"Failure makes you stronger. Beware of success because it makes you cautious. Don't give up because,
as Chuck says in "Cast Away," "Tomorrow the sun will rise, and who knows what the tide will bring.
"
Bill Broyles
Screenwriter and Former Editor of Newsweek.
Executive Summary:
Bill Broyles joined Cyberways and Waterways to reveal his tips and advice on
screewriting, as well as his work writing award winning films such as Cast Away (2000) and Planet of the Apes (2001).
Bill has staked out a successful career in television, film, and publishing. A former editor of Newsweek and a founding editor of Texas
Monthly, Broyles created and wrote the Emmy Award winning television series "China Beach," and he also wrote a
highly-regarded Vietnam War memoir, "Brothers in Arms."
Scripts and Characters
- The character Wilson is my favorite character I've ever done. He's actually a volleyball. I did research in Mexico on the Sea of Cortez for the movie "Cast Away" and after I had learned to make fire (and believe me, it's harder even than it looks in the movie!), after I had caught
fish and made shelter I realized that physical survival wasn't the deepest challenge; it was emotional survival.
- I think historic topics can be very moving, because the audience can identify with real characters. It makes the research interesting also, because I get to talk to astronauts and mission controllers - the people who worked on the project. It was talking to one of those mission controllers, who said "Failure is not an option" and
I asked "Could you say that again please, so I can write it down?" and that line made it directly into the movie.
- A screenplay is more like a sonnet, which is three quatrains followed by a couplet. In other words, it has a set structure. Novels can be 500 words or 1000 words, but every screenplay has to be 120 pages. It has to have a beginning, a middle and an end, and it works best if it follows the tried-and-true 3-act
structure. In this regard it is more a craft than an art. I means the art has to fit within a form.
Writing Tips
- First is: read. I have met many writers who don't want to read. If you don't read, you can't write. Read the masters; they will show you the way.
I learned more about screenwriting from reading "Madame Bovary" than from watching 100 movies.
- Second is: learn something about the world. Don't study writing, study English or science or math or medicine, or psychology or business or law.
I could go on and on. Something that gives you a way of looking at the world and understanding how it works.
-
Three: Write what you know. By that I don't mean just your own life, but I mean if you're going to write
"Cast Away" go sit on a beach by yourself, and learn what it's like. That's always better than trying to make
it up.
- And the fourth is: Try to get a peer group of writers and friends who write, and share your work with
each other. The hardest thing about writing is to look at your own work objectively, without being in love with it.
Privacy Policy © Copyright 1999-2006, 4empowerment, All rights reserved.
Cyberways and Waterways is a trademark of 4empowerment and cannot be used without written authorization. There is no implied or express license to use these marks without the express written permission of 4empowerment.
