BPS 094: Deconstructing the Emotional Pulse of Your Screenplay with James V. Hart

I'm so excited to bring this episode to the BPS Tribe. Today we
have legendary screenwriter James V. Hart. James is the
screenwriter behind some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters like
HOOK, directed by Steven Spielberg based on an idea by Hart’s then
6-year-old son, Jake, BRAM STOKER’S DRACULA, directed by Francis
Ford Coppola, MUPPET TREASURE ISLAND, directed by Brian Henson, and
CONTACT, directed by Robert Zemeckis. MARY SHELLEY’S
FRANKENSTEIN, TUCK EVERLASTING,  SAHARA, LARA CROFT: TOMB
RAIDER: THE CRADLE OF LIFE, AUGUST RUSH and many more.

“No one has a job in our business until you type ‘the end’.” —
James V. Hart

Dracula has a special place in my heart as it is one of the major
influences that made me become a filmmaker.

James has served on the faculty of the Columbia University Graduate
Film program. Served as mentor and advisor at the Austin Writer’s
Ranch, Sundance Film Labs, and the Equinoxe-Europe Writing
Workshops for over 20 years in 11 countries. Hart has also
conducted the Puglia Experience for writers and producers held in
the Puglia region in Italy.

During the making of Dracula Francis Ford Coppola called James up
and told him he hated everything about the story and the movie they
had shot. James sat down with Francis and beat up the film and
story. Frustrated that this happened, James set out to develop a
tool that could help him map out the screenplay's emotion before
they ever start shooting.  The HART CHART was born.

Originally launched online at the 2015 Austin Film Festival, James
has developed a proven story mapping tool for serious writers
working in television, film, novels, plays, and other literary
forms, with a guarantee you will never face a blank page
again.

James and I discuss THE HARTCHART, his journeys in Hollywood, how
he became a 20-year overnight success, what it was like working
with master filmmakers like Coppola, Speilberg, and Zemeckis,
and how he breakdowns a blockbuster story idea.

This is one episode for the record books. Enjoy my conversation
with James V. Hart.

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