in the Bronx, New York in 1927 and grew up in Manhattan during the Great Depression. He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School when he was sixteen, and went on to join the Army Air Force Reserve at New York University. He began writing as a sports editor and attended the University of Denver while stationed at Lowry Air Force Base from 1945 to 1946. He briefly worked as a mailroom clerk in the Warner Brothers offices in Manhattan, a job he would leave to work with his brother Danny Simon in writing radio and television scripts. He helped write for the radio series the Robert Q. Lewis Show, which led to other writing jobs. Eventually they were hired by Sid Caesar to work on the popular comedy television series Your Show of Shows, for which Simon earned two Emmy Award nominations.
Simon’s first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, debuted in 1961. It went on to run for 678 performances and marked a turning point in his career. Simon would go on to write eight more plays by 1970, and frequently had two or more plays running at the same time. During 1966, in fact, Simon had four shows running in Broadway theatres at the same time: Sweet Charity, The Star-Spangled Girl, The Odd Couple, and Barefoot in the Park. Beginning in the late 1960s and early 70s, Simon began writing screenplays, initially as adaptations of his Broadway productions, but later working on original screenplays as well, including 1976’s Murder by Death and 1983’s Max Dugan Returns. Simon has also continued to work in television, writing adaptations for the TV version of The Odd Couple and multiple television movies, as well as individual episodes of other shows.
Neil Simon’s characters are typically likeable and easy for the audience to identify with; a trademark of his work has always been the incorporation of autobiographical and personal elements into his stories. The majority of Simon’s plays and screenplays are set in New York; within that urban setting, Simon has explored themes ranging from marital conflict, sibling rivalry, infidelity, bereavement, and fear of aging. The humor of Simon’s works typically lies in the ordinary, imperfect and unheroic characters he portrays. As one critic has noted, “Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities.” Another of Simon’s strengths is his flair in dialogue for rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks, with a form that presents serious topics in such a way that audiences can laugh at them.
Most of Simon’s work has received somewhat mixed reviews, with critics admiring his comedy skills but with other critics pointing out flaws in his dramatic structure, stating that he relies too heavily on gags and one-liners. However, beginning in 1991, when Simon won the Pulitzer Prize for drama with Lost in Yonkers, that critics began to regard Simon’s work in a more uniformly positive light. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Simon has been nominated for several Academy Awards, and has won several Golden Globe Awards for best screenplay, as well as winning Emmy Awards, and being nominated by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for various screenplays. He has earned two Honorary Doctorate degrees, one from Hofstra University and another from Williams College. He also has a Broadway theatre named for him, and is an honorary member of the board of trustees.
New Show Studios is a company designed specifically for everyday people with ideas for screens big and small (TV shows, movies, webisodes). The company has all the resources under one roof to develop your screenplay idea into a concept package and present it to an entertainment company through its exclusive licensing agent, SFM Entertainment. SFM Entertainment has over 40 years of experience in the entertainment industry.
Don’t be the person kicking yourself because you sat on your idea only to see it in theaters or on television one day, because someone else had a similar idea. New Show Studios can help you take action and pursue your screenplay idea.
Remember that even with the best presentation materials new entertainment development is high risk and there is very little likelihood that your idea will be successfully licensed or result in profit to you.
Like many other skills in life, learning to write a solid screenplay takes a good amount of research, practice and repetition. The following are some things that you can do to help yourself learn:
· Read screenplays
· Understand the format of a screenplay
· Watch television shows and movies
· Study some of the most successful screenplay writers
· Come up with an idea for a screenplay
· Develop screenplay ideas through outlines and storyboards
While Neil Simon is generally recognized more as a playwright, he also has a prolific list of screenplays and television scripts to his name, as well as several credits as a producer. Simon has written over thirty plays and has nearly the same number of film screenplays. He has received more Oscar and Tony nominations than any other writer, and has been active in the entertainment industry from 1950.
Neil Simon was born in the Bronx, New York in 1927 and grew up in Manhattan during the Great Depression. He graduated from DeWitt Clinton High School when he was sixteen, and went on to join the Army Air Force Reserve at New York University. He began writing as a sports editor and attended the University of Denver while stationed at Lowry Air Force Base from 1945 to 1946. He briefly worked as a mailroom clerk in the Warner Brothers offices in Manhattan, a job he would leave to work with his brother Danny Simon in writing radio and television scripts. He helped write for the radio series the Robert Q. Lewis Show, which led to other writing jobs. Eventually they were hired by Sid Caesar to work on the popular comedy television series Your Show of Shows, for which Simon earned two Emmy Award nominations.
Simon’s first Broadway play, Come Blow Your Horn, debuted in 1961. It went on to run for 678 performances and marked a turning point in his career. Simon would go on to write eight more plays by 1970, and frequently had two or more plays running at the same time. During 1966, in fact, Simon had four shows running in Broadway theatres at the same time: Sweet Charity, The Star-Spangled Girl, The Odd Couple, and Barefoot in the Park. Beginning in the late 1960s and early 70s, Simon began writing screenplays, initially as adaptations of his Broadway productions, but later working on original screenplays as well, including 1976’s Murder by Death and 1983’s Max Dugan Returns. Simon has also continued to work in television, writing adaptations for the TV version of The Odd Couple and multiple television movies, as well as individual episodes of other shows.
Neil Simon’s characters are typically likeable and easy for the audience to identify with; a trademark of his work has always been the incorporation of autobiographical and personal elements into his stories. The majority of Simon’s plays and screenplays are set in New York; within that urban setting, Simon has explored themes ranging from marital conflict, sibling rivalry, infidelity, bereavement, and fear of aging. The humor of Simon’s works typically lies in the ordinary, imperfect and unheroic characters he portrays. As one critic has noted, “Simon is simply interested in showing human beings as they are—with their foibles, eccentricities, and absurdities.” Another of Simon’s strengths is his flair in dialogue for rapid-fire jokes and wisecracks, with a form that presents serious topics in such a way that audiences can laugh at them.
Most of Simon’s work has received somewhat mixed reviews, with critics admiring his comedy skills but with other critics pointing out flaws in his dramatic structure, stating that he relies too heavily on gags and one-liners. However, beginning in 1991, when Simon won the Pulitzer Prize for drama with Lost in Yonkers, that critics began to regard Simon’s work in a more uniformly positive light. In addition to the Pulitzer Prize, Simon has been nominated for several Academy Awards, and has won several Golden Globe Awards for best screenplay, as well as winning Emmy Awards, and being nominated by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts for various screenplays. He has earned two Honorary Doctorate degrees, one from Hofstra University and another from Williams College. He also has a Broadway theatre named for him, and is an honorary member of the board of trustees.
New Show Studios is a company designed specifically for everyday people with ideas for screens big and small (TV shows, movies, webisodes). The company has all the resources under one roof to develop your screenplay idea into a concept package and present it to an entertainment company through its exclusive licensing agent, SFM Entertainment. SFM Entertainment has over 40 years of experience in the entertainment industry.
Don’t be the person kicking yourself because you sat on your idea only to see it in theaters or on television one day, because someone else had a similar idea. New Show Studios can help you take action and pursue your screenplay idea.
Remember that even with the best presentation materials new entertainment development is high risk and there is very little likelihood that your idea will be successfully licensed or result in profit to you.
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