Episodes

Jacob Krueger analyzes the structure of Joe Exotic’s journey in Tiger King to demonstrate the concepts of structure, genre, hook, and engine in screenwriting and TV writing.

Jacob Krueger analyzes both the ethical shortcomings of Tiger King and the valuable lessons the structure of Tiger King holds for writers of all genres. Learn what made the ethically complicated Joe Exotic such a likable main character, and how to use the concept of genre to make an audience fall in love with your screenplay.

Why Am I Procrastinating? I want to start today’s podcast with a personal story, something that happened to me early in my writing career. I had just sold my first screenplay, which meant I got to do the thing that everybody dreams of doing, the thing that I had always dreamed of doing. I got to leave my job and I got to devote every hour of every day to the thing that really mattered to me. I got to spend every moment being a writer. And I was primed for success. I was ready to create, and crea...

In his second podcast about the film Parasite, Jacob Krueger discusses how thematic exploration not only informs the tone and structure of your screenwriting, but allows your story to unfold more naturally and take your audience on a powerful journey that can help them see others through more understanding eyes.

In the first of a two-part podcast on the film Parasite, Jacob Krueger shares a new way of thinking about genre and how to connect to it in your screenwriting. He also discusses how to play with tone and use it as a powerful tool to draw your audience in and keep them invested in your characters and story.

What’s the “thing” that makes your character tick? In this podcast, Jacob Krueger discusses The Irishman and demonstrates how understanding one simple element of character can help you build your structure, sharpen the focus of your rewrites, and create the kinds of characters that attract A-list stars..

Kicking off Season 9 of the Write Your Screenplay Podcast, Jacob Krueger explains the importance of the very first image in your script: how it captures your audience’s attention, introduces them to your main character’s journey, and sets the tone and feel for your film or show. He then shares how to use the concept of the first image to successfully reach your writing goals in the new year.

Does Your Writing Feel Boring? Show Notes Write Your Screenplay Podcast Hosted by: Jacob Krueger Do you ever feel disconnected from your writing? A sense that there’s a hidden wall or missing link between what you’re trying to communicate and what’s actually showing up on the page? Believe it or not, this is a very subtle form of writer’s block. It’s not only impacting your writing, it’s probably also got you beating yourself up and believing you simply don’t have any talent at all. But nothing ...

This week, Jacob Krueger shares some simple steps toward overcoming the common form of writer’s block and explains how creating manageable goals will reshape the way your mind approaches writing, making it easier to develop a writing routine.

In this podcast, Jacob Krueger analyzes the Season 2 pilot episode of Succession and shares how building a series engine from a personal place of truth will help you create the roadmap for a show that can continue to grow for several seasons.

This week, Jacob Krueger discusses Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and one of the most important skills a screenwriter needs: the ability to develop a distinctive take on historical material or a pitch for a work-for-hire project that makes your approach to a story unique from any other writer.

In this podcast, indie producer and filmmaker Ramfis Myrthil joins Jacob Krueger for a conversation on the business of self-producing: how to properly pitch your project, master the art of following up, attract financial backing and create the right team to make your movie a success.

This week, Jacob Krueger discusses Chernobyl as an example of how to write an essential and effective miniseries, what makes the miniseries format so unique, and how to determine whether your project has the epic scope, relevant theme, visual beauty, and character journey needed to become a miniseries.

In his final Game of Thrones podcast, Jacob Krueger discusses the series finale and the lessons it has to offer screenwriters regarding the importance of compression in keeping your audience engaged and on the edge of their seats until the very end.

This week, Jacob Krueger analyzes Episode 5 and discusses how the three levels of structure - plot, emotion, and theme - need to tie together to create a powerful journey for both your characters and your audience.

This week, Jacob Krueger analyzes Episode 4 and focuses on the importance of revision in keeping an audience connected to your characters by creating a structure that comes from a place of truth.

Jacob Krueger discusses The Battle of Winterfell and the poetry and structure behind writing an action sequence built on the interpersonal drama of the characters within it.

This week, Jacob Krueger discusses the events of Episodes 1 and 2 of Season 8 and shares how you can take an audience along on any journey, but first you have to make them care.

Jacob Krueger compares and contrasts two Game of Thrones pilots: Season 8, Episode 1 and Season 1, Episode 1, to show you the elements of a successful pilot, and how, as a writer, you can benefit from “saving the best for first.”

For eight seasons, Game of Thrones has attracted and retained a devoted audience. Now drawing to a dramatic finale in Season 8, this week we take a look back at Season 1 and how by building a powerful series engine the show has kept viewers flocking back to this fantastical world year after year.

ROMA: Turning Your Life Story Into A Screenplay This week, we’re going to be talking about Roma by Alfonso Cuarón. Roma is an extraordinary film that harkens back to a different era of storytelling. It’s shot in black and white, despite having a substantial budget. It’s entirely in Spanish. And, in a way, the whole film is a love poem for Alfonso Cuarón’s real-life nanny from his childhood growing up in the Roma section of México City. The film harkens back to a different kind of filmmaking. An ...

This podcast was taken from our vault. If you are interested in studying Television Writing with Steve our next class is Feb 3rd-March 3rd; you can sign up here. From GoodFellas to Breaking Bad with Stephen Molton Jake: Today on the podcast, I have a special guest, Steve Molton. Steve is a mentor here at Jacob Krueger Studio, and he’s also just an extraordinarily amazing human being and writer. He’s a Bloomsbury Press Pulitzer Prize Nominee, he’s a former HBO and Showtime executive, he just did ...

Beautiful Boy - Where Does Screenplay Structure Come From? This week we’re going to be talking about Beautiful Boy by Luke Davis and Felix van Groeningen. This is a particularly interesting film to discuss in light of our last podcast where we talked about Destroyer and the use of flashbacks in a movie, because Beautiful Boy is also built around flashbacks, but tends to earn those flashbacks in another way. So, we’re going to be looking at Beautiful Boy to talk not just about flashbacks but also...

Learn from Destroyer how to use flashbacks in your script. We'll discuss the common pitfalls that can make flashbacks dangerous, and the questions you can ask yourself when using flashbacks to determine if your flashbacks are likely to make the structure of your script stronger, or to get in the way.