Scott Myers

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Writing for the Camera

If you are a screenwriter, you should know about Anita Loos. Loos was one of the most influential writers in the early stages of American cinema, associated with 136 film projects per IMDB. Married to writer John Emerson, the pair wrote one of the first books on screenwriting in 1920:

Movie Trailer: “Frankenweenie”

Screenplay by John August, story by Tim Burton & Leonard Ripps, characters and idea by Tim Burton, short film by Tim Burton IMDB site Release Date: 5 October 2012 (USA)

Screenwriting News [June 25 — July 1]

Tony Babinski writing “The Human Fly” for Eisenberg-Fisher Productions. Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupinsky rewriting “The Heat” for Twentieth Century Fox. Andre Fabrizio and Jeremy Passmore sell pitch “Ride” to Twentieth Century Fox. Mike Hammer to rewrite “Click To Connect” for Fox 2000. David Leslie Johnson writing “Devolution” for

Video Interview: Kevin Smith

This is fun: Avid invited student filmmakers to feed Kevin questions and now his answers of wisdom can be heard. Great inspired as Kevin talks about his storytelling process, the tools he uses to be successful and more. [Warning: Language] Here is Episode 1: For more, click continue. Episode 2

Daily Dialogue — July 1, 2012

Tyler Durden: Did you know that if you mix equal parts of gasoline and frozen orange juice concentrate you can make napalm? Narrator: No, I did not know that; is that true? Tyler Durden: That’s right… One could make all kinds of explosives, using simple household items. Narrator: Really…

Daily Dialogue theme: Your suggestions wanted!

As we finish up this week’s set of Daily Dialogues with the theme The Herald’s Call [thanks for the suggestion, JasperLamarCrab], we are wide open for suggestions for the next set of themes. What shall we do for Daily Dialogues through July and into August? Head to comments

GITS Script Reading & Analysis: “No Country For Old Men” — Transcript

On Wednesday, June 27, we had a live Tweet-Cast of No Country For Old Men. What’s a Tweet-Cast? At 8PM Pacific, people from around the world pushed Play on an electronic device and watched the movie, then commented on it on Twitter. Involved in the commentary were

Scene Description Spotlight: “Barton Fink”

An enigmatic ending, a movie that leaves you hanging, so that as you exit the theater with your date or friends, everyone is talking about it. What happened? What does it mean? The Coen brothers seem to like these type of endings and perhaps nowhere more so than in their

Movie Trailer: “Looper”

Written by Rian Johnson IMDB site Release Date: 28 September 2012 (USA)

Saturday Hot Links

Welcome to another installment of Saturday Hot Links! Today: The When Harry Met Sally Diner Scene Homage To Nora Ephron Edition! Why Nora Ephron’s films made such an impact. The New Yorker remembers Nora Ephron. NPR: From ‘Silkwood’ to ‘Sally,’ a singular voice. Lena Dunham remembers Nora Ephron: Seeing

Written Interview: Benh Zeitlin (“Beasts of the Southern Wild”)

Alex Billington at FirstShowing features this week’s written interview: Meet Benh Zeitlin. I always love coming across young up-and-coming filmmakers. In January earlier this year he broke out with a little film called Beasts of the Southern Wild that exploded out of Sundance, with awards and critical

Daily Dialogue — June 30, 2012

urSu: Gelfling, I have told you of the Skeksis… Jen: The Skeksis killed my mother and father… urSu: The story runs deeper than you know… and you are part of it. Jen: I don’t understand. urSu: The Skeksis will vow to destroy you. For the prophecy says, you must

Why haven’t you finished that script?

You know, that one you’ve been kicking around for months. Maybe it’s pretty well worked out, but you just can’t summon up the energy to type FADE IN. Perhaps you’ve finished a draft, but you know it needs work. Or a partial draft and you’re

GITS Reader Question: Is it better to write long first drafts or short?

A Tweet from @_Mered: Scott, are your First Drafts usually too short or overlong? Which is easiest to remedy? To put things in perspective, check out this quote from writer-director Nancy Meyers [It’s Complicated, Something’s Gotta Give]: “My first draft was exactly 250 pages. I didn’t

The Definitive Spec Script Deals List (1991–2012): 2009

Pretty much ever since I sold a spec script in 1987, I have been fascinated by them. The very idea that a writer could conceive a story concept, research, craft and write an original screenplay, then sell it to a Hollywood buyer is in and of itself a remarkable thing.

Movie Trailer: “Robot and Frank”

Written by Christopher D. Ford IMDB site Release Date: 24 August 2012

GITS Script Reading & Analysis: “No Country For Old Men” — Dialogue

This week we will be analyzing the screenplay for the 2007 movie No Country For Old Men [screenplay by Joe Coen & Ethan Coen, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy]. It won an Academy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and a Golden

Great Characters: Mr. Incredible (“The Incredibles”)

Recently I asked if there were members of the GITS community who would like to participate with guest columns. Today’s Great Character post is provided by longtime GITS follower Jason Cuthbert [@A2Jason]. Great Characters: Mr. Incredible (“The Incredibles”) Most super hero movies predictably begin with the hero being not

Daily Dialogue — June 29, 2012

Charles: From what I know about you, I’m surprised you managed to stay this long. Eric: What do you know about me? Charles: Everything. Erik: Then you know to stay out of my head. Charles: I am sorry, Erik, but I’ve seen what Shaw did to you. I

“The Quest”: What have you learned so far?

First let me just say, I don’t intend for GITS to become all-Quest, all the time. Things should balance out after the dust settles in a few weeks. But I think it’s safe to say that something about this initiative has connected with the online screenwriting community.

“How Does the Film Industry Actually Make Money?”

NYT article yesterday that provides a bit less than it offers with the headline “How Does the Film Industry Actually Make Money?” I’ve been trying to come to terms with two seemingly irreconcilable facts. First, “Men in Black 3” has made more than $550 million worldwide. Second, while a

The Definitive Spec Script Deals List (1991–2012): 2008

Pretty much ever since I sold a spec script in 1987, I have been fascinated by them. The very idea that a writer could conceive a story concept, research, craft and write an original screenplay, then sell it to a Hollywood buyer is in and of itself a remarkable thing.

Movie Trailer: “Epic”

Written by Tom J. Astle, Matt Ember, James V. Hart, William Joyce, Daniel Shere IMDB site Release Date: 17 May 2013 (USA) Comment Archive

GITS Script Reading & Analysis: “No Country For Old Men” — Themes

This week we will be analyzing the screenplay for the 2007 movie No Country For Old Men [screenplay by Joe Coen & Ethan Coen, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy]. It won an Academy Award and a Writers Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and a Golden

The Business of Screenwriting: “It’s either gonna happen, or it ain’t gonna happen”

Today we have a guest post from Hollywood producer Max Millimeter who said he had a few thoughts he wanted to share about “The Quest” and the movie business in general. As usual this is a transcription of a recording Max made up at his Laurel Canyon home: Awright, I’