by Erik Bork | Nov 12, 2021
“One big problem it takes the whole movie to solve.” This is what I constantly find myself saying to writers I work with, when I describe what I’m looking for at the heart of any screenplay. Sounds simple enough. But where most scripts struggle is in...
by Erik Bork | Apr 12, 2018
Robert McKee recently blogged about the “Rise of One-Act Films,” and I found so much of interest in his article that I wanted to expand on the topic, from my perspective. He describes a one-act film as one which “accumulates pressure gradually, often...
by Erik Bork | Mar 30, 2018
There are certain fundamental qualities that stories for the screen seem to need, which all writers struggle to master. I see problems related to these qualities in virtually every idea or script — including my own! I have blogged about all of these over the...
by Erik Bork | Nov 25, 2017
The main character of a story has a problem they want to solve. The main character of a story has a goal they want to achieve. Which is it? It’s either, and it’s both. The main character has a problem and/or a goal. Sometimes people refer to it as the...
by Erik Bork | Mar 23, 2017
My favorite thing about Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat screenwriting books is his theory that successful movies tend to each fall within one of ten specific types of stories. These ten “genres” can be a hugely helpful tool for screenwriters at the all-important concept...
by Erik Bork | Mar 4, 2017
There are only so many types of situations a human being can be in, that are big and relatable enough to base a movie on. As I see it, successful scripts generally have one of 8 essential challenges or story problems for their main character, when you boil them down...
by Erik Bork | Jan 12, 2017
It’s a constant question producers, agents and executives will ask: What are the stakes? And it’s maybe the most common thing that causes a script to “not work.” If the stakes aren’t big enough, the audience won’t tend to care, or...
by Erik Bork | Oct 31, 2015
I’ve consistently found that most of the notes I have on any script I read — and certainly all of the most important ones — are notes I would have had on the basic idea behind the story, if it had been pitched to me before it was written. And so, the #1 piece of...
by Erik Bork | Jun 27, 2015
The main character in a movie generally has a big problem that it takes the whole movie to solve. And this is what a professional reader of a script is generally focused on understanding first. What is that problem? Why will it be so difficult to solve that it takes...
by Erik Bork | Jun 6, 2015
If I could sum up the number one most common overall weakness in screenplays I read, it would be that the main character does not have a big enough overall problem, and a high enough level of difficulty and complications as they try to solve it. When you get the...
