This article explores creative processes in discourse and language. As a starting point, the notion of linguistic creativity is regarded in relation to that of the linguistic norm. The main focus is on the description of the method of parametrization of linguistic creativity and the results of its application. This method is based on a three-level system of parameters. The macro-, micro-, and interdiscourse parameters composing this system facilitate the identification of creative use of language units in different types of discourse (such as media discourse, artistic discourse, advertising discourse, etc.). The study is based on the material from a functional electronic corpus of texts, which encompasses English -language films and their literary sources published from the 1960s to the present day. The article reveals variants of using the method of parametrization and principles of distinguishing cases of non-creative and creative exploitation of linguistic means in cinematic discourse. According to research findings, the creative or non-creative character of a particular language unit is determined by one of the two main purposes of its use in films. If a linguistic unit is used to create the impression of natural communication (the so-called artistic-aesthetic stylization), its use is qualified as non-creative. If a linguistic unit realizes certain aesthetic and pragmatic tasks in a film, its use is creative. The elaborated method of parametrization can be applied to any type of discourse. It detects ‘hotspots’ of changes in the state of a particular language and gives these changes a systematic linguistic assessment.