Scott Myers

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’

Daily Dialogue — June 28, 2012

Sean: I think there are monsters, like real ones! I heard my dad talking on the phone to a guy down at the police station tonight. There was a guy down there screaming he was a werewolf, and they shot him! And the body disappeared from the coroner van, the

Suggestions for GITS?

Every so often, I like to reach out to the GITS community to ask if there’s something you’d like for me to be doing here on the blog. So a few questions in that regard: * Are there series or features you especially like and want to see more?

How To Read A Screenplay: Parts 1–7

If you’re serious about learning the craft, here are some ways to dig into scripts. In this series, I have laid out one approach to reading and analyzing screenplays. This is not intended to train you to be a script reader, but rather to provide a set of tools

The Definitive Spec Script Sales List (1991–2012): 2007

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.

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

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

Script To Screen: “Vertigo”

An oldie but goodie: The 1958 movie Vertigo [screenplay by Alec Coppel and Samuel A. Taylor, based on a novel by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it is a taut thriller: John “Scottie” Ferguson is a retired San Francisco police detective who suffers from acrophobia and

Daily Dialogue — June 27, 2012

BLOOM: It’s simply a matter of creative accounting. Let us assume, just for the moment, that you are a dishonest man. BIALYSTOCK: Assume away! BLOOM: Well, it’s very easy. You simply raise more money than you really need. BIALYSTOCK: What do you mean? BLOOM: You’ve done it

In Memoriam: Nora Ephron (1941–2012)

According to Variety and other sources, screenwriter, author and director Nora Ephron has died today at the age of 71. Here are her writing credits per IMDB: 2009 Julie & Julia (screenplay) 2005 Bewitched (written by) 2000 Hanging Up (screenplay) 1998 You’ve Got Mail (screenplay) 1996 Michael (screenplay) 1994

Update: “Go Into The Story: The Quest”

If you are interested in learning the identities of the 21 writers [actually 22 including one writing team] who made the first round cut for the “Go Into The Story: The Quest” project, hit continue. Here are the 21 writers whose loglines made the first cut: Naomi Beaty — Los Angeles,

Tuesdays with Tom Benedek: “Writing the third act first: Resolution, Aftermath (and DIY)

Happy to announce that screenwriter (Cocoon), colleague and long-time friend Tom Benedek will be providing posts from time to time on Tuesdays. Here is Number 1: Every writing project we undertake is a saga (mostly told only to a select few who bear with us) about the writing. That

Movies You Made: “Project: Dirt Road”

A note from Mragendra: Hey Scott, I am sharing the previews of the two short movies which we are working on right now. These are feature projects but for now we have shot either the prologue or first 10 minutes of the films. The first one is called Project: Dirt

The Definitive Spec Script Sales List (1991–2012): 2006

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: “Celeste and Jesse Forever”

Screenplay by Rashida Jones and Will McCormack IMDB site

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

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

Screenwriting 101: Shane Black

“I studied William Goldman’s writing style, especially the scripts for Marathon Man and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. I found both of those to be really riveting, entertaining in their own right, as if you were reading a condensed novel good for one sitting. Similarly, Walter Hill’s

Daily Dialogue — June 26, 2012

CAMERON: (weak) Hello? FERRIS’ VOICE: Cameron! What’s happening? CAMERON: Very little. FERRIS’ VOICE: How do you feel? CAMERON: Shredded. FERRIS’ VOICE: Is your mother in the room? Cameron takes the thermometer out of his mouth. CAMERON: She’s not home. Where are you? FERRIS’ VOICE: Home. INT. FERRIS’ FAMILY

Update: “Go Into The Story: The Quest”

Okay, as it turns out, there were 3628 loglines submitted. I reviewed each and every single one of them. A total of 21 loglines have made the first round cut. Starting in the next hour and into tonight, I will be sending emails to those 21 writers to begin an

How To Read A Screenplay (Part 6): Themes

I can’t remember exactly how this subject came up on the blog, but it did, and when I asked whether people would like to explore how to read and analyze a screenplay, the response was quite positive. So here we are with yet another GITS series on screenwriting. Let

Movies You Made: “The Third”

A note from Emon Hassan: Hi Scott, I recently “aired” the fifth and final installment of EXITS, episode 2 of my supernatural/sci fi/mystery web series, The Third. The Third is a supernatural/mystery web series based in New York City, an island where destiny has brought many of

The Definitive Spec Script Sales List (1991–2012): 2005

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.

GITS: The Twitter Conversations — Script Readers: Part 2

TONIGHT: LIVE TWITTER CONVERSATION WITH THREE HOLLYWOOD SCRIPT READERS! 7:30PM PACIFIC, MONDAY, JUNE 25! #GITSchat One night about a month ago, I happened to intersect on Twitter with three people — @amandapendo [Amanda Pendolino], @BittrScrptReadr [The Bitter Script Reader] and @nate_winslow [Nate Winslow] — who work in the Hollywood film

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

Welcome to the GITS Script Reading & Analysis series, Volume 20. 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

On Writing

“‘Cat sat on the mat’ is not the beginning of a story, but ‘Cat sat on the dog’s mat’ is.” — John le Carré HT to @Quotes4Writers for the quote which comes from this Paris Review article. Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — June 25, 2012

Rango: People, I’ve had an epiphany! The hero cannot exist in a vacuum! What our story needs is an ironic, unexpected event, that will propel the hero into conflict! [just then we see that Rango is a pet kept in a glass aquarium traveling in the back of a