Scott Myers

GITS Script Reading & Analysis: “The Sixth Sense” — Characters

This week we are analyzing the screenplay for the 1999 movie The Sixth Sense written by M. Night Shyamalan. You can access the September 12, 1997 draft of the script through myPDFscripts here. Today we discuss the script’s characters. Here is a list of the most prominent ones: Malcolm

Script To Screen: “Halloween”

Here is a whopper of a Final Struggle from the 1978 Halloween, written by John Carpenter and Debra Hill. Setup: After a night filled with terror being stalked by crazed killer Michael Myers, babysitter Laurie tends to her wards, and then… INT. BEDROOMLaurie emerges from the closet and carefully crosses

Daily Dialogue — January 25, 2012

“Alyssa Jones? Shit, I know Alyssa Jones, I mean I KNOW Alyssa Jones! Know what I’m sayin’? Me and Rick Darris used to hang around her house after school and shit ’cause her parents were like never home and shit. One day Rick just whips it out and starts

Figure out your story BEFORE you write it

One of the most gratifying aspects of the launch of Screenwriting Master Class has been the response of writers to our 6-week online Prep: From Concept to Outline course. Even though I know how important it is to break a story in prep, how this is the way most

2012 Sundance Film Festival: Day 5

Day 5 links! Deadline: Kevin Smith makes a distribution deal Deadline: Focus Dials Up ‘For A Good Time, Call…’ Deal For Over $2 Million Entertainment Weekly: Slamdance preview: How Ed Wood’s long lost horror film ‘Final Curtain’ finally made it to the big screen IndieWire: All the Week 1

The Katzenberg Memo, Part 12

In January 1991, Jeffrey Katzenberg, then the head of Disney’s motion picture divisions, wrote a memo that ended up being circulated throughout Hollywood. Even though it is 21 years old, it is remarkably relevant to the current movie business. For example, the United States was in a recession as

GITS Script Reading & Analysis: “The Sixth Sense” — Structure

This week we are analyzing the screenplay for the 1999 movie The Sixth Sense written by M. Night Shyamalan. You can access the September 12, 1997 draft of the script through myPDFscripts here.Today we discuss the script’s structure. Three-act structure? A scene-by-scene breakdown? Major plot

2012 Academy Award nominations [full list]

The 2012 Academy Award nominations were announced this morning. Here are the screenwriting nominees: Best Original Screenplay Michel Hazanivicius, The Artist Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumulo, Bridesmaids Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris J.C. Chandor, Margin Call Asghar Farhadi, A Separation Best Adapted Screenplay Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim

Screenwriting 101: Quentin Tarantino

“The final draft of the script is the first cut of the movie, and the final cut of the movie is the last draft of the script.” — Quentin Tarantino

Daily Dialogue — January 24, 2012

“It was a rough place, the seediest dive on the wharf. Populated with every reject and cutthroat from Bombay to Calcutta. It was worse than Detroit.” — Ted Striker (Robert Hays), Airplane! (1980), written by David Zucker & Jim Abrahams & Jerry Zucker The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is

“Stars Diss Hollywood”: Or why are there so many “shit movies”?

A Huffington Post article today accumulates a lot of F&S-bombs lobbed Hollywood’s way by some well-known actors. A few excerpts starting with Australian actor Joel Edgerton (Animal Kingdom, Warrior): “I have an issue with the commercial aspect of moviemaking: I don’t see why a

“Chess Club”

A high school chess club with their homage to “Fight Club”: HT to Mike M for the link! Comment Archive

2012 Sundance Film Festival: Day 4

Day 4 links! Deadline: HBO And Scott Rudin To Turn Docu ‘Indie Game’ Into Series Deadline: CBS Films Scoring First Major Fest Deal On ‘The Words’ Deadline: Midnight Title ‘Black Rock’ Bought By Upstart LD Distribution IndieWire: Quentin Dupieux’s ‘Wrong’ Suggests ‘Groundhog Day’ Via Buñuel IndieWire: Screenwriting Duo Invents

The Katzenberg Memo, Part 11

In January 1991, Jeffrey Katzenberg, then the head of Disney’s motion picture divisions, wrote a memo that ended up being circulated throughout Hollywood. Even though it is 21 years old, it is remarkably relevant to the current movie business. For example, the United States was in a recession as

GITS Script Reading and Analysis Series: “The Sixth Sense”

Welcome to Week 15 of the GITS Script Reading & Analysis series. This week we will be analyzing the screenplay for The Sixth Sense (written by M. Night Shyamalan). One of the reasons I chose it is because it was a spec script that sold for a reported $2.5M.

On Writing

“What the budding artist needs is the privilege of wrestling with his problems in solitude — and now and then a piece of red meat.” — Henry Miller, excerpted from “Advice to Writers.

Daily Dialogue — January 23, 2012

Dick: What are you sore about? We got no beef. It’s us against them. Perry: This is between us. It’s got nothing to do with them. Perry’s Father: Look at me boy! Take a good look! ’Cause I’m the last living thing you’re ever gonna

Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Flashbacks

After a week of celebrating victories, this week’s theme is flashbacks suggested by Alexander Gorelik. Some of the most famous scenes and sequences in cinema history have been flashbacks. For instance, what about Rick (Humphrey Bogart) remembering the way it was with he and Ilse (Ingrid Bergman) when they

“Writer Held Hostage” series by Doug Richardson

A nice series by screenwriter and novelist Doug Richardson over at Stage 32. It’s a behind the scenes look at Richardson’s experiences during production of the movie Hostage: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Worth a read.

2012 Sundance Film Festival: Day 3

Day 3 links! Deadline: How Did Last Year’s Festival Films Fare At The Domestic Box Office? Deadline: Dakota Fanning, Elizabeth Olsen, Anton Yelchin Lead Naomi Foner’s ‘Very Good Girls’ FirstShowing: Review of “I Am Not A Hipster” IndieWire: Review of “Detropia” IndieWire: Review of “The End of Love”

Written Interview: Tom Schulman (“Dead Poets Society”)

The Blu-Ray edition of Dead Poet’s Society was released this week. Rocio Anika at I Am Rogue interviewed its Academy Award winning screenwriter Tom Schulman. Some excerpts: I read that you wrote the script about your own experience at an academy, so have any of your feelings, thoughts

Audio Interview: Dan Harmon, Kyle Killen, Chris McKenna, Charles Murray

Today’s interview is for all you interested in TV writing. It is a roundtable discussion with: Dan Harmon (Community creator’s return engagement!); Kyle Killen (creator, Lone Star; co-creator Awake); Chris McKenna (Community; American Dad); Charles Murray (Castle; V; Criminal Minds). Recorded October 16, 2011. Presented by Nerdist

Daily Dialogue — January 22, 2012

“Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!” — Rudy (1993), written by Angelo Pizzo The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is celebrating victory, suggested by Franklin Leonard. Today’s suggestion by Teddy Pasternak. Trivia: According to Rudy, he has no brother named Frank in real life. The character of Frank is all the people

Spec Script Sale: “Thirteen”

Universal with preemptive acquisition of supernatural thriller spec script “Thirteen” from writer Benjamin Magid. From Variety: “Thirteen” centers on possession and is understood to utilize a mixture of found-footage point of views. The story is reminiscent of 1990’s “Flatliners,” which starred Julia Roberts and Kiefer Sutherland as medical

2012 Sundance Film Festival: Day 2

Day 2 links! IndieWire: Magnolia buys The Queen of Versailles IndieWire: Why Malik Bendjelloul’s ‘Searching for Sugar Man’ Was the First Buy of Sundance 2012 IndieWire: Sony Classics acquires Sugar Man IndieWire: ‘Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie’ Inherits the ‘Dumb and Dumber’ Throne NY Magazine [Vulture]: How