Life as a House. The character arcs are visible on the screen - especially the son's. The subtext of the father's urgency to accomplish his goal builds the tension in subtle ways, and drives the action without beating you over the head.

Life as a House. Interesting choice. Thanks for that.

Kind of embarrassing, but The Avengers. I know, it's a superhero movie, but wow, each scene is packed with plot, humorous exposition, and great character development out of necessity due to all the heroes in one film. After digging into the script, I was in awe of how each line served multiple purposes seeing as there really isn't any room for a line that doesn't. I still haven't finished learning from that script.

I'll probably give a different answer every time I'm asked this question, but I'll go for Inception - because it's a movie about creativity, and as such, wears its heart on its sleeve when it comes to character development and structure.

I learn a little every time I watch a movie - I suddenly get a sort of "Click!" feeling because something falls into place for me or unties a writing knot that I'm in at that particular moment. There isn't a single movie that has inspired me the most - it's a combination of several films for several reasons. I do like to watch some of John Carpenter's movies when writing because he has mastered the art of getting across a maximum of things with a minimum of effects, so to speak. It's especially apparent when comparing with the scripts. An example that always springs to mind is the scene in THE THING where the dog errs in the station then enters a guy's room. We see the man only as a shadow on the wall and as the dog enters, he whips his head around. Very creepy and a whole lot more effective than spelling it out with several images and/or dialogue. I learn the most from directors who are good at translating the written word into images, adding as little dialogue as possible. The Coen brothers are always an inspiration, Winding Refn is a good example as well (even though I'm not an unconditional fan). And despite French cinema taking a lot of flak, there are some true psychological gems from the 60's > 80's that are well worth watching for their great character/story work (I live in Europe).

There are two films which always stand out for me. One is Sixth Sense and the other Dragonfly. What did those stories teach me? String the audience along with a good story-line and a few subtle clues,but keep your secrets while your writing,then whack in the surprise ending.

The one film that sticks in my mind is Primal Fear. Great story line with a jarring twist at the end. Like the comment above mentions, the film offers a few subtle clues but keeps its secrets. Great story.

Godard, primarily "Breathless." All bets are off and all rules are piffle. If you can start from there and work your way outward, you'll have something to hold in your hands soon enough.

Hi Scott, of course there were so many inspiring and influencing movies I watched in my teenager years. Coming of age stuff and thrillers especially. But the thematically and filmic 'holistic' experience was "Forrest Gump" in the good movie year of 1994. It is the most successful drama ever, commercially and awards-wise. There is everything I respond to: coming of age, dysfunctional family, love and losses, friendship and loyalty, a brief period of happiness, melancholy, the cruelty of war, compassion, political hope, the perfect use of songs I love, the eras I'm interested in, fantastic actors and acting, story bookends, humor and comedic scenes, the perfect story lies where Forrest met and influenced famous people, an ending that I call 'hopeful ending' because it is not a happy ending, and last but not least the excellent use of special effects that just support the drama. "Forrest Gump" is like all the movies I love in just one movie. And I love most of Eric Roth's screenwriting work.

Wow, really -- just one??? SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. To this day, it serves as a good reminder that if I create characters correctly, they can be silent and stationary -- at least for a few seconds -- and still make every audience member's hair stand up on the back of their neck. Also hugely impactful -- CRASH and AMELIE. Juggling/melding of story lines in one; and crazy-amazing creativity in the other. Wow!

The Empire Strikes Back! Even though this was a sequel, every moment is a surprise and a delight, and the good guys struggle through the whole plot and loose at the end. You have a love story, coming of age story, friendship, sacrifice, good vs. evil, and so many bad-ass moments you could fill 10 movies. Boba Fett doesn't get much screen time, but when Darth Vader (the best villain of all time) has to remind the bounty hunter not to disintegrate his target, you know that guy is awesome. That one tiny moment has made him an icon. What this tells me about storytelling is to make every moment fantastic and every character memorable. You scan that lineup of bounty hunters knowing each is dangerous and has a fascinating back story, though you never get any of it on screen. And only one bounty hunter mattered anyway. My favorite arc in Empire is Lando Calrissian. He betrays his friends, but ultimately sacrifices almost everything he's worked so hard for to save them. This was a character introduced in the second half of the movie no one even knew about, let alone cared about. The story telling in this movie is amazing. The juxtaposition of Yoda from annoying creature to Jedi master and of Darth Vader from ultimate evil to father figure are both outstanding. Luke goes from confident leader to potential Jedi, but ends up risking everything to save his friends. Han and Leia's relationship evolves naturally and powerfully and tragically. This movie was amazing in 1980 and is still just as amazing today.