Scott Myers

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 16

This is the fourth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today’s story: Val Patterson’s Obituary: I was Born in Salt Lake City, March 27th 1953. I died of Throat Cancer on July 10th 2012. I went to six different grade schools, then to

Screenwriting 101: Alfred Hitchcock

“To make a great film, you need three things — the script, the script and the script.” — Alfred Hitchcock

Daily Dialogue — April 16, 2013

Bill: As you know, l’m quite keen on comic books. Especially the ones about superheroes. I find the whole mythology surrounding superheroes fascinating. Take my favorite superhero, Superman. Not a great comic book. Not particularly well-drawn. But the mythology… The mythology is not only great, it’s unique.

Boston

I am suspending blog posts for the rest of the day. But for the many people who have emailed and texted me, my son Will, who is a college student at Tufts University and the New England Conservatory, is fine. He is a few blocks from the site of the

Interview: Chris Roessner (2012 Black List) — Part 1

Chris Roessner has made quite a journey to professional screenwriter. His debut screenplay “Sand Castle,” which made the Black List in 2012, is a compelling story that takes us into a world few have experienced: Post-invasion Iraq. It’s a world Chris knows well as you will soon learn.

Screenwriting Meta View: Life before FADE IN

In writing a screenplay, we go into the story. That’s critical in order to connect with the characters and immerse ourselves in the story universe. But we also need to balance that by stepping outside the story universe and take a meta view of the narrative. I like to

Movie Trailer: “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”

Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy and Michael Arndt, novel by Suzanne Collins Katniss and Peeta are dethroned from their respective victory riches and are put back into the arena for the most climatic and menacing of the Hunger Games, known as the Quarter Quell. IMDB site Release Date: 22 November 2013

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 15

This is the fourth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.

On Writing

“Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” — Pablo Picasso HT to @screenwritten for the quote

Daily Dialogue — April 15, 2013

INT. BAR — NIGHT A smoky cocktail bar downtown Detroit. CLARENCE WORLEY, a young hipster hepcat, is trying to pick up an older lady named LUCY. She isn’t bothered by him, in fact, she’s a little charmed. But, you can tell, that she isn’t going to leave her

Go Into The Story Week In Review: April 8-April 14, 2013

Links for notable posts on GITS this week: A Story Idea Each Day for a Month: Day 8 A Story Idea Each Day for a Month: Day 9 A Story Idea Each Day for a Month: Day 10 A Story Idea Each Day for a Month: Day 11 A Story

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Fan Boy/Girl Conversations

After a week of action hero wisecracks and one-liners [thanks to a suggestion by Shaula Evans], next week we get a bit more obscure: Fan boy/girl conversations, suggeted by plinytheelder. The usual drill: * Copy/paste dialogue from IMDB Quotes or some other transcript source. * Copy/paste the URL

Interview: Eric Heisserer (2012, 2014 Black List)

Go Into The Story Interview: Eric Heisserer (2012, 2014 Black List) My in-depth interview with one of Hollywood’s hottest screenwriters whose credits include Arrival, Lights Out, The Thing, and Hours. I first intersected with Eric Heisserer via social media and I regard this 2013 interview with him as

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 14

This is the fourth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.

Screenwriting News (April 8-April 14, 2013)

Justin Adler sells comedy spec script “House Arrest” to Relativity Media. Cameron Alexander sells science fiction spec script “Omega Point” to CBS Films. Larry Brenner sells action adventure pitch “Labyrinth” to Disney. Rob Cohen rewriting action adventure “Crash Bandits” for Nu Image / Millennium, also to direct. Peter Dowling sells thriller

Sunday Hot Links

A special edition of SHL as we honored Jonathan Winters yesterday. It’s just a whole bunch of links today. Enjoy! Robert Heinlein’s 5 rules of writing success. This may explain why men don’t understand women. A beautiful montage of back-to-the-camera shots in movies. 50

Daily Dialogue — April 14, 2013

“You’re a disease, and I’m the cure.” — Cobra (1986), screenplay by Sylvester Stallone, novel by Paula Gosling The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is Action Hero Wisecracks, suggested by Shaula Evans. Trivia:The Paula Gosling novel ‘Fair Game’ on which “Cobra” is based is also called ‘A

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 13

This is the fourth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.

Interview: Eric Heisserer (2012 Black List) — Part 6

2012 was a big year for Eric Heisserer as he not only directed his first feature length film (Hours), based on his original screenplay, but also made the Black List for “Story Of Your Life.” This follows up on other writing credits: A Nightmare on Elm Street, Final Destination 5,

Great Scene: “Heat”

The 1995 movie Heat, written and directed by Michael Mann, is super entertainment. Here’s an IMDB plot summary: Hunters and their prey — Neil and his professional criminal crew hunt to score big money targets (banks, vaults, armored cars) and are, in turn, hunted by Lt. Vincent Hanna and his

Saturday Hot Links

Time for another installment of Saturday Hot Links! Or not… Today: The “We Remember The Comic Genius of Jonathan Winters” Edition! In a departure this week, I am going to delay the usual SHL until tomorrow in order to honor one of my heroes: Jonathan Winters. The brilliant comic actor

Written Interview: Shane Carruth (“Upstream Color”)

An interview with screenwriter-director Shane Carruth whose films Primer and the newly released Upstream Color have created quite a stir. Here are some excerpts from a /Film interview with Carruth: /Film: Could you talk about the film’s title? What’s the origin of the phrase ‘Upstream Color’? Shane

Daily Dialogue — April 13, 2013

“I’m gonna take you to the bank, Senator Trent. To the blood bank!” — Hard to Kill (1990), written by Steven McKay The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is Action Hero Wisecracks, suggested by Shaula Evans. Trivia: The 17 February 1989 draft of the screenplay credits Steven Pressfield &

Update: Spec Script Sales

2013 got off to a slow start. During the first 10 weeks, only 13 spec script sales. By comparison, there were 21 spec script sales in the first 10 weeks of 2012. Since 2012’s sales total (99) declined from 2011 (110), I began to wonder if we were seeing

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Fan Boy/Girl Conversations

After a week of action hero wisecracks and one-liners [thanks to a suggestion by Shaula Evans], next week we get a bit more obscure: Fan boy/girl conversations, suggeted by plinytheelder. The usual drill: * Copy/paste dialogue from IMDB Quotes or some other transcript source. * Copy/paste the URL