EP 116: The Nutshell Technique - Jill Chamberlain

About Jill ChamberlainJill Chamberlain has helped thousands of writers, producers, and studios find and refine their stories. As a longtime script consultant, Jill knows the pitfalls that are common in screenwriting and how to avoid them. That experience and the desire to bring this knowledge to the public led to Jill founding The Screenplay Workshop. Jill’s unique Nutshell Technique for screenplay story structure has been praised throughout Hollywood. Producer Callum Greene (Star Wars Episode 9, Crimson Peak, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) said “the Nutshell Technique is like the Rosetta Stone: it cracks the code behind why we love the movies that we love. It goes way beyond tired old beat sheet formulas and instead guides you to organically write the story you want to tell.” The Nutshell Technique is the basis for Jill’s book from the University of Texas Press, The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting. Since its publication in 2016, the book was an instant classic. Of the over 3,000 books on screenwriting on Amazon, The Nutshell Technique is one of the very highest rated by users. It’s on the syllabus for film schools across the country including the world renowned screenwriting program at Columbia University and is being published in Chinese Mandarin and Italian. Jill has consulted on projects for major studios, for small independents, and for many, many spec screenwriters. Her students and clients have had their screenplays optioned, made into award-winning feature films, garner them Hollywood representation, land them professional screenwriting assignments, and recognized by top competitions including the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences’ Nicholl Fellowship. Jill is on the adjunct faculty of Maryland Institute College of Art’s graduate filmmaking program and University of Houston’s Jack Valenti School of Communications. She studied in the MFA film program at Columbia University, where she also received her undergraduate degree in English.ABOUT THE BOOKJill Chamberlain’s book from University of Texas Press, The Nutshell Technique: Crack the Secret of Successful Screenwriting, is now available on Amazon and in fine bookstores everywhere. Of the over 3,000 books on screenwriting on Amazon, The Nutshell Technique ranks #1 in user ratings.Since its publication in 2016, the book became an instant classic and the go-to manual many professionals swear by. Producer Callum Greene (Star Wars Episode 9, Crimson Peak, and The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug) said “the Nutshell Technique is like the Rosetta Stone: it cracks the code behind why we love the movies that we love. It goes way beyond tired old beat sheet ‘formulas’ and instead guides you to organically write the story you want to tell.”The Nutshell Technique is on the syllabus for courses at University of Houston, University of Notre Dame, and the world renowned screenwriting program at Columbia University.In the book, Chamberlain uses easy-to-follow diagrams to thoroughly explain how the Nutshell Technique can make or break a film script. She takes readers step-by-step through 30 classic and contemporary movies, showing how such dissimilar screenplays as Casablanca, Pulp Fiction, The Usual Suspects, Little Miss Sunshine, Juno, Silver Linings Playbook, and Argoall have the same system working behind the scenes, and she teaches readers exactly how to apply these principles to their own screenwriting.Learn the Nutshell Technique, and you'll discover how to turn a mere situation into a truly compelling screenplay story.W: Jill Chamberlain https://www.jillchamberlain.com/the-nutshell-techniqueW: The Screenplay Workshop