Free Masterclass from The Writer's Forge

The Secret That Saved Shrek 2 — And How It Can Save Your Script

When we joined Shrek 2, there was no script — just a 3-inch binder of dead ideas. The film only came alive when I found its Primal Drive:

"Can we be loved for who we REALLY are.
Not who we PRETEND to be."

It's a question that hits hard with every member of the audience. And makes your hero deeply human.

Without a Primal Question like that, you can save all the cats you want, but nobody gives a damn.

Reserve My Seat — It's Free

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You've Started 5 Scripts. Finished Zero.

You tell yourself it's about finding time. But deep down you know: you don't have the tools to diagnose what's broken.

Page 30 feels dead. Your hero feels flat. The dialogue sounds like everyone else. You keep rewriting but nothing changes.

You don't need another fake guru selling you formulas when he couldn't even sell screenplays.

I've sold to every major studio in town. I've been where you are. And I can help you bring new life into your script by showing you the Primal Drive — the emotional wound and desire that makes your story matter.

Show Me How to Fix It

What You'll Learn in 90 Minutes

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The Shrek 2 Breakdown

How we turned a binder of chaos into a billion-dollar story by finding the Primal Drive — the emotional wound + desire that made audiences actually care.

Learn to diagnose what's missing in YOUR story

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The Primal Forge GPT

Get free access to the AI I built using my actual coaching sessions. It analyzes your character's emotional core to find the heartbeat your script needs.

Instant feedback on whether your hero feels real

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The 10 Iron-Clad Rules

Download my personal rulebook for pushing through fear, perfectionism, and writer's block. The same system that helped me survive 25+ years in Hollywood.

Get the PDF instantly when you register

You'll walk away knowing exactly what your story is about — and how to finish it.

A Preview: 3 of the 10 Rules

These aren't craft tips. They're survival tools for the psychological desert every writer crosses.

Rule #3

Your brilliant idea is going to suck.

That thing that felt like a gossamer cloud that would write itself is going to collapse like a popped balloon very soon after you start writing it. That's okay. It's like having children. If you had any idea how hard and expensive it would be, very few people would sign up. Your job is to stay with it, even when the inspiration is gone.

Rule #4

If you feel lost and alone and stupid.

That's not an indication you're lost and alone and stupid. It's an indication you're a writer.

Rule #7

There are going to be long dry stretches.

The difference between you and the writer you could be is how long you can wander through the desert before you stumble onto an oasis. You can always rewrite bad work. Everything you write either shows you something that doesn't work or helps you stumble into something that finally does. Standing still just gets you sunburned and dead from dehydration. Keep moving.

Get all 10 rules (plus the Primal Forge GPT) when you register below.

Why Listen to Me?

I've written stories that have earned $2.5 billion worldwide — Shrek 2, Disenchanted, Rugrats, Jimmy Neutron, The Smurfs.

But none of that would've happened if I hadn't learned to push through the same fear every writer knows — the blank page, the doubt, the voice saying "maybe I'm not good enough."

An exec once told me I'd "never make a dime as a screenwriter."
He's long gone. I'm still here.

That fear doesn't disappear — you learn to forge through it. I'll show you how.

Stop Starting. Start Finishing.

The same creative chaos that almost killed Shrek 2 is where your best story is hiding.
Let's find it together.

⚠️ Limited Seating

100 spots → 57 spots left

I can only give quality attention to so many writers on a live call. Once we hit capacity, registration closes.