Chris Lanning

March 29, 1951: All About Eve wins big. Joseph L. Mankiewicz proved dialogue is a combat sport. Stop writing "talk" and start writing tactics. DM me for script consulting. #screenwriting #screenwriter

March 28, 1977: Paddy Chayefsky wins his 3rd solo Oscar for "Network." He wasn't into following rules, but his monologues felt like battles. Is your voice that loud? DM for consulting. #Screenwriting #screenwriter

March 27: Tarantino is born (1963), Billy Wilder passes (2002). One gave us the "New Hollywood" voice; the other perfected the Classic. Both proved dialogue is action. DM for consulting.  #Screenwriting #screenwriter

March 26 is the luckiest day for screenwriters. 1951: All About Eve. 1990: Dead Poets Society. 2000: American Beauty. The common link? Scripts that refused to be "polite." #screenwriting #screenwriter

March 26 is the luckiest day for screenwriters. 1951: All About Eve. 1990: Dead Poets Society. 2000: American Beauty. The common link? Scripts that refused to be "polite." #screenwriting #screenwriter

Mar 25, 1991: Bruce Joel Rubin wins the Oscar for Ghost. He spent months inventing the physical rules of being a ghost before writing the romance. Emotion demands structure. #screenwriter #screenwriting

The Godfather debuted today in 1972. Puzo and Coppola found a family tragedy inside a mob war, turning a pulp novel into art. I find that "a-ha" angle for your script. DM me. #screenwriting #screenwriter #thegodfather #francisfordcoppola

Born today: Akira Kurosawa. His advice? "To be a director, you must first write scripts." A script is the only part of a film that costs nothing but soul. DM me for a consult #screenwriting #screenwriter

On this day in 1998, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck won the Oscar for Good Will Hunting. Most writers forget the original draft was a thriller. Rewrite until you find the heart. One spot left for a consult next week. DM me. #screenwriting #screenwriter #goodwillhunting

The best scripts use genre as a Trojan Horse for complex ideas. #screenwriting #screenwriter

Nicholas Meyer (born today) saved Trek by writing it as a naval thriller. He proved genre is just a setting, not a rulebook. Is your script trapped in a genre box? Let's pivot. #screenwriting #screenwriter

March 21, 1956: Paddy Chayefsky wins the Oscar for Marty. He proved that a simple conversation in a Bronx kitchen carries as much weight as a war epic. Dialogue is character. ✍️ #screenwriting #screenwriter

Spike Lee was born today in 1957. He writes settings as antagonists. If your world isn't actively trying to kill your protagonist's goals, it's just a backdrop. #screenwriting #screenwriter Fix your stakes here: calendar.app.google/5LES7Wj3ceq84i…

22 years ago, Eternal Sunshine hit theaters. Kaufman’s script works because it prioritizes emotional logic over a beat sheet. Want a script that sticks? Dig deeper. #screenwriting #screenwriter

March 18, 2022: Ti West’s X hit theaters. It’s a masterclass in "The Setup." If you plant a seed in Act 1, make sure the Act 3 harvest is worth the wait. Stop writing clutter. ✍️🪓#screenwriter #screenwriting

March 17, 2017: Beauty & the Beast proved that remakes are less about copying and more about fixing. Your job is to justify the story’s existence. 🥀✍️

25 years ago, Memento hit theaters. Nolan proved that structure isn't a gimmick, it's a reflection of character. If your timeline is a mess, your character probably is too. Fix both. ✍️ #screenwriting #christophernolan

The Godfather premiered 54 yrs ago today. Lesson: Robert Towne wrote the iconic garden scene in 1 night to fix the emotional arc. Great scripts are built on these "invisible" fixes. #screenwriting

March 13, 1956: The Searchers hits theaters. Frank S. Nugent proved that a hero doesn’t need to be a "good man" to be a compelling lead. Stop polishing your protagonist’s ego. #screenwriting

Alfred Hitchcock Day reminds us: Suspense > Surprise. Give the audience the info, then make them wait for the explosion. That’s how you write a page-turner. #screenwriting