Draft Zero: a screenwriting podcast

Listen to learn the emotional impact of revealing secrets vs discovering them. In this episode Stu, Chas and Mel apply the Landmark–Hidden–Secret framework (from DZ-126) across two very different genres: the thriller SIDE EFFECTS (2013) and the tragicomic pilot of SHRINKING. SIDE EFFECTS is a film of two genres. The first half plays as a drama about depression and over-medication; the second half is a 90s thriller. We talk about how every time Dr Jonathan Banks uncovers a new piece of information, it puts him in danger — and that danger motivates him to uncover more. In SHRINKING, we see a different use of the framework. "What are psychologists but detectives of the mind?" Rather than the cost of finding secrets, it's about the cost of sharing them. Chas also comes out of this with a paradigm he's been building toward (but we're keeping what that is secret until you listen!) And inevitably we go on some tangents: whether SIDE EFFECTS should even have been an erotic thriller! As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. LIKE THIS EPISODE? Discuss with our Patrons on Patreon. Join the discussion on Reddit. Watch and comment on YouTube. Send us feedback. Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily. → Read the transcript for this episode. ——— "Every time Dr Jonathan Banks uncovers a new piece of information, it puts him in danger -- and that danger motivates him to uncover more." — Chas Fisher @ 00:26:04 ——— CHAPTERS 00:00:00 – Cold Open 00:00:16 – Intro: Secrets and Clues 2 - the Cost of Revelation 00:01:03 – Previously on Secrets and Clues (Recap of Part 1) 00:04:24 – Flashforward Insights 00:09:29 – SIDE EFFECTS 00:20:18 – › The First Half: Push and Misdirection 00:28:41 – › Genre Shift: Banks Becomes the Detective 00:48:06 – SHRINKING 01:00:02 – › The Inverted Paradigm: When Everyone Knows 01:07:47 – › The Cost of Sharing 01:22:02 – › Power Through Honest Acknowledgement 01:35:37 – The Key Tool Chas Learned 01:39:28 – Key Learnings & Wrap Up 01:50:48 – Many Thanks to our Patrons! FILMS SIDE EFFECTS (2013) — (w) Scott Z Burns (d) Steven Soderbergh SHOWS SHRINKING 1x1 "Coin Flip" — James Ponsoldt (d), Brett Goldstein, Jason Segel, Bill Lawrence (w) SCRIPTS Study the script: SIDE EFFECTS (2013) — Scott Z Burns LINKS Website: DIY & dragons: Landmark, Hidden, Secret Website: The Alexandrian » Advanced Node-Based Design Website: Ascii Dreams: The Quest for Quests Website: Ascii Dreams: The Quest for Quests EPISODES IN THE SECRETS AND CLUES SERIES DZ-126: Secrets and Clues DZ-127: Secrets and Clues 2 - The Cost of Revelation RELATED EPISODES DZ-90: Setups & Payoffs in EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE ——— More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser. We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2026/dz-127/ Download episode: DZ-127.mp3

Listen if you want to understand how hidden information drives character motivation and plot structure! “Getting information puts your character in danger. And danger rewards your character with information." — One of three ideas we steal from game design in this episode. In this two part series, we talk about how secrets, clues and hidden information motivate characters and may (or may not) help you plot from a character perspective. Part One (this episode) looks at WAKE UP DEAD MAN; while Part Two looks at SIDE EFFECTS, and the pilot episode of SHRINKING. The other two (related) ideas are: Landmark information (characters just have it), Secret (they know it's there, need to unlock it), and Hidden (invisible until they pay the cost) Narrative velocity — are characters pushed forward or are they pulled forward? To that end, in this episode Stu, Chas and Mel start with the murder mystery (ostensibly the easier deep-dive): Rian Johnson’s WAKE UP DEAD MAN. But this is a complex film made even more complex by being a dual-protagonist film. Uhuh. Benoit Blanc is pulled through the story by his need to solve the case; Father Judd pushed through, against his will, to prove his innocence. Breaking down how that plays out — and why it matters for the kind of escalation each character can sustain — is the heart of the episode. And inevitably we go on some tangents: pointers, plants, and underpinnings (from our Everything Everywhere All At Once episode) fair play in locked-room mysteries, Narrative POV (as always) and node-based plotting and what dungeon-crawl game design has to do with writing a web of clues. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. LIKE THIS EPISODE? Discuss with our Patrons on Patreon. Join the discussion on Reddit. Watch and comment on YouTube. Send us feedback. Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily. → Read the transcript for this episode. ——— "Information puts players in danger and danger rewards characters with information, right? That's kind of the loop with like thriller game design." — Stu Willis @ 00:05:40 ——— CHAPTERS 00:00:00 – Cold Open 00:00:18 – What do we mean by Secrets and Clues? 00:04:17 – › Landmark, hidden, and secret information defined 00:08:10 – › Narrative velocity as push and pull for characters 00:13:22 – WAKE UP DEAD MAN 00:17:56 – › Key learnings preview: push-pull and narrative velocity 00:32:33 – › Mapping character awareness of secrets through WAKE UP DEAD MAN 00:58:21 – › Distinguishing secrets, clues, and hidden information 01:13:17 – › Benoit Blanc's character arc and the choice of grace 01:22:50 – KEY LEARNINGS & WRAP UP 01:24:22 – › Character drives how secrets are hidden and revealed 01:25:34 – › Narrative velocity and escalating stakes reveal character FILMS WAKE UP DEAD MAN (2025) — (w) Rian Johnson SCRIPTS Study the script: WAKE UP DEAD MAN (2025) — Rian Johnson LINKS Read: DIY & dragons: Landmark, Hidden, Secret Read: The Alexandrian » Advanced Node-Based Design Read: Ascii Dreams: The Quest for Quests (Part 1) Read: Ascii Dreams: The Quest for Quests (Part 2) Read: Mel's KNIVES OUT: A Rose by Any Other Name Would Not Clue Us In EPISODES IN THE SECRETS AND CLUES SERIES DZ-126: Secrets and Clues DZ-127: Secrets and Clues 2 - The Cost of Revelation RELATED EPISODES DZ-90: Setups & Payoffs in EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE ——— More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser. We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2026/dz-126/

Listen if you want to understand how narrative POV, screenplay format, and dialogue craft can elevate a contained biopic into an Oscar-nominated film BLUE MOON is a talky, period-drama that film about an obscure songer-writer in the 1940s. Yet, it attracted world-class talent AND Academy Award nominations, including for it's script. Join Chas & Mel as they explore how narrative POV, interweaving relationships, hooky dialogue, and even the screenplay format itself make the script for BLUE MOON so great. While Stu is still on show and we are between the 2026 Oscar nominations and the actual ceremony, our patreons selected BLUE MOON for this one-shot and boy are Mel and Chas glad they did. They dive into many lessons learned in previous episodes, like our character-driven episode… or analysis of French scenes in Adolescence… or the story-telling power that comes from the audience knowing the ending from biopics. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. LIKE THIS EPISODE? Discuss with our Patrons on Patreon. Watch and comment on YouTube. Send us feedback. Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily. → Read the transcript for this episode. ——— "When I say rules, I mean the prescriptive rules of when someone posts something on screenwriting and everyone goes *Oh, you broke all the rules*. I'm saying this is good. I'm saying most of those rules are suggestions or most of those rules are given to you when you are learning how to write for a reason." — Mel Killingsworth @ 00:38:42 ——— CHAPTERS 00:00:00 – Cold Open 00:00:32 – What Makes a Contained Biopic Compelling? 00:02:19 – Flashforward Insights: POV, French scenes, dialogue craft, and structure 00:04:32 – BLUE MOON: Plot Summary and Structural Overview 00:08:00 – › How script format signals emotional breaks in a real-time story 00:13:34 – Controlling narrative POV 00:17:13 – › Tragedy versus the life he would have chosen 00:24:09 – › Narrative POV as the film's core structural tool 00:27:49 – Using screenplay FORMAT to reflect the emotional story 00:31:56 – › French scenes and real-time spatial staging 00:35:40 – › How rule-breaking formatting signals emotional truth 00:39:27 – Interweaving relationships: Hart's Relationships as the A, B and C Stories 00:44:50 – › Hart and Rogers: the collision of artistic integrity and commercial success 00:49:14 – › Hart and Elizabeth: desire, repetition, and the just-not-that-way callback 00:53:08 – › The bar regulars as audience surrogates and mirror to Hart's self-awareness 00:56:46 – Repetition and pop culture references in dialogue 00:59:48 – › Repetition as lyrical structure in dialogue craft 01:03:49 – › Tonal variety and mixing registers in witty scripts 01:07:54 – Key Learnings 01:09:48 – › The hidden craft beneath real-time, single-location scripts 01:13:42 – › How cultural touchstones establish stakes without exposition 01:16:02 – Thanks patreons and Oscar-nominated listener! FILMS BLUE MOON (2026) — (w) Robert Kaplow (d) Richard Linklater LINKS Read: BLUE MOON - Scene Headings Breakdown RELATED EPISODES DZ-01: Do Screenplay Gurus win you Oscars? DZ-68: Using POV to structure KNIVES OUT DZ-118: ADOLESCENCE -- How Questions Create Dramatic Tension DZ-90: Setups & Payoffs in EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE DZ-35: Driving Characters or Character Driven? DZ-63: Tools for Better Dialogue 2 - Hook and Eye ——— More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser. We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2026/dz-125/

Listen if you need audiences to root for characters who do terrible things Mel and Chas continue to explore what Noir (the genre) can teach writers of all other genres. In particular: How to keep the audience on side of characters doing reprehensible things; How to control your audience understanding of those reprehensible actions; and Distinguishing between characters undergoing transformative arcs against discovering their true natures In finding the common craft tools of Noir over 100 years, this Part 2 looks at two modern noirs – DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995) and WOMAN OF THE HOUR (2024) – after Part 1 looked at the classic DOUBLE INDEMNITY and THE LONG GOODBYE. Despite Chas claiming to have edited this episode it was, in fact, Chris Walker who saved the day and got this done. Thanks Chris. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. LIKE THIS EPISODE? Watch and comment on YouTube. Send us feedback. Thanks to our Patrons, especially Khrob, Theis, Sandra, Jesse, Randy, Paulo, Thomas, Jennifer, Malay, Alexandre and Lily. → Read the transcript for this episode. ——— "I think these films have got really strong control over the questions and that's how they get us to follow, compelling us to follow characters who are doing terrible things." — Chas Fisher @ 01:06:08 ——— CHAPTERS 00:00:00 – Using noir as a lens 00:01:56 – DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS 00:07:06 – › Period setting, race, and noir's embedded worldview 00:10:30 – › Voiceover as access to morally compromised decisions 00:22:02 – › How the film justifies rooting for Easy's transgressions 00:29:09 – › Character worldview versus film worldview in noir 00:31:33 – WOMAN OF THE HOUR 00:37:15 – › Why WOMAN OF THE HOUR qualifies as noir 00:43:25 – › The system as collective villain enabling the killer 00:53:12 – › Depiction without endorsement, empathy without sympathy 01:04:30 – Key Learnings 01:08:50 – Thank you Patreons! FILMS DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS (1995) — (w) Carl Franklin, Walter Mosley (d) Carl Franklin WOMAN OF THE HOUR (2024) — (w) Ian Mcdonald (d) Anna Kendrick LINKS Shot Zero: Noir shots in WOMAN OF THE HOUR EPISODES IN THE NOIR SERIES DZ-123: Flawed Characters in Noir DZ-124: Making the Despicable Compelling RELATED EPISODES DZ-123: Flawed Characters in Noir DZ-03: Making Unlikeable Protagonists Compelling DZ-110: Voiceover ——— More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser. We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2026/dz-124/

Listen if you want to write morally compromised characters without endorsing their choices. In this two part series, Mel and Chas use Noir (the genre) as a lens to interrogate flawed characters. How can characters doing reprehensible things still engage audiences? How can you ensure representation isn’t endorsement? And whether these characters undergo transformative arcs, or simply reveal their true natures? Part 1 (DZ-123) focuses on two (now classic) noirs: DOUBLE INDEMNITY and THE LONG GOODBYE. While Part 2 (DZ-124) looks at two more contemporary examples DEVIL IN A BLUE DRESS and WOMAN OF THE HOUR. Despite Chas claiming to have edited this episode it was, in fact, Chris Walker who saved the day and got this done by the end of 2025. Thanks Chris. As always: SPOILERS ABOUND and all copyright material used under fair use for educational purposes. LIKE THIS EPISODE? Discuss with our Patrons on Patreon. Watch and comment on YouTube. Send us feedback. Thanks to our Patrons, especially Lily, Paulo, Alexandre, Malay, Jennifer, Thomas, Randy, Jesse, Sandra, Theis and Khrob. → Read the transcript for this episode. ——— "This is the philosophical question, right? When you get drunk, do you change what you do or do you simply allow your inhibitions to fall and do what you would normally want to do?" — Mel Killingsworth @ 00:42:04 ——— CHAPTERS 00:00:00 – Cold Open 00:00:17 – Flawed Characters and Noir 00:03:06 – › Writing morally compromised characters without endorsing their worldview 00:08:41 – › Defining film noir as genre, style, and worldview 00:14:27 – › Noir's reach across decades of screenwriting 00:16:40 – DOUBLE INDEMNITY 00:21:41 – › Diegetic confession and its structural function 00:27:17 – › Telling the audience the crime upfront removes justification burden 00:32:24 – › How everyman framing sustains complicity in a morally bankrupt protagonist 00:41:43 – › Whether morally compromised characters genuinely change or self-reveal 00:49:17 – › Film worldview versus character desire: crime without endorsement 00:53:38 – THE LONG GOODBYE 01:00:17 – › Save the cat: establishing a morally complex protagonist 01:06:26 – › Transgression, personal code, and the inevitability of noir failure 01:14:13 – › Character change versus worldview shift at the ending 01:21:15 – Wrap Up and Key Learnings FILMS DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) — (w) Raymond Chandler, James M Cain, Billy Wilder (d) Billy Wilder THE LONG GOODBYE (1973) — (w) Leigh Brackett, Raymond Chandler (d) Robert Altman SCRIPTS Study the script: THE LONG GOODBYE (1973) — Leigh Brackett, Raymond Chandler SHOT ZERO DEEP DIVES Blocking a Sneak: DOUBLE INDEMNITY LINKS Read: Mel's A Brief History of Queer Coding in Film Part 1 EPISODES IN THE NOIR SERIES DZ-123: Flawed Characters in Noir DZ-124: Making the Despicable Compelling ——— More Draft Zero is brought to you by our awesome Patreons. If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts, a rating on Spotify, or a review on Podchaser. We are @stuwillis, @mehlsbells and @chasffisher on Twitter. You can find @draft_zero and @_shotzero on Instagram and Twitter. Full show notes at: https://draft-zero.com/2025/dz-123/