Scott Myers

Update: “Go Into The Story: The Quest”

I have got about 400 loglines left to review which I should finish late tonight and that will be that for the official submission process for “Go Into The Story: The Quest” [For those who have no idea what I’m talking about, you may go here to find out

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

For our next GITS Script Reading & Analysis, the screenplay is No Country for Old Men, screenplay by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy. You can download the November 28, 2005 draft of the script here. It is 122 pages long. With this script,

Movies You Made: “Dawn of the Lemons”

A note from M. Davidson: Hi Scott! Dawn of the Lemons is a short I wrote and co-produced for a 72 hour contest. We had to incorporate 3 items: A lemon, a drunk uncle, and disaster strikes. Here is Dawn of the Lemons: Had no idea “Funny or Die”

Spec Script Sale: “Acolyte”

Voltage Pictures acquires action thriller spec script “Acolyte” from first time screenwriter Derek Kolstad. From Variety: “Acolyte” centers on a rogue government agency that’s using blackmail to coerce everyday citizens into committing acts of domestic terror. The agency mistakenly kidnaps the wife of a retired operative who responds by

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Marketing the Script

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: “Dredd”

Screenplay by Alex Garland, based on characters by Carlos Ezquerra and John Wagner IMDB site Release Date: 21 September 2012 (USA) Comment Archive

Screenwriting News (June 18-June 24, 2012)

Casey Affleck to write-direct untitled Josh Hamilton project for Thunder Road Prods. Dan Antoniazzi and Ben Shiffrin sell rom-com spec script “Match” to Millennium Films. Tom J. Astle and Matt Ember to adapt children’s book “Happy Smekday” for DreamWorks Animation. Rogery Avary to adapt novel “Jesus of

Daily Dialogue — June 24, 2012

McMurphy: [about shock treatments] They was giving me ten thousand watts a day, you know, and I’m hot to trot! The next woman takes me on’s gonna light up like a pinball machine and pay off in silver dollars! — McMurphy (Jack Nicholson), One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: The Herald’s Call

I don’t want to brag, but you Daily Dialogue supporters did a great job with this week’s theme: bragging [thanks for the suggestion, churnage]. Now it’s time for the last DDT in this cycle: The Herald’s Call as put forth by JasperLamarCrab. Joseph Campbell described the

Movies You Made: “Burn”

A note from Jerry Pyle: Hey Everybody, Please check out my film, “Burn”. A very short thriller I wrote and directed last year with Jessalyn Haefele producing, Kyle Klütz shooting and starring Tim Abell and Andrew Sheffield. I’d love to know what everyone thinks! Here is Burn: Congratulations, Jerry,

Commercial: “Nike — Magic Soccer Night”

Received this note from Paul Wie: Hi Scott, First of all, I want to say I’m a huge fan of your site and a daily reader for the last 3 years and counting, so thank you so much for the daily inspiration and wisdom! I know you’re a

Scene Description Spotlight: “Chinatown”

The screenplay for the 1974 movie Chinatown is considered one of the best scripts ever written. Its writer Robert Towne received an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the script ranks #3 on the WGA 101 List of top screenplays of all time. Whether you consider the movie film

Movie Trailer: “Taken 2”

Screenplay by Luc Besson and Robert Mark Kamen IMDB site Release Date: 5 October 2012 (USA) Comment Archive

Saturday Hot Links

Time for another installment of Saturday Hot Links! Today: The Billy Wilder Day After His 106th Birthday Edition! Brave director Mark Andrews talks the Pixar process. Research reveals why spammers claim they’re Nigerian. Apple, Amazon and the battle over the eBook market. Why are traffic lights red and green?

Written Interview: Wes Anderson (“Moonrise Kingdom”)

Vanity Fair Interview with writer-director Wes Anderson about his new movie Moonrise Kingdom. Excerpt: How is Suzy and Sam’s story similar to your first love? Well, what I wanted to do was re-create the feeling of that memory. The movie is kind of like a fantasy that

Daily Dialogue — June 23, 2012

He buries himself behind the Wall Street Journal again. Sugar hesitates for a second, then throws the ball back to the girls. She steps closer to Joe, peers around the paper, studying him. SUGAR : Haven’t I seen you somewhere before? JOE: (without looking up) Not very likely. SUGAR: Are

“22 story basics from Pixar”: #19–22

By now I’m pretty sure nearly everyone has seen this list — “22 storybasics I’ve picked up in my time at Pixar” — aggregated by Emma Coats, a storyboard artist at the studio. As opposed to just printing them out, tacking them up, then forgetting about them, I thought we

Movies You Made: “I’m So Sorry To Hear About Henry”

A note from Matt Latham: Hi Scott, I’m a long-time reader and also used to contribute regularly on the old GITS forum. You also featured one of my short films, AT LEAST THE DEVIL IS HONEST, on the blog, along with an interview with me, all of which

The Definitive Spec Script Sales List (1991–2012): 2004

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.

Spec Script Sale: “Match”

Millennium Films acquires romantic comedy spec script “Match” from writers Ben Shiffrin and Dan Antoniazzi. From Variety: Story centers on an executive at a dating web site who declares war on a rival service that embellishes profiles to help its clients hook up. Shiffrin and Antoniazzi also wrote “Heartstopper” which

Movie Trailer: “Anna Karenina”

Tom Stoppard (screenplay), Leo Tolstoy (novel) IMDB site Release Date: 9 November 2012 (USA) Comment Archive

“Go Into The Story: The Quest”: A slogan?

As I prepare to head for my bunker to hunker down over about 1000 more loglines starting tonight and running through Sunday [talk about a weekend read!], aiming to reach out on Monday, June 25 to anywhere from 20–30 writers who will have made the first round cut, here

Great Characters: Jack Torrance (“The Shining”)

Who can forget this face: None other than Jack Torrance from The Shining. Based on the Stephen King novel with a screenplay by director Stanley Kubrick and Diane Johnson, Torrance as played by Jack Nicholson is the Protagonist in this story of a writer gone awry. A plot summary from

Daily Dialogue — June 22, 2012

Vienna: You and McIvers own the whole town and every head of beef within five hundred miles. But that isn’t enough, is it? You’ve got to own everything. You can’t stand to see anyone else live. Well, you’re going to. You’re going to see a

How To Read A Screenplay (Part 4): Subplots, Relationships and Character Functions

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