Scott Myers

Movie Trailer: “The Silence”

Written by Baran Bo Odar 13-year-old Sinikka vanishes on a hot summer night. Her bicycle is found in the exact place where a girl was killed 23 years ago. The dramatic present forces those involved in the original case to face their past. IMDB site Release Date: 8

Studies in flashback: “Once Upon a Time in the West”

I set this discussion into motion here and here. To wit: Hollywood conventional wisdom is that voice-over narration and flashbacks are a no-no, yet some of the greatest movies ever produced use these narrative devices including Fight Club, Goodfellas, The Silence of the Lambs, and Rashomon. My conclusion:

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 4]

Part 4: The Buyers — Studios and Financiers Spec scripts, that is. I’m guessing that perhaps 90% of the people who follow this blog at some point in their lives will write a spec script. And the other 10% are involved in buying and selling them. In light of that

Daily Dialogue — March 7, 2013

INT. CRAIG’S LOFT APARTMENT — NIGHT Truth or dare. The gang is seated in a circle, drinking from plastic cups. Charlie sits between Mary Elizabeth and Sam. PATRICK: Who are you talking to? BOB: I dare you to kiss Alice. PATRICK: (licks his lips) Get ready, breeder. As Patrick approaches

Writing Question: Do you remember the very first time you typed FADE OUT?

Finishing the first draft of your first script marks the crossing of a major threshold. You have moved from someone who has never completed a screenplay to someone who has. And that right there separates you from someone who talks about writing a script and someone who actually writes one.

Spec Script Sale: “Murder City”

Aldamisa Films acquires 2012 Black List crime thriller spec script “Murder City” written by Will Simmons. Logline: A Detroit cop who, when framed and sent to jail, must clear a mob debt upon his release in order to save his family. Simmons is repped by UTA and Energy Entertainment. By

Interview (Part 3): Brad Ingelsby (2012 Black List)

Brad Ingelsby is one busy writer with at least six projects in various states of development and production including Hold on to Me and Run All Night [both on the 2012 Black List] and The Raid. Plus in a nice bit of synergy for us, he sold a high-profile

What we can learn from “Jack the Giant Slayer” (Part 2)

Yesterday I posted this, an analysis of a NYT article which itself analyzed the poor opening weekend box office of the movie Jack the Giant Slayer. Why did the movie have such a soft opening? Here is a list of reasons noted in the article: * There has been a “glut

Movie Trailer: “Iron Man 3”

Screenplay by Drew Pearce & Shane Black Tony Stark uses his ingenuity to fight those who destroyed his private world and soon goes up against his most powerful enemy yet: the Mandarin. IMDB site Release Date: 3 May 2013 (USA)

Studies in flashbacks: “(500) Days of Summer”

I set this discussion into motion here and here. To wit: Hollywood conventional wisdom is that voice-over narration and flashbacks are a no-no, yet some of the greatest movies ever produced use these narrative devices including Fight Club, Goodfellas, The Silence of the Lambs, and Rashomon. My conclusion:

Script To Screen: “Marty”

The final scene from the 1955 drama Marty, written by Paddy Chayefsky, one of three screenplays for which he won an Academy Award. Setup: Two lonely people, Marty and Clara, have almost resigned themselves to never being truly loved. 187TH STREET. BAR. NIGHT. CLOSE-UP of Marty leaning against the

Daily Dialogue — March 6, 2013

Frank: You’re a wonderful person, Kathleen. Kathleen: So are you. Frank: And I’m so honored that you would want to be with me because you would never be with anyone who wasn’t truly worthy. Kathleen: I feel exactly the same way —  Frank: No, no, don’t say

Announcing: The Black Board!

The spirit of creativity never ceases to amaze. Combined with the community that has evolved in this little corner of our virtual universe, I am truly excited to make this announcement: The Black Board The Official Online Community of the Black List and Go Into The Story Read. Write. Review.

Spec Script Sale: “Agatha”

Paramount acquires action adventure spec script “Agatha” written by Allison Schroeder. From Deadline: Spec is an action adventure which surmises what really happened to Agatha Christie during the 11 days she went missing. Plot specifics are being kept under wraps but tonally it is described as a female Sherlock Holmes

Spec Script Sale: “Mecha”

Sierra/Affinity acquires sci-fi contained thriller spec script “Mecha” written by Ben Magid. Logline: A young survivor of a robot uprising searches for a way to avoid detection. Sale date: February 26, 2013. Magid is repped by WME and Energy Entertainment. By my count, this is the 11th spec

Interview: Brad Ingelsby (2012 Black List) — Part 2

Brad Ingelsby is one busy writer with at least six projects in various states of development and production including Hold on to Me and Run All Night [both on the 2012 Black List] and The Raid. Plus in a nice bit of synergy for us, he sold a high-profile

What we can learn from “Jack the Giant Slayer” (Part 1)

If there’s one day out of the week you want to be tracking news out of Hollywood, it’s Monday. That’s when the weekend post mortems hit: NYT, LAT, THR, Variety, Deadline, TheWrap, etc. This past weekend, the big news was the poor opening of Jack the Giant

Movie Trailer: “Disconnect”

Written by Andrew Stern A drama centered on a group of people searching for human connections in today’s wired world. IMDB site Release Date: 12 April 2013 (USA)

Studies in flashbacks: “The Social Network”

I set this discussion into motion here and here. To wit: Hollywood conventional wisdom is that voice-over narration and flashbacks are a no-no, yet some of the greatest movies ever produced use these narrative devices including Fight Club, Goodfellas, The Silence of the Lambs, and Rashomon. My conclusion:

Screenwriting 101: F. Scott Frazier

“I firmly believe that the currency of the screenwriter is a finished script. Not an outline, not a take, not a beat sheet, not a rough draft. A finished script. You just have to be careful you don’t fall into the trap where you stop writing and spend three

Daily Dialogue — March 5, 2013

Nancy: I just don’t think we should see each other any more. Fielding: Oh really? Nancy: Yeah. Fielding: Why, what’s the matter? Nancy: There’s just something missing for me and I don’t know what. Fielding: What do you mean? Something missing from me? Nancy: Yes. Fielding:

Do you know how to craft a story?

Writers use a lot of different words for the process of figuring out a story. You break a story. You crack a story. You wrangle a story. Those verbs give you a pretty good idea of the fundamental challenge a writer faces when writing a story. It ain’t easy.

Chairs?

On the heels of a recent article I posted about how sitting is the new smoking, combined with a recent bout of back issues, I’m in the market for a new chair for my office. Fact: My work requires me to sit on my ass. A lot. I’m

Interview (Part 1): Brad Ingelsby (2012 Black List)

Brad Ingelsby is one busy writer with at least six projects in various states of development and production including Hold on to Me and Run All Night [both on the 2012 Black List] and The Raid. Plus in a nice bit of synergy for us, he sold a high-profile

Showrunner Rules from Jeffrey Lieber: Numbers 131–140

Jeff Lieber is a screenwriter and TV writer. His movie credits include Tuck Everlasting and he is currently an executive producer of the USA Network series “Necessary Roughness.” On Twitter (@JeffLieber), he has run a series of tweets called Showrunner Rules. For background on Jeff and this Twitter series, go