Just when we think the situation can’t get worse, it does. When we’re convinced there’s no possible way our hero can get out of a jam, he gets out, only to end up in a worse jam. Obstacles! These major hurdles are the glue to Act Two. Your character has recovered from the first obstacle, only now to face a higher one. This new obstacle leads to rising action: every move the character makes traps him even more. Be merciless! Really squeeze your character. Make him work hard to reach the first culmination. This is the midpoint of the screenplay and a pivotal plot point,…

Being a director is tough. Not only are directors responsible for every aspect of production from locations, to casting, to costumes, to camera placement, but from time to time they're also charged with translating the esoteric and metaphysical into a series of moving images that will be tangible and understandable to the movie-going audience. In 1991, David Cronenberg directed Naked Lunch despite the claims that its source material was un-filmable and in 1998, Terry Gilliam took on the unenviable task of turning Hunter S. Thompson's ramblings into Fear and Loathing…