Scott Myers

Spec Script Sale: “El Tigre”

Sony acquires comedy spec script “El Tigre” from first-time writers Aaron Buchsbaum and Teddy Riley. From THR: The project is an action comedy about a family vacation gone wrong when the father is mistaken for Mexico’s most ruthless drug lord, El Tigre. — - A bidding war broke out between

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — April 27

This is the third year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today’s story: ‘Most wanted’ fugitive spotted on school field trip: SEATTLE — The Seattle School District is investigating how a fugitive from the law ended up on a school field trip Wednesday afternoon. A fellow

Great Character: Miles (“Sideways”)

Protagonists must be sympathetic. They have to be likeable. We need to root for them. That’s straight out of Screenwriting 101, right? Uh, no. Protagonists can be deeply flawed individuals who are drunks, live in complete denial of their psychological issues, act superior to others, and even steal money

Daily Dialogue — April 27, 2012

“Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and

Spec Script Sale: “Son of a Bitch”

Warner Bros. acquires comedy spec script “Son of a Bitch” from writer Kelly Oxford. From InsideMovies: A young stoner who tries to maintain her popular party image even after discovering she’s pregnant. Oxford is a housewife, mother of three from Calgary, Canada, but has a devoted Twitter following [@kellyoxford]

Spec Script Sale: “The Fall”

QED International acquires drama thriller spec script “The Fall” from writer Christopher Cosmos. From Deadline: A modern take on The Odyssey, about a young man who makes his way cross country carrying with him the cure for a devastating plague. He’s hunted by men who want the cure for

Humanize your Nemesis

Yet another fascinating discussion in my current Character Development Keys class, this one about how to create a “worthy Nemesis.” An excerpt from what I posted today: Frankly that’s one reason why I choose to call this archetype Nemesis rather than Antagonist. Here’s a quote from my Core

Deep Focus: The Go Into The Movies Project — Filmmakers

In order to be a good screenwriter, you have to do more than learn about screenwriting. Indeed you must immerse yourself in the world of cinema. There are several reasons for this: * It is important to know at least something of the history of filmmaking in order to have a

Movie Trailer: “Brave”

Screenplay by Brenda Chapman, Irene Mecchi, and Mark Andrews, story by Brenda Chapman Since ancient times, stories of epic battles and mystical legends have been passed through the generations across the rugged and mysterious Highlands of Scotland. In “Brave,” a new tale joins the lore when the courageous Merida (voice

GITS Script Reading and Analysis Series: “Galaxy Quest” — Themes

This week we are analyzing the screenplay for the 1999 science fiction comedy Galaxy Quest, story by David Howard, screenplay by David Howard and Robert Gordon. You can download the script here. Today we discuss the script’s themes. There are several of them. Which ones do you see at

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 26

This is the third year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today’s story: TSA Screeners Allegedly Took Bribes To Let Drugs Pass: Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced criminal charges against four security screeners who worked at Los Angeles International Airport and were allegedly paid thousands

The Business of Screenwriting: Hurry up and wait

We have worked on the script for months. It’s an assignment. The studio and the project’s producers have made it known emphatically since day one they want to see the draft ASAP. Our agents, well aware of this fact, check in routinely to see how things are going.

Daily Dialogue — April 26, 2012

Unfortunately, THIS guitar said, ‘When I get back to Georgia, that woman gonna feel my pain.’ THIS one said something along the lines of, ‘Why yes, these pants ARE lycra.’ THESE said, ‘I’m very sensitive, very caring, and I have absolutely no idea how to play the guitar.’ — Karen

Live Tweet-Cast of “Galaxy Quest” starts now!

At precisely 8PM Pacific [U.S.] tonight — right now!!! — you are invited to push play on whatever device you have to watch the movie Galaxy Quest in real time with a host of others, all of us commenting on Twitter. We will record the Tweet-Cast to make it available

Reader Question: Is there a source for coverage of recently produced scripts?

From Steven Enloe: Does anyone know of a good source for script readers’ coverage of recently produced scripts? And a site with lots of attempts at formulating loglines for recent films? I’m stumped on this one. I don’t even know of anyone/anywhere who collects script coverage, although

Finding a balance between Protagonist and non-Protagonist characters

This subject came up in my current Character Development Keys class: How in some movies, the most memorable characters are not the Protagonist. My response: While it’s a great thing to create such entertaining and compelling characters as the Joker, Hannibal Lecter, Darth Vader, Rooster Cogburn, and so forth,

Deep Focus: The Go Into The Movies Project — Film Analysis and Criticism

In order to be a good screenwriter, you have to do more than learn about screenwriting. Indeed you must immerse yourself in the world of cinema. There are several reasons for this: * It is important to know at least something of the history of filmmaking in order to have a

Video Collage: “The Shining”

A synchronized collage of every zoom in Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 horror masterpiece The Shining. Via @Vulture.

GITS Script Reading and Analysis Series: “Galaxy Quest” — Characters

This week we are analyzing the screenplay for the 1999 science fiction comedy Galaxy Quest, story by David Howard, screenplay by David Howard and Robert Gordon. You can download the script here. Here is a scene from the movie: http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=wuvyU Today we discuss

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 25

This is the third year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today’s story: The Man Who Hacked Hollywood: The hacker’s eyes widened as the image filled his screen. There, without her makeup, stood Scarlett Johansson, her famous face unmistakable in the foreground, her naked

Daily Dialogue — April 25, 2012

“He was ashamed of his persiflage, his boasting, his pretensions of courage and ruthlessness; he was sorry about his cold-bloodedness, his dispassion, his inability to express what he now believed was the case- that he truly regretted killing Jesse, that he missed the man as much as anybody and

Reader Question: Is it okay / advisable to put a logline on the script’s title page?

From Teddy Paternak: Hello. Long time reader here. I can’t remember where I saw this, but not too long ago someone had put a logline on the title page of their spec script, right under the title, and someone else said that’s a big no-no. Of course,

Spec Script Sale: “Cardiac”

20th Century Fox and Davis Entertainment acquire action thriller spec script “Cardiac” from writer Lars Jacobson. From Deadline: A taut action thriller in the vein of Taken and Safe House, involving a father who has six hours to find the criminals that have stolen a heart intended for his daughter’

Deep Focus: The Go Into The Movies Project — Scripts and Screenwriting

In order to be a good screenwriter, you have to do more than learn about screenwriting. Indeed you must immerse yourself in the world of cinema. There are several reasons for this: * It is important to know at least something of the history of filmmaking in order to have a

GITS Script Reading and Analysis Series: “Galaxy Quest” — Structure

This week we are analyzing the screenplay for the 1999 science fiction comedy Galaxay Quest, story by David Howard, screenplay by David Howard and Robert Gordon. You can download the script here. Here is a scene from the movie: http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=sUwy Today we discuss