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DRAFT ZERO
§ PODCAST / PEOPLE

Stu Willis

Host

"Sometimes being obvious is the emotional truth."

— Stu Willis  |  DZ-120: Subtext is Overrated!

DZ-127

Secrets and Clues 2 - The Cost of Revelation

⏱ 1h 51m
MAY 2026
DZ-126

Secrets and Clues

⏱ 1h 28m
APR 2026
DZ-122

Escalating Antagonism Across Genres

⏱ 1h 44m
OCT 2025
DZ-121

Escalating Antagonism in SINNERS

⏱ 1h 24m
AUG 2025
DZ-120

Subtext is Overrated!

⏱ 1h 54m
AUG 2025
DZ-119

Final Character Choices & Great Endings

⏱ 1h 52m
JUN 2025
DZ-118

ADOLESCENCE -- How Questions Create Dramatic Tension

⏱ 2h 0m
MAY 2025
DZ-115

A Christmas Special - Rewatching & Rituals

⏱ 1h 56m
DEC 2024
DZ-113

Tools For Filmmakers To Talk To The Audience

⏱ 2h 3m
SEP 2024
DZ-112

Breaking the 4th wall

⏱ 1h 52m
JUL 2024
DZ-111

Unreliable Narrators and FIGHT CLUB

⏱ 55h 26m
JUL 2024
DZ-110

Voiceover

⏱ 1h 41m
MAY 2024
DZ-109

Talking DIRECTLY to your audience

⏱ 1h 20m
MAY 2024
DZ-108

The Emotional Event with Judith Weston

⏱ 1h 37m
MAR 2024
DZ-107

Establishing Tone through Character

⏱ 1h 54m
FEB 2024
DZ-106

How do you know if you have enough story?

⏱ 1h 36m
DEC 2023
DZ-105

Establishing Tone through Big Print

⏱ 2h 6m
NOV 2023
DZ-104

Characters Alone - Dramatizing the Internal

⏱ 1h 29m
NOV 2023
DZ-103

Game of the Scene 2 - Triangle of Sadness, The Favourite

⏱ 1h 42m
OCT 2023
DZ-102

Game of the Scene - Bluey, John Wick 4

⏱ 1h 23m
AUG 2023
DZ-101

Oners - Creating Immediacy & Anchoring Action on the Page

⏱ 1h 23m
JUL 2023
DZ-100

Scenes through Swords

⏱ 1h 0m
MAY 2023
DZ-99

Scene Questions

⏱ 1h 34m
MAY 2023
DZ-98

Ensembles 3 - Character Function & Theme

⏱ 2h 2m
MAR 2023
DZ-97

Ensembles 2 - Servicing Characters

⏱ 2h 22m
FEB 2023
DZ-96

Ensembles 1 - What do we mean by an ensemble?

⏱ 1h 16m
JAN 2023
DZ-95

Backmatter - Building and Maintenance

⏱ 1h 16m
DEC 2022
DZ-94

Talismans (Part 2)

⏱ 2h 7m
NOV 2022
DZ-93

Talismans (Part 1)

⏱ 1h 37m
OCT 2022
DZ-92

Insightful Recognition in Powerful Endings

⏱ 1h 26m
SEP 2022
DZ-91

Raising (different kinds of) Stakes

⏱ 2h 19m
AUG 2022
DZ-90

Setups & Payoffs in EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE

⏱ 1h 30m
JUL 2022
DZ-89

Opening Sequences

⏱ 1h 48m
MAY 2022
DZ-88

Drama in Genre clothing

⏱ 2h 6m
APR 2022
DZ-87

Keeping Genre Fresh

⏱ 2h 13m
MAR 2022
DZ-86

Backmatter - Minimum Viable Product

⏱ 1h 29m
FEB 2022
DZ-85

Choices & Decisions 2 - The Farewell & Wrath of Man

⏱ 1h 49m
NOV 2021
DZ-84

Choices & Decisions 1 - Booksmart

⏱ 1h 12m
OCT 2021
DZ-83

A Very Thematic Stand-up Special!

⏱ 2h 31m
SEP 2021
DZ-82

Dramatising Given Circumstances in WATCHMEN

⏱ 2h 6m
AUG 2021
DZ-81

Pitch Decks & Look Books - Development Tools 4

⏱ 1h 13m
JUN 2021
DZ-80

Interweaving Timelines 3 - Little Women

⏱ 2h 11m
MAY 2021
DZ-79

Interweaving Timelines 2 - The Social Network

⏱ 1h 37m
APR 2021
DZ-78

Interweaving Timelines 1 - Destroyer

⏱ 1h 42m
APR 2021
DZ-77

Backmatter - Prioritising and choosing projects

⏱ 1h 36m
FEB 2021
DZ-76

Spotlight on Sofia Coppola

⏱ 1h 54m
FEB 2021
DZ-75

Fury Road & Visual Storytelling

⏱ 1h 9m
DEC 2020
DZ-74

Midsommar & Folk Horror

⏱ 2h 1m
DEC 2020
DZ-73

Selling documents - Development Tools 3

⏱ 39m
OCT 2020
DZ-72

Theme & The Story Synopsis - Development Tools 2

⏱ 1h 0m
SEP 2020
DZ-71

Treatments & Loglines - Development Tools 1

⏱ 1h 26m
SEP 2020
DZ-70

Joker & Melodrama

⏱ 1h 36m
JUL 2020
DZ-69

PARASITE & Audience Questions

⏱ 1h 22m
JUN 2020
DZ-68

Using POV to structure KNIVES OUT

⏱ 1h 32m
MAY 2020
DZ-67

Writing Passive Protagonists & Melodrama

⏱ 2h 58m
APR 2020
DZ-66

The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker - Audience Knowledge vs Character Motivation

⏱ 1h 45m
MAR 2020
DZ-65

Collaborating with a Director - The Snip

⏱ 1h 3m
FEB 2020
DZ-64

Backmatter - Controlling your Work, Treatments, and Writing Styles

⏱ 1h 42m
JAN 2020
DZ-63

Tools for Better Dialogue 2 - Hook and Eye

⏱ 1h 58m
DEC 2019
DZ-62

Unfilmables 3 - As Ifs & Emotional Context

⏱ 2h 17m
DEC 2019
DZ-61

Unfilmables 2 - Moments of Awe

⏱ 2h 5m
SEP 2019
DZ-60

Unfilmables 1 - Engaging imagination

⏱ 2h 25m
AUG 2019
DZ-59

Avengers Endgame - Ending Character Journeys

⏱ 1h 14m
JUL 2019
DZ-58

Game of Thrones - Character Exposition

⏱ 1h 47m
MAY 2019
DZ-57

Backmatter - Aesthetics and Forgiveness in Writing

⏱ 1h 29m
MAY 2019
DZ-56

Character Motivations 2

⏱ 2h 16m
MAR 2019
DZ-55

Character Motivations 1

⏱ 2h 18m
JAN 2019
DZ-54

Thematic Sequences

⏱ 2h 49m
OCT 2018
DZ-53

Antagonists! 5 - vs Audience

⏱ 2h 26m
AUG 2018
DZ-52

Antagonists! 4 - vs Systems

⏱ 2h 16m
JUN 2018
DZ-51

Antagonists! 3 - vs Nature

⏱ 1h 52m
MAY 2018
DZ-50

Antagonists! 2 - vs Self

⏱ 1h 47m
APR 2018
DZ-49

Antagonists! 1 - vs Humans

⏱ 1h 20m
MAR 2018
DZ-48

One-Shot - Blade Runner 2049 - Agency vs Choice

⏱ 1h 53m
FEB 2018
DZ-47

Backmatter - A Lost Jedi, White Knighting, and Writers-On-Set

⏱ 2h 21m
JAN 2018
DZ-46

Structure & Point of View

⏱ 2h 25m
DEC 2017
DZ-45

Arguments of the Scene

⏱ 2h 21m
OCT 2017
DZ-44

Marvel - First Acts and Establishing Characters

⏱ 2h 7m
SEP 2017
DZ-43

Driving Sequences - Character and Plot Intensity

⏱ 3h 16m
JUL 2017
DZ-42

One-Shot - Character Worldview & Macro POV in SPLT

⏱ 1h 52m
APR 2017
DZ-41

Theme and Worldview

⏱ 2h 32m
MAR 2017
DZ-40

Tactics and Scenes

⏱ 2h 15m
FEB 2017
DZ-39

Backmatter - Hitting LA, Receiving Feedback, and a Roguish One

⏱ 1h 29m
JAN 2017
DZ-38

Excelling at Exposition (Part 2)

⏱ 1h 52m
DEC 2016
DZ-37

Excelling at Exposition (Part 1)

⏱ 1h 46m
NOV 2016
DZ-36

Backmatter - Time Risk and Fixing Movies

⏱ 1h 7m
OCT 2016
DZ-35

Driving Characters or Character Driven?

⏱ 1h 20m
OCT 2016
DZ-34

Game of Choices - Decision Making and Character Implications

⏱ 1h 26m
AUG 2016
DZ-33

Protagonist vs Hero - Dawn of Character Function

⏱ 1h 58m
JUL 2016
DZ-32

High-Tension Sequences

⏱ 2h 23m
JUN 2016
DZ-31

Tools for Better Dialogue 1

⏱ 2h 5m
APR 2016
DZ-30

Oscars revisited - Spotlight and Carol

⏱ 1h 43m
FEB 2016
DZ-29

Showdowns & Scene Structure

⏱ 1h 41m
JAN 2016
DZ-28

Containing Your Script

⏱ 1h 55m
DEC 2015
DZ-27

Competing views on Screenplay Competitions

⏱ 1h 42m
NOV 2015
DZ-26

Horror and Collaboration- Wolf Creek 2

⏱ 1h 48m
OCT 2015
DZ-25

Coincidences, Contrivances & Giant Eagles

⏱ 1h 40m
SEP 2015
DZ-24

Forging story rules in TV pilots

⏱ 2h 5m
AUG 2015
DZ-23

LIVE - Starting A Career In Film And Television

⏱ 1h 45m
JUL 2015
DZ-22

Romantic Comedy, Actually

⏱ 1h 40m
JUN 2015
DZ-21

Scene Transitions and the Hook

⏱ 1h 40m
MAY 2015
DZ-20

Writing Strong Secondary Characters - Trinity, Bechdel and a Bamboo Killer

⏱ 1h 18m
APR 2015
DZ-19

Car-Crash Characters

⏱ 1h 59m
MAR 2015
DZ-18

Michael Bay - F*ing the Frame and P*ing the Page

⏱ 1h 7m
JAN 2015
DZ-17

Where's my gold-plated ensuite?

⏱ 1h 14m
JAN 2015
DZ-16

Masters of Time and Whitespace

⏱ 1h 49m
DEC 2014
DZ-15

World Building Rules, Okay?

⏱ 2h 0m
NOV 2014
DZ-14

Writing For Actors with Succession's Sarah Snook

⏱ 1h 16m
OCT 2014
DZ-13

True That - Tips from Tarantino

⏱ 1h 25m
OCT 2014
DZ-11

Adventure for the MacGuffin!

⏱ 1h 49m
JUL 2014
DZ-10

Midpoint Reversals and The Ride

⏱ 1h 19m
JUL 2014
DZ-9

Characterising Introductions

⏱ 1h 22m
JUN 2014
DZ-8

Status Transactions

⏱ 1h 32m
JUN 2014
DZ-7

On Rewriting - How much Bull is left in the Hustle?

⏱ 55m
MAY 2014
DZ-6

Key Scenes and Unlocking the Story

⏱ 1h 18m
MAY 2014
DZ-5

Shifting audience point of view and heightened emotions

⏱ 1h 29m
APR 2014
DZ-4

Catharsis and the Post-Coital Cigarette

⏱ 1h 25m
APR 2014
DZ-3

Making Unlikeable Protagonists Compelling

⏱ 1h 20m
MAR 2014
DZ-2

Do the Screenplay Gurus score big at the Box Office?

⏱ 1h 33m
MAR 2014
DZ-1

Do Screenplay Gurus win you Oscars?

⏱ 1h 40m
MAR 2014
DZ-0

Welcome to Draft Zero

⏱ 9m
FEB 2014

"This is all experienced with the audience and character’s point of view absolutely aligned."

— Stu Willis  |  DZ-119: Final Character Choices & Great Endings