Imagine this: a director tells you your filmmaking style is "derivative" or calls your big finale “predictable.” It’s cliché, they say. Stings a bit, doesn't it? In filmmaking, "cliché" is that brutal ...

Excerpted from “It's Been Said Before: A Guide to the Use and Abuse of Cliches.” A breath of fresh air. Few and far between. At the end of the day. Most of us immediately recognize these as clichés, ...