Scott Myers

Rod Serling: On the importance of a story’s climax

GITS reader David A sent me a link to an amazing set of videos, a sit-down conversation with TV and screenwriter Rod Serling. Most well-known for the long-running TV anthology series “The Twilight Zone” (148 episodes, 1959–1964), has over 70 writing credits including the screenplays for

Screenwriting 101: Lem Dobbs

“Everyone thinks movies are accessible to them, you see, everyone has spent their life going to movies, watching movies on television, renting movies … They didn’t grow up performing appendectomies. No one seems to realize that the people at the very top, the ones everyone else would like to be

Daily Dialogue — June 12, 2012

Ned Pepper: I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man! Rooster: Fill your hands, you son of a bitch! — Ned Pepper (Robert Duvall), Rooster (John Wayne), True Grit (1969), screenplay by Marguerite Roberts, based on a novel by Charles Portis http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=

Spec Script Sale: “Wunderkind”

Paramount acquires action thriller spec script “Wunderkind” from writer Patrick Aison. From THR: The action/thriller is set in the 1970s and follows two Nazi hunters; one is with the CIA and another works for Israel’s Mossad intelligence organization. The two hunters’ paths become intertwined — but they only start

Update: “Go Into The Story: The Quest”

For those who may be visiting the site for the first time or for the first time in a while, you can go here for background on “Go Into The Story: The Quest”. Bottom line: The opportunity for up to 4 writers to take the 24-week Screenwriting Master Class

Story Ideas: Images

As it turned out, our collective conversation about “Go Into The Story: The Quest” over the last couple of weeks has, I think, sharpened everyone’s awareness about the importance of working with the strongest story ideas possible. Let me repeat something I can not verify factually, but I know

Reader Question: How to write “unwriteable moments of a film” in a screenplay?

Reader Question: How to write “unwritable moments” in a screenplay? Plus a question about writing montages. From Michael Traven, a two-part question. Here is part one: Hey Scott. Using the breakout Cannes film of last year, DRIVE, as an example, how do you write a 110-page script when

Would you like a 5-part series on how to read and analyze a script?

I’ve had a few conversations on GITS and via email recently with readers wondering how to get the most value out of reading scripts. That got me thinking about it and sent me scurrying back to some files I have of the dozens and dozens of scripts I read

Spec Script Sale: “God Particle”

Paramount acquires science fiction spec script “God Particle” from writer Oren Uziel. From FilmFunds: The script is set after a physics experiment with a large hadron accelerator causes the Earth to seemingly vanish completely. The terrified crew of an orbiting American space station is left floating in the middle of

The Definitive Spec Script Sales List (1991–2012): 1995

The Definitive Spec Script Deals List: 1995 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

Movie Trailer: “The Queen of Versailles”

Official Website Release Date: July 20, 2012 (limited) Studio: Magnolia Pictures Director: Lauren Greenfield Screenwriter: Not Available Starring: Jackie Siegel, David Siegel Genre: Documentary MPAA Rating: PG (for thematic elements and language) Directed by lauded filmmaker and photographer Lauren Greenfield, who won the U.S. Directing Award for Documentary Film

Rod Serling: On time travel

GITS reader David A sent me a link to an amazing set of videos, a sit-down conversation with TV and screenwriter Rod Serling. Most well-known for the long-running TV anthology series “The Twilight Zone” (148 episodes, 1959–1964), has over 70 writing credits including the screenplays for

On Writing

“Being a writer is like having homework every night for the rest of your life.” — Lawrence Kasdan HT to @Quotes4Writers

Daily Dialogue — June 11, 2012

“Take your stinkin’ paws off me, you damn dirty ape!” — George Taylor (Charlton Heston), Planet of the Apes (1968), screenplay by  Michael Wilson and Rod Serling, based on a novel by Pierre Boulle “Take your stinkin’ paws off me, you damn dirty human!” — Krull (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa), Planet of the

One hour of deleted scenes from “Blue Velvet”

Holy crap, what a find! From Dangerous Minds: Blue Velvet’s original shooting script is reputed to have been over four hours long. The theatrical release came in at 120 minutes. An additional hour of deleted footage was thought to have been lost when the producer of the film, Dino

GITS Script Reading & Analysis: What should the next script be?

19. That’s how many scripts we have read and analyzed in this ongoing GITS series. You can go here for links to every one of them from our most recent one (500) Days of Summer to the first one we did Gladiator back in September 2011. I have two

7979!

That’s how many followers I have on Twitter right now. If you’re not following me there, you miss out on a lot. Lots of interaction with folks, plus I RT items of interest that don’t make it onto the blog. Besides I’m only 21 away from

“You and I are not so different…”

So I went to see a movie recently. I don’t want to give away any plot spoilers, so I won’t name the film, but it rhymes with “Blow Tight and the Puntsman.” Anyhow there is a pivotal moment in Act Three where the Nemesis says to the Protagonist

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: The Continuity (Part 2)

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:

Screenwriting News (June 4-June 10, 2012)

Clive Barker to rewrite-direct “Zombies vs. Gladiators” for Amazon Studios. Craig Bartlett (Dinosaur Train) writing “Frog and Toad” for the Jim Henson Company. Will Beall (Gangster Squad) writing “The Justice League” for Warner Bros. Carter Blanchard sells found footage spec script “Glimmer” to DreamWorks in a bidding war for

Video Interview: Alan Ball

An hour-long interview with Alan Ball who won an Academy Award for his screenplay American Beauty and has created the TV series “Six Feet Under” and “True Blood.” HT to @webacion for finding this video. UPDATE: HT to Rodrigo for finding the first hour of what is actually a

Daily Dialogue — June 10, 2012

Lars Lindstrom: You don’t care. Karin: We don’t care? We do care! Lars Lindstrom: No you don’t. Karin: That is just not true! God! Every person in this town bends over backward to make Bianca feel at home. Why do you think she has so many places

Next week’s Daily Dialogue theme: Originals and remakes

After a week’s worth of pity parties [suggested by Teddy Pasternak], we move onto our next DDT: Originals and remakes, nominated by saint716. This could be our most challenging DDT yet. The object here is to find dialogue that exists in the original that is repeated or adapted in

Update: “Go Into The Story: The Quest”

Phew! What a week or so. Everything about this project grew exponentially. I never expected the level of response from writers, nor did I anticipate turning “The Quest” into a daily exercise in discussing story ideas, but what happened just… evolved. Even the emergence of the so-called “Producer Scott”

“30 Cent Book Bin” [Comic]

“30 Cent Book Bin” [Comic]