Scott Myers

How to land representation? Write a great script!

In the current GITS interview with screenwriter Marc Maurino, he was kind enough to respond to a question in comments from Marc Teichmann: Q: What tips do you have for getting scripts into the right hands? My partner and I are almost ready to start sending our first script out

Spec Script Sale: “Gaslight”

Hammer [Woman In Black] acquires 2011 Black List spec script thriller “Gaslight” from writer Ian Fried. From THR: The screenplay, which landed on Hollywood’s Black List of the best unproduced scripts in 2011, is described as in the vein of From Hell, the Alan Moore Victorian-age Jack the

Movies You Made: “Innocence Blood”

From the recent Introduce Yourself post, there were several readers who included information about movies they had made. So this week, we’ll feature those. Here’s today’s selection: Hello! I’m DJ Holloway, a writer and director in Orange County, California. I started writing as an independent study

Interview: Billy Beane & Brad Pitt (“Moneyball”)

Anne Thompson [@akstanwyck] recently nailed down 15 minutes with Brad Pitt and Billy Beane, the character Pitt plays in the movie Moneyball: For more of Anne’s IndieWire article, go here. Note: Next week we get to hear a side of the Moneyball saga that has been largely ignored thus

Q&A: Screenwriter Marc Maurino (“Inside the Machine”), Part 3

Today we continue my interview with screenwriter Marc Maurino, who wrote and sold the spec script “Inside the Machine” to CBS Films in May 2011: SM: Okay, so let’s focus on Inside the Machine. Where did the idea for the script originate? MM: I love crime drama, and I

Script To Screen: “Taxi Driver”

From the 1976 movie Taxi Driver written by Paul Schrader. Setup: Travis Bickle [Robert DeNiro] comes looking for young prostitute Iris [Jodie Foster] only to run into some interference. SPORT What's going on?TRAVIS I'm here to see Iris.SPORT Iris?TRAVIS pushes SPORT back into

Daily Dialogue — February 8, 2011

“I don’t know who you are. I don’t know what you want. If you are looking for ransom, I can tell you I don’t have money. But what I do have are a very particular set of skills; skills I have acquired over a very long career.

How I Write A Script, Part 2: Brainstorming

Another installment in the 10-part series “How I Write A Script.” PART 2: BRAINSTORMING Once I find a story concept I think might make a good movie, I create a Word file in my computer and start brainstorming ideas into that file. I can not emphasize enough how important

2,000?

If you look to the right, you’ll see the site currently has 1,996 registered members. Awfully close to 2,000, don’t you think? Who want to generate some good karma by helping get us over that mark? BTW we’ll be switching over to Google+ soon in

Pitch Sale: “Untitled Geoff LaTulippe Project”

From Deadline: Writer Geoff LaTulippe just closed his first directing job at Paramount. LaTulippe, who scripted Going the Distance and Breathers, will write and direct an untitled comedy ensemble based on his pitch at Paramount. What makes this particularly interesting for Deadline is that his studio shot came about after

“Twelve Things You Were Not Taught in School About Creative Thinking”

From Psychology Today: 1. You are creative. 2. Creative thinking is work. 3. You must go through the motions of being creative. 4. Your brain is not a computer. 5. There is no right answer. 6. Never stop with your first good idea. 7. Expect the experts to be negative.

Movies You Made: “Wail Away”

From the recent Introduce Yourself post, there were several readers who included information about movies they had made. So this week, we’ll feature those. Here’s today’s selection. From Dan Allan who is serving as the Social Media Coordinator for the movie Wail Away: The official synopsis: “How

Q&A: Screenwriter Marc Maurino (“Inside the Machine”), Part 2

Today we continue my interview with screenwriter Marc Maurino, who wrote and sold the spec script “Inside the Machine” to CBS Films in May 2011: SM: Amazingly enough “Inside the Machine” is your first feature length screenplay and yet it’s a really clean, professional read. How did you manage

Movie Trailer: “The Amazing Spider-Man”

Screenplay by Alvin Sargent and Steve Kloves, based on characters by Steve Ditko, Stan Lee and James Vanderbilt Release date: July 3, 2012

Screenwriting 101: Amy Holden Jones

“Roger Corman taught me a very valuable lesson. He said you could make a movie about just about anything as long as it had a hook to hang the advertising on.”  — Amy Holden Jones (Mystic Pizza, Beethoven, Indecent Proposal)

Daily Dialogue — February 7, 2012

Obi-Wan Kenobi: You have allowed this dark lord to twist your mind, until now, until now you’ve become the very thing you swore to destroy. Anakin Skywalker: Don’t lecture me, Obi-Wan! I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the dark side

Do you have a question about the film or TV business?

So like a zillion of us, Franklin Leonard was watching the flood of Super Bowl commercials yesterday and had this question: “Is there a different process for creating Super Bowl movie ads than there is from creating them the rest of the year?” And as he mused over that question,

How I Write A Script, Part 1: Story Concept

“How do you write a script?” I get asked that question a lot. So here it is, “The Not So Famous Scott Myers Approach To Writing A Screenplay From Concept To Fade Out: A 10-Part Series.” PART 1: STORY CONCEPT It all starts with the idea. And every day,

Movies You Made: “Sketch Pad”

From the recent Introduce Yourself post, there were several readers who included information about movies they had made. So this week, we’ll feature those. Here’s today’s selection: My name is Mark Pallis. I’m a fan of the blog, and delighted to introduce myself. I am based

Today is Francois Truffaut’s birthday

The great French writer-director Francois Truffaut was born on February 6, 1932. He died far too young in 1984. His screenwriting credits include Les quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows — 1959), À bout de souffle (Breathless — 1960), Tirez sur le pianiste (Shoot the Piano Player — 1960), Jules et Jim

Q&A: Screenwriter Marc Maurino (“Inside the Machine”), Part 1

On May 12, 2011, I posted this: CBS Films acquires action thriller spec script “Inside the Machine” from writer Marc Maurino. Per Deadline: Maurino is repped by UTA and Circle of Confusion. Marc and I got in touch with each other, and he kindly agreed to do an interview with

On Writing

“You write by sitting down and writing. There’s no particular time or place — you suit yourself, your nature. How one works, assuming he’s disciplined, doesn’t matter.” — Bernard Malamud from “Advice to Writers”

Super Bowl commercials: The movie editions

Here are some of the movie related commercials from this year’s Super Bowl. The Avengers John Carter Battleship Hey, it’s Clint Eastwood, okay? VW / “Star Wars” Matthew Broderick’s Day Off UPDATE: Peter at Slashfilm with a helpful compilation — all yesterday’s Super Bowl ads directed by filmmakers.

Daily Dialogue — February 6, 2012

“You tell my wife, I’ll kill you.” — Dan (Michael Douglas), Fatal Attraction (1987), written by James Dearden http://static.movieclips.com/embedplayer.swf?shortid=ZCPT The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is death threats, suggested by Chris Schipper. Today’s suggestion by Teddy Pasternak. Trivia: The two psychiatrists

“Star Wars: Uncut”

For those not interested in the Super Bowl, here’s a terrific way to spend two hours of your life: “Star Wars: Uncut”: In 2009, Casey Pugh asked thousands of Internet users to remake “Star Wars: A New Hope” into a fan film, 15 seconds at a time. Contributors were