Charlie, The Kid and The Cop      Best. Lesson. Ever. in Hollywood Screenwriting

If you want to write for Hollywood, I suggest you print out the picture above and hang it up where it can be seen as you work. Study it often, because this single image is the best lesson you’ll ever have in how to write for the movies. It illustrates many of the essential elements you’ll need to keep in mind as your write your Hollywood screenplay.

This faded, 90-year-old lobby card from Charlie Chaplin’s The Kid is a visual reminder of the kind of movie that producers, studios and – most importantly -- audiences are looking for.

And that’s no accident. This lobby card had a specific purpose: to bring people into the theater. Chaplin chose this particular image because it effectively answers the first three questions that are always on the mind of the audience when the lights go down on a Hollywood movie...