Scott Myers

Written Interview: James L. Brooks

Some quotes from writer-director [Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, As Good As It Gets] James L. Brooks: I always fight hard to push a movie to the point where it pulls me. To me, every script should begin with “Fade in: Tax-incentive state.” That’s what’s happened.

Daily Dialogue — December 10, 2011

Major John Reisman: Which one of you guys wants to be a general? [to Pinkley] Pinkley? Pinkley: What kind of general, sir? Major John Reisman: Just a plain, ordinary, every day, home-lovin’ American general. Pinkley: I’d rather be a civilian, sir. — Major John Reisman (Lee Marvin), Pinkley (Donald

Reader Question: What about mid-points?

From Jacqueline Windh: What about mid-points? I feel like I have got a really good handle on the Three-Act structure, and the two main turning points that take us from one act to the next — both timing of them, and what they should do or achieve. But I

THR: The State of the Screenplay Races

THR’s Scott Feinberg handicaps the ‘race’ for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay. Here are his lists of 10 possibilities in each category: Best Adapted Screenplay 1. Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash (The Descendants) ▲ 2. Stan Chervin, Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian (Moneyball) ▲ 3. John Logan (Hugo) ▲ 4.

The Writers: “Secrets exact grim toll”

The fourth of four Variety end-of-year articles on screenwriters, focusing on the duplicitous nature of movie characters… and why that’s a good thing from a dramatic standpoint. Quotes from several writers of notable 2011 movies: Co-writer Peter Straughan [Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy]: “Only gradually do you

The Hit List: 2011

While we wait for The Black List, here is the The Hit List: 2011. THE HIT LIST is an annual list that has existed in small talk, memo, gossip, facsimile, journal, email, and simple rumor since the blossoming days of the film industry. However, before 2010 it has always been

The chronology of “Pulp Fiction” [Part 2]

Okay, this is pretty mindboggling. Some saintly movie lover named crimewriter95 edited the original Pulp Fiction so that it plays in chronological order: A terrific exercise to watch the movie this way and compare to the chronology I laid out in the previous post, great for compare and contrast. UPDATE:

The chronology of “Pulp Fiction” [Part 1]

I saw something quite interesting, which I will feature in the post following this one, about one of my favorite movies Pulp Fiction, and that brought to mind this analysis I did of the script some years ago: This is my attempt to (A) track the story in a linear

GITS Script Reading & Analysis: “Cloverfield” — Dialogue

We wrap up our week long analysis of the script Cloverfield by considering its use of dialogue. There are the standard set of questions: * What do you consider to be the most memorable lines, either good or… not so good? Why did they work — or not — for you? * Any notable

Great Characters: General George S. Patton, Jr. (“Patton”)

Patton is one of the greatest bio-pics of all time. With a screen story and screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North, based on factual material from “Patton: Ordeal and Triumph” by Ladislas Farago and Omar N. Bradley, directed by Franklin J. Schaffner, and starring George C.

Daily Dialogue — December 9, 2011

SS officer: [to Sophie] You’re so beautiful. I’d like to get you in bed. Are you a Polack? You! Are you also one of those filthy communists? [walks away] Sophie: I am a Pole! I was born in Cracow! I am not a Jew. Neither are my children!

Spec Script Sale: “The Follower”

Per Variety, Millennium Films acquires thriller spec script “The Follower” from writer Tony Giglio. No plot details given. Katherin Heigl circling to produce and star. Writer is repped by Paradigm and New Wave Entertainment. By my count, there have been 104 spec script sales in 2011. Only 55 spec scripts

Reader Question: Do I have to get someone’s life rights?

From Amy R. Butler: I was actually just hoping you’d do reader questions again, ’cause I’ve actually got one! I scanned through the list and saw a similar one about how much can you take from real life scenarios and not get sued, but I was wondering if,

Pete Docter’s new Pixar movie

While appearing on “The Charlie Rose Show” recently, Pixar head honcho John Lasseter said this: Pete Docter, from Monsters Incorporated and Up, is doing a new film that takes place inside of a girl’s mind, and it is about her emotions as characters. And that is unlike anything you’

The Writers: “Writers’ words craft indelible images”

The third of four Variety end-of-year articles on screenwriters: Silence. In films, silent moments may be one of the most effective techniques to evoke a powerful emotion or to portray a character, and often what’s seen on the screen is more powerful than any words could be.

Movies You Made: “Saved by the Belding” by Scott & Matt Hamilton

From filmmaker Matt Hamilton: Here is a short film my brother and I directed recently called “Saved By The Belding” and stars some old cast members from “Saved By The Bell”. My brother and I worked for the past year and a half making connections in Los Angeles from Austin,

GITS Script Reading & Analysis: “Cloverfield” — Themes

This week we are analyzing the screenplay for the 2008 movie Cloverfield. You may access the 2007–06–08 draft [written by Drew Goddard] here. Today we discuss the script’s themes. I found a great blog where Paul, a “Toronto-based freelance artist, designer, illustrator, photographer” did a great

Spec Script Sale: “Sad Jack”

Spec Script Deal: “Sad Jack” Code Entertainment acquires action spec script “Sad Jack” by writer Chris Borrelli. Per Variety: “Sad Jack” tells the story of a hired assassin who is challenged by his paranoid schizophrenia to distinguish real threats from those conceived in his imagination. Sounds more like an action-

The Business of Screenwriting: Imagine the movie

One test of a story concept: Can you imagine it as a movie? One of the best things about hosting this blog is it puts me in a position to talk about screenwriting with fellow writers plying their craft in Hollywood and elsewhere. Just last week, I invited John Swetnam

Daily Dialogue — December 8, 2011

Sgt. Tree: The Coast Artillery Command has determined your property to be strategically advantageous for the installation of an enemy aircraft defense battery. Ward Douglas: What? Sgt. Tree: We wanna’ put this 40mm enemy aircraft gun in your yard sir. Ward Douglas: Joan, they want to put this gun in

Reader Question: Should I reference other movies when pitching my own?

From mscherer: What is your take on using the infamous: ‘in the vein of…’ (or something akin) when submitting queries? For example, I use the following for one of my specs: Scorpio Cruise is Falling Down meets Taken. I have heard/read that most Hollywood types believe it to be

The diminishment of screenwriting

Salon film critic Andrew O’Hehir weighs in with his review of Young Adult, the new movie written by Diablo Cody and directed by Jason Reitman. You can read the article here. What I found most interesting was how he starts the piece with some reflections about screenwriting: Screenwriting is

The Writers: “Waking nightmares”

The second of four Variety end-of-year articles on screenwriters: To arrive at an Oscar-worthy screenplay, scribes must fend off writer’s block, fill in plot holes, and solve even the thorniest writing puzzles. These four writers wrestled with, and eventually conquered, scenes that proved to be nightmares:

2012 WGA TV nominations

Just in from the WGA [below the fold]: DRAMA SERIES Boardwalk Empire, Written by Bathsheba Doran, Dave Flebotte, Howard Korder, Steve Kornacki, Itamar Moses, Margaret Nagle, Terence Winter; HBO Breaking Bad, Written by Sam Catlin, Vince Gilligan, Peter Gould, Gennifer Hutchison, George Mastras, Thomas Schnauz, Moira Walley-Beckett; AMC Game

Movies You Made: “SAT-com” by Conrad Sylvia and Mal Stares

In this latest round of MYM, we’ve had a little bit of everything: short films, long films, teasers, narrative music videos, student films, trailers to accompany spec scripts. But here’s something we haven’t had: A short film with an educational slant. From filmmaker Conrad Sylvia: My producing