BPS 005: The Million Dollar Screenplay with August Rush Screenwriter Paul Castro

We've all read in Variety or The Hollywood Reporter of some
no-name screenwriter selling his or her screenplay for a million
bucks. Ever wonder how they did it? What structure did they use?
What "tricks of the trade were" employed?
May I introduce Paul Castro, the original writer of one
of my favorite films August Rush. Paul Castro is a produced,
award-winning screenwriter and world-renowned screenwriting
professor.

"Structure...is the canvas on which we paint with words." - Paul
Castro

His project, August Rush was produced by Warner Brothers
and starred the late great Robin Williams, Keri
Russell, Freddie Highmore and Jonathan Rhys Meyers. The
film took Paul Castro into the belly of the Hollywood beast.
The business of screenwriting can be tough, but while a student at
the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television, he was a
finalist for the Coca-Cola Refreshing Filmmaker's
Award for directing and producing his original
screenplay Healing, and landed a three-picture screenwriting
deal worth $1 million.
The lessons he learned not only from selling August Rush
but many other Hollywood screenwriting adventures were
invaluable. He later went back and became a screenwriting
professor at UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television, teaching
thousands of students over his ten years of
teaching.

“Paul Castro teaches screenwriting from the inside out.” - Richard
Walter, UCLA Screenwriting Chairperson.
Enjoy this whopper of a podcast episode and if you haven't seen
August Rush do yourself a favor and watch it. It's worth watching
for Robin Williams alone!

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