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DRAFT ZERO

DZ-18: Michael Bay - F*ing the Frame and P*ing the Page

Are there screenwriting lessons to be taken from analysing the work of Michael f-ing Bay?

Legacy Episode — Migrated from our original site. Will take time to tidy up!

⏱ 1h 7m
22 JAN 2015

Show Notes

Of course there are. How could there not be? After all, Michael Bay is the 3rd highest grossing director at the worldwide box office… of all time. Behind, y’know, Spielberg and stuff. How could a man of such credentials not know story? Or, so argues this week’s guest: the author of MICHAEL F-ING BAY: THE UNHERALDED GENIUS IN MICHAEL BAY’S FILMS… [drumroll]… the Bitter Script Reader!

For those unfamiliar with the Bitter Script Reader and his puppet avatar, he is one of the internet’s greatest free resources for emerging screenwriters. A man who shares his experiences of being a Hollywood gatekeeper for nothing because he’s “sick of reading bad scripts”.

Together, Stu, Chas and Bitter come through with their long-threatened episode to see what - if anything - screenwriters can learn from analysing the work of one of the most successful filmmakers all time, Michael Bay. We look at THE ROCK, THE ISLAND, and PAIN & GAIN, and cover writing great villains, controlling the flow of information to the audience (via car chases, of course) and creating visual decisions on the page.

So sit back and relax while Stu, Chas and the Bitter Script Reader learn how you can f@*k the page and not just the frame.

Oh, and if you have 7 seconds to spare, click here to go to our 2-question Draft Zero listener survey!

Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily.

As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes.



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