Scott Myers

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: The Kinds Of Stories That Sell [Part 1]

“It should be remembered that in literature and drama alike there is an artistic side and a practical side. Often the real masterpiece lies unnoticed for years, while the potboilers sell like hot cakes.” If you are a screenwriter, you should know about Anita Loos. Loos was one of the

“The Criterion Collection in 2.5 Minutes”

This video is a series of over 600 clips from over 600 different films from The Criterion Collection library as of September 1st, 2012. There are no repeats, each film is represented by one clip each, in numerical order by Spine number. It begins with Jean Renoir’s “Grand Illusion”

Screenwriting News (September 3–9, 2012)

Paul Boardman adapting drama thriller novel “Guilty Wives” for Maven Pictures. Matt Corman and Chris Ord to adapt series of spy drama novels “The Tourist” for Sony. David Guggenheim writing the sequel to Safe House for Universal. Jon Gunn and John W. Mann adapting fantasy children’s book “A Tale

Daily Dialogue — September 9, 2012

“Look at it this way. A man takes a job, you know? And that job — I mean, like that — That becomes what he is. You know, like — You do a thing and that’s what you are. Like I’ve been a cabbie for thirteen years. Ten years at night.

Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Phone call revelation

As we wind down a week’s worth of riffs [courtesy of a suggestion by churnage], this week is something pretty specific: phone call revelations, suggested by Debbie Moon. This is going to be a challenge, folks. Memorable movie moments where some revelation gets conveyed over the phone. I’m

Go On Your Own Quest, Week 8: Time

Several readers emailed me about aggregating the entire series of posts we have been running in association with the Go On Your Own Quest initiative. Here is Week 8: Time. What implications derive from a screenplay being written in the present tense? Do you write in “the moment”? How would

Go On Your Own Quest, Week 7: Theme

Several readers emailed me about aggregating the entire series of posts we have been running in association with the Go On Your Own Quest initiative. Here is Week 7: Theme. How would you define theme? Do you start with theme or with plot, then see how the them emerges? Why

Feature: Paul Thomas Anderson

A great feature this week in the Village Voice on Paul Thomas Anderson. Another one in the LA Weekly.

Scene Description Spotlight: “Raising Arizona”

I’ll always have a soft spot for Raising Arizona as it was the very first industry screening I attended back in March 1987. That and the fact it still ranks as one of the best Coen brothers’ movies. Here is an IMDB summary of the plot: Recidivist hold-up

Saturday Hot Links

Welcome to another installment of Saturday Hot Links! Today: The Cute Cat Video Edition! Why cats meow. IndieWire: 25 films we’re looking forward to at TIFF. More TIFF: Jason Reitman to lead live reading of American Beauty. Thompson On Hollywood: Telluride wrap. Mike DeLuca: On The Slate. 8 fairy

Written Interview: William Nicholson

Screenwriter William Nicholson ( Gladiator, Les Misérables) in a BAFTA appearance. An excerpt: Screenwriters do not write dialogue. This is a misunderstanding. People often say, ‘Which lines did you write?’ Of course we do write dialogue, but that’s not the big thing we write. We write story, we create stories.

Daily Dialogue — September 8, 2012

“All train compartments smell vaguely of shit. It gets so you don’t mind it. That’s the worst thing that I can confess. You know how long it took me to get there? A long time. When you die you’re going to regret the things you don’t

Q&A: Franklin Leonard

One year ago, Go Into The Story became the official Screenwriting Blog of the Black List. As part of the celebration this week, Franklin Leonard kindly offered to answer some questions, many provided by GITS readers. Today more questions: What are the most important things that you find draw you

Dispatch from The Quest: Scott Reynolds

Last week as we did here on GITS, the Quest writers focused on the subject of Theme. Today’s dispatch: Scott Reynolds gets friendly with theme: A lot of Questers this week are making great posts about themes in movies and things that resonate with them, and they’re doing

Go On Your Own Quest, Week 8: Time

“The Quest” has entered Week 8! And so did Go On Your Own Quest, an opportunity for anyone to follow the structure of “The Quest” to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write a first draft [Pages — 10 weeks]. It’s

Movie Trailer: “Twice Born”

Yahoo! Video PlayerEdit descriptiond.yimg.com A single mother brings her teenage son to Sarajevo, where his father died in the Bosnian conflict years ago. Screenplay by Sergio Castellitto and Margaret Mazzantini, novel by Margaret Mazzantini IMDB site Release Date: 13 September 2012 (Toronto International Film Festival)

Write. Your. Story.

Sometimes it’s important to remember what this site is about. We honor screenwriters. We promote good screenwriting practices. We want to see better movies made based on great stories. The site is not about me. It’s about the craft. I don’t post items to generate controversy and

Great Character: Driver (“Drive”)

This month, the focus is on anti-heroes. A guest post by Jason Cuthbert: The year of 2011 became the single most productive calendar hanging on the wall of Canadian actor Ryan Gosling’s impressive feature film career. He had his biggest box office hit to date, playing Steve Carrell’

Daily Dialogue — September 7, 2012

“Do you think God knew what He was doing when He created woman? Huh? No shit. I really wanna know. Or do you think it was another one of His minor mistakes like tidal waves, earthquakes, FLOODS? You think women are like that? S’matter? You don’t think God

Year 1: Black List & Go Into The Story — Screenwriting Roundtable

As part of our week long celebration of the 1-year partnership between the Black List and Go Into The Story, I thought it would be interesting to review some of the more notable initiatives, series and posts that emerged during the last 12 months. How about this: A screenwriting

Q&A: Franklin Leonard

One year ago, Go Into The Story became the official Screenwriting Blog of the Black List. As part of the celebration this week, Franklin Leonard kindly offered to answer some questions, many provided by GITS readers. Today another question: Peering into your crystal ball, what trends do you see emerging

Dispatch from The Quest: Jordan Earls

Last week as we did here on GITS, the Quest writers focused on the subject of Theme. Today’s dispatch: Jordan Earls weighs in on theme as emotional meaning: To me Theme is what makes a story breathe; Theme is the pulsating heart of a story; Theme bleeds through every

Q&A: Elgin James (“Little Birds”), Part 4

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Elgin James who wrote and directed his debut movie Little Birds. Here is some background: Elgin James’ first screenplay, “Little Birds,” was accepted into both the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and the Sundance Directors Lab. In 2009, James was awarded a Time Fellowship Grant

Go On Your Own Quest, Week 8: Time

“The Quest” has entered Week 8! And so did Go On Your Own Quest, an opportunity for anyone to follow the structure of “The Quest” to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write a first draft [Pages — 10 weeks]. It’s

Movie Trailer: “The Bay”

Chaos breaks out in a small Maryland town after an ecological disaster occurs. Written by Michael Wallach IMDB site Release Date: 2 November 2012 (USA)