Scott Myers

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 10

This is the third year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.

Screenwriting 101: Larry Ferguson

“There was a girl who came to me with her first screenplay. It was a good first shot. I gave her some advice. I told her, ‘I want you to go home and take a yellow Marks-A-Lot and highlight every verb in this 120-page screenplay, and then

Daily Dialogue — April 10, 2012

King George VI: [Sees Logue is sitting on the coronation throne] What are you doing? Get up! You can’t sit there! GET UP! Lionel Logue: Why not? It’s a chair. King George VI: No, that. It is not a chair. T-that… that is Saint Edward’s chair.

The value of a writing workshop

Whether vocation or avocation, a majority of a writer’s time is spent in solitude. That’s as it should be as we need that direct, unfiltered experience of the story universe and its characters to engage all levels of our creativity — conscious, unconscious, subconscious — in order to make the

Special L.A. event tomorrow with Tom Benedek!

My colleague Tom Benedek is rolling out his first novel “Peloponnesia” and there’s an exciting event tomorrow at 6:30PM in Santa Monica: Readings from his novel by a great group of actors and a chat with fellow authors Mona Simpson (“Anywhere But Here”) and Rex Pickett (“Sideways”). Plus

Find It, Save It

So here at GITS, we’re in the midst of the annual insanity known as A Story Idea Each Day for a Month in which I ‘give away’ 30 news items that caught my eye over the last year. I say ‘give away’ because they’re not mine per se,

Update: Amazon Studios

I’ve done due diligence re Amazon Studios. You can read posts about it here, here, here, and here. I even went beyond the screeds against the initiative from professional screenwriters to allow its head Roy Price to answer your questions which he did here. Last week… well, allow me

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 9

This is the third year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.

On Writing

“The best advice on writing I’ve ever received is: ‘Write with authority.’” — Cynthia Ozick

Daily Dialogue — April 9, 2012

“Ray, people will come, Ray. They’ll come to Iowa for reasons they can’t even fathom. They’ll turn up your driveway not knowing for sure why they’re doing it. They’ll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Of course, we won’

Screenwriting Advice From The Past: Theme

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:

Video: The original “Muppet Show” pitch

Now this is a pitch! HT to Flavorwire for the link.

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 8

This is the third year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one: You always need more than one in your gun.

Screenwriting News (4/2–4/8/2012)

John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky (“King of the Hill”) named to adapt “Woody Woodpecker” as an animated feature for Illumination Entertainment. Nick Antosco and Ned Vizzini sell the pitch “Woogles” based on an idea from screenwriter and project producer Max Landis. David Birke named to do English language adaptation of

Daily Dialogue — April 8, 2012

David Marcus: Lieutenant Saavik was right: You never have faced death. Kirk: No. Not like this. I haven’t faced death. I’ve cheated death. I’ve tricked my way out of death and patted myself on the back for my ingenuity. I know nothing. David Marcus: You knew enough

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Inspiration

It’s been a deadly week for dialogue this week, facing one’s demise on a daily basis each morning thanks to the theme facing death as suggested by @tiffanyleigh and @al_grinter. Next week, a different mood entirely: Inspiration as suggested by Summer Johnson. What movie moments spring to

Pitch Sale: “Warren Lich”

From It’s On The Grid: Square One Entertainment bought WARREN LICH, a pitch based on a spec trailer/rip-o-matic by director Shaun Rana, to be written by Francisco Lorite. Lorite is repped by Robert Lazar at ICM and Brooklyn Weaver at Energy Entertainment. Here’s the “spec

Scene Description Spotlight: “Gattaca”

The 1997 movie Gattaca is one that many GITS readers have commented on with great affection, either publicly or to me via email. Here is the movie’s plot synopsis per IMDB: Vincent is one of the last “natural” babies born into a sterile, genetically-enhanced world, where life expectancy

Movie Trailer: “Take This Waltz”

Production notes: When Margot, 28, meets Daniel, their chemistry is intense and immediate. But Margot suppresses her sudden attraction: she is happily married to Lou, a celebrated cookbook writer. When Margot learns that Daniel lives across the street from them, the certainty about her domestic life shatters. She and Daniel

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 7

This is the third year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one: The story idea is how everyone in Hollywood short-

Saturday Hot Links

Welcome back to another installment of Saturday Hot Links! Today: The Hayao Miyazaki Edition! Let’s start with something really cool: A peek at Martin Scorcese’s storyboards for Taxi Driver. Classic literature transformed into comic book art. For the first time in the 32 years of its existence, one

Written Interview: Whit Stillman (“Damsels in Distress”)

It’s great to see Whit Stillman back, so here’s today written interview with the writer-director in IndieWire. Some background: After a 14-year absence from feature filmmaking, Whit Stillman — the beloved chronicler of preppy, privileged and highly literate youth — makes his comeback this Friday with the release

Daily Dialogue — April 7, 2012

EXT. PRISON BARRACKS — DAYBREAK ESCORT OFFICER: Do want the padre? BREAKER MORANT: No thank you. I’m a pagan. ESCORT OFFICER: And you? LT. HANDCOCK: What’s a pagan? BREAKER MORANT: It’s somebody who doesn’t believe there’s a divine being dispensing justice to mankind. LT. HANDCOCK: (to

Reader Question: Do any screenwriters work on a commission basis?

From dizneegal: I write children’s books, but have a story that needs written for a movie. Do all screenwriters have fees? Do any screenwriters work on a commission basis? Thanks. (sorry if already been asked) If you are asking, “Do screenwriters sometimes agree to adapt a preexisting story on

Movie Trailer: “Total Recall”

Screenplay by Mark Bomback, James Vanderbilt, and Kurt Wimmer, based on a short story by Philip K. Dick IMDB site Release Date: 3 August 2012 Comment Archive