Reposted by David DeanLauri Donahue @lauridonahue.bsky.social · 13hwww.youtube.com/watch?v=gJs7... #screenwriting #scriptskyyoutube.comScreenwriting: It's Not Worth It.YouTube video by Screenwriter NGD 131
David Dean @cynohead.com · 25/09/2026The correct reaction to the list of best TV shows is to scan emotionlessly past any ranking you agree with, then: - "X should be higher / lower" - "The presence / absence of X renders this entire list invalid" - "Only a monster would put X above / below Y" - "No Garth Marenghi's Darkplace!?!" 020
David Dean @cynohead.com · 24/09/2026Some years ago the Iconfactory created some nice downloadable icons based on these designs: blog.iconfactory.com/2013/10/ios-...blog.iconfactory.comiOS 7 and the Iconography of ‘Alien’ • The BreakroomThe visual iconography in 1979's 'Alien' proves that simply, elegant visual approaches are about as timeless as any designer can hope for. Rob Cobb's work in the film feels right at home in iOS 7. 0299
Reposted by David DeanAdele @theartofcharts.bsky.social · 24/09/2026Migrant rights - especially the rights of asylum seekers - matter to me, because as an economic migrant myself, I know how hard it is to migrate, even when everything goes right. No Ghosts Tonight is about how much worse it can get when things go wrong. #scriptsky #screenpit. 031
Reposted by David DeanAdele @theartofcharts.bsky.social · 24/09/2026I've read VOICELESS - it's a really powerful, smart, story that stands up to rereading. 131
Reposted by David DeanJohn August @johnaugust.bsky.social · 24/09/2026This week’s Scriptnotes with Aaron Sorkin is one of my favorites. In the bonus segment, we discuss his never-made Houdini musical. 3233
Reposted by David DeanAdele @theartofcharts.bsky.social · 24/09/2026DUST ON DIRT A burger-slinging astronomy student used as prey in a sadistic hunting game in the desert escapes, and finds help from a reclusive smuggler – but when she uncovers his deal with her kidnappers, she must confront her own capacity for violence. Nicholl QF #screenpit #scriptsky #Fe #Thr 0118
Reposted by David DeanAdele @theartofcharts.bsky.social · 24/09/2026FAR AS THE CROW FLIES A guilt-plagued school-shooting survivor and an emotionally-numb goth become unlikely 'fruit-pickers for a visa' on a remote orchard — but when their predatory boss kidnaps them, they must rekindle each other’s will to live. Big Break QF #screenpit #scriptsky #fe #thr #ho 0104
Reposted by David DeanAdele @theartofcharts.bsky.social · 24/09/2026NO GHOSTS TONIGHT by Adele Smaill In a bid to get home, a young exile forces her way aboard an inflatable dinghy full of asylum seekers, who must band together to evade capture and survive a deadly Channel crossing. I wish this one wasn't topical, but it is. #Screenpit #Scriptsky #Fe #Dr #Thr 0218
David Dean @cynohead.com · 23/09/2026✨ PAGE Gold Winner ✨ – VOICELESS In 1890s Montana, a mute girl with an unsettling power escapes an abusive marriage and flees across the plains, joining a disillusioned preacher on a journey towards freedom or damnation. #ScreenPit #scriptsky #Fea #CWin #Dr #Wes #Su #Ad 0132
David Dean @cynohead.com · 23/09/2026Hammering the Like button on all the Screenpit posters that weren’t generated by AI. #scriptsky 070
David Dean @cynohead.com · 23/09/2026✨ PAGE Gold Winner ✨ – VOICELESS In 1890s Montana, a mute girl with an unsettling power escapes an abusive marriage and flees across the plains, joining a disillusioned preacher on a journey towards freedom or damnation. #ScreenPit #scriptsky #Fea #CWin #Dr #Wes #Su #Ad 0137
David Dean @cynohead.com · 14/09/2026My feature script VOICELESS... - Didn't place in AFF 2025 - Won Gold in PAGE that same year - Didn't place in Script Pipeline - Got a 5 on the Black List - Got a 7 on the Black List - Didn't advance in Sundance - Just made the 2nd round in AFF 2026 #scriptsky 5200
David Dean @cynohead.com · 11/09/2026When you receive feedback on a script, do you want to know about typos? I seem to be a human typo detector, but I feel guilty mentioning them, like, "Thanks for sharing your deeply emotional narrative. Here's thirteen typos." Useful or insultingly nitpicky? #scriptsky 1280
David Dean @cynohead.com · 11/09/2026One of my memories about the weeks following 9/11 was the collective belief among cultural commentators that movies had been forever changed, and that no longer would anyone in the West want to see large-scale violence on screen. 001
David Dean @cynohead.com · 07/09/2026I have ethical concerns about plagiarism as much as anyone, but it's clearly not going away so we have a responsibility to get a seat at the table and help guarantee clean, conscientious plagiarism that *democratizes* theft. 010
David Dean @cynohead.com · 06/09/2026Aside from the practical purpose, I also like CONTINUOUS for the reading experience. Scene headings imply a little mental reset. CONTINUOUS says, “Nope, stay in the moment.” #scriptsky 150
David Dean @cynohead.com · 01/09/2026It's AFF results time again... #scriptsky bsky.app/profile/cyno... 060
David Dean @cynohead.com · 31/08/2026Logline for "3.1415926535": "Brock 'Math' Matheson needs to beat the record for reciting Pi at the International Mathematical Symposium or his career's over. But there's a bomb in his brain that will explode if he takes too long between digits, and terrorists have taken his family." #scriptsky 010
David Dean @cynohead.com · 31/08/2026"44. Title consists entirely of a string of digits." This is why my action spec about reciting Pi to 1000 decimal places didn't sell. #scriptsky 340
David Dean @cynohead.com · 24/08/2026Another bot engaging with writers as an inroad to promoting their paid service to create / read AI-generated screenplays. #scriptsky bsky.app/profile/scri...bsky.app 120
David Dean @cynohead.com · 20/08/2026Maybe I'm weird in that I don't share early ideas for new projects. I like to get a solid version of what I'm aiming for (second draft at least) before bringing anyone else in and getting feedback. Could be I just don't have enough ideas I like to need help choosing between them... #scriptsky 2110
David Dean @cynohead.com · 15/08/2026People who generate fiction with AI will never know the exhilaration of hating everything you write and then finally scraping out a half-sentence that isn't completely terrible and taking the rest of the day off. #scriptsky 160
David Dean @cynohead.com · 14/08/2026This is making me realize that meeting people at festivals like AFF will become important just to confirm they're human. #scriptsky 040
David Dean @cynohead.com · 14/08/2026Use your own discernment, but this "person" responded a lot in the intro thread yesterday, with all their contributions being AI-flavored replies of the form "Positive Feedback + Optional Emoji + Advice Pablum + Follow-up Question". #scriptsky bsky.app/profile/huto...bsky.app 310
David Dean @cynohead.com · 14/08/2026Software engineers employ "rubberducking" (describing bugs to a rubber duck) as a way to prompt new insights and solve problems. For writing I do something similar by explaining my plot holes to a Lego Shakespeare. Hasn't helped a bit, but at least he's non-judgmental. #scriptsky 250
David Dean @cynohead.com · 09/08/2026Index cards on a corkboard. Colored sharpies on a whiteboard. These are my favorite ways to feel like a professional writer while completely failing to solve these goddamn fucking plot holes. #scriptsky 050
David Dean @cynohead.com · 07/08/2026Just checked my manly bookshelf and sure enough my copy of Crime And Punishment has up and vanished. 010
David Dean @cynohead.com · 06/08/2026PAGE Awards now promoting $250 AI-generated slop-boards. #scriptsky 250
David Dean @cynohead.com · 06/08/2026Instead of Liked By, they should let you choose, from a dropdown, the users you would have liked to have Liked your post. Then it could list their names under "Not Liked By", and perhaps they'd feel some shame. 000
David Dean @cynohead.com · 03/08/2026Needed to do a bunch of rewriting this weekend, so naturally I ignored that and read six drafts of Moneyball instead. #scriptsky 170
Reposted by David DeanTess is Surviving the Horrors @mothmother.com · 01/08/2026I started getting followed by some "film festivals" and "writing festivals" and thought "oh, these are cool!" Then I looked a little closer. They're all part of a network that preys on writers, charging us for reviews, and feeding our stuff into slop generators. So I made a list.👋🏻🖕🏻😠 421218668
David Dean @cynohead.com · 02/08/2026Apparently at the highest Scientology levels you develop the ability to tell when a film shifts from production logos to the actual movie. 000
David Dean @cynohead.com · 29/07/2026Every morning, the first order of business on social media is to find out what topic is fueling The Discourse and the Hot Takes that day, and then vow to avoid it for a couple of weeks. 000
David Dean @cynohead.com · 23/07/2026About to see a performance of Twelfth Night. I hear this guy’s good so I’m hoping I can sneakily crib some dialogue for my action spec. #scriptsky 140
David Dean @cynohead.com · 21/07/2026I’d have this draft finished but I suddenly needed to rethink and standardize the file and directory structure for all my projects. #scriptsky 020
David Dean @cynohead.com · 21/07/2026Jimothy’s about a week from being Milkshake Ducked and no-one is ready. 000
Reposted by David DeanIan McQue @ianmcque.bsky.social · 18/07/2026A new example of Meta shithousery. This is a post of mine on Instagram (left). Click the dots top right and this advisory note appears (right). I never use ai, never will. Why would they do this? Who benefits? Are they just trying to make viewers think everything is genAI so they just accept it? 601875468
David Dean @cynohead.com · 16/07/2026I wasn’t convinced by your political point, but then you expressed it through a character in an AI-generated Peanuts comic, and… 000
David Dean @cynohead.com · 15/07/2026Seeing a few familiar names on this year's list. Congrats to all. #scriptsky 080
David Dean @cynohead.com · 14/07/2026Best of luck to those waiting for the PAGE QFs tomorrow. Having not entered, I exist in a state of serene detachment. #scriptsky 010
David Dean @cynohead.com · 05/07/2026Couldn't figure out this plot problem, so I simply went for a walk, and... ...still couldn't figure out. So then I just took a shower, and wouldn't you know it...? Still couldn't figure it out. Now sulking and watching "Saw". #scriptsky 070
David Dean @cynohead.com · 25/06/2026Mike Makowsky mentioned this on Scriptnotes a little while back, but I just happened on his "Death By Lightning" script, and if you're a screenplay formatting nerd it's fascinating to see such unusually precise line lengths. An absolutely ruthless orphan massacre on every page. #scriptsky 020
