Scott Myers

Special Daily Dialogue: “The Dark Knight”

Batman: Where is Dent?  The Joker: You have all these rules and you think they’ll save you.  Lt. James Gordon: [Batman slams the Joker against a wall] He’s in control.  Batman: I have one rule.  The Joker: Then that’s the rule you’ll have to break to

Spoilers don’t spoil anything

So all of us who claim we despise movie trailers that give away too much of the plot? Evidently we’re lying. Or wrong. Or both. Jonah Lehrer at Wired explains a recent experiment: The experiment itself was simple: Nicholas Christenfeld and Jonathan Leavitt of UC San Diego gave several

“The Help”: Box office hit

It’s not a sequel. It doesn’t feature a superhero. Its budget ($25M) is less than most summer movie’s CGI costs. It has no A-level stars to boost its visibility. It is a — gasp! — period piece. And yet in its opening weekend, The Help is a hit,

Screenwriter Stories: Matt O’Neill

You can rely on the trades (i.e., Variety, The Hollywood Reporter) to cover screenwriters… up to a point. But sometimes you have to search through alternative sources of information to surface features on movie writers. Occasionally there will be articles in the “local writer makes it big” vein. Such

Video Interview: Billy Wilder

My favorite writer-director, the late great Billy Wilder. These clips from a 1986 appearance at AFI: Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Quote: “I try to make a picture that is on a certain level, but not for a special audience of cinema gourmets. I try to give them

Daily Dialogue — August 14, 2011

Christian Szell: Is it safe?… Is it safe?  Babe: You’re talking to me?  Christian Szell: Is it safe?  Babe: Is what safe?  Christian Szell: Is it safe?  Babe: I don’t know what you mean. I can’t tell you something’s safe or not, unless I know specifically

Daily Dialogue theme for next week???

As we wrap up a week’s worth of interrogations (thanks, Teddy P, for the suggestion), it’s time to open things up for a new theme. Here is our running list: Embarrassing [(Doug)] People at a loss for words [(Doug)] Arnold quotes [The Unknown Lyricist] Signature quotes from summer

“Emmys 2011: 10 War Stories From the Writing Trenches”

From THR: TV scribes are likely the most put- upon of all writers. They not only create the blood and guts of their shows, but many also lead the charge in the writers room, troubleshoot on the set and, in one case, direct, edit and produce. (Looking at you, Louie.

Written Interview: Anthony Zuiker

If we were to consider which TV writer-producer has had the most influence on the medium in the last decade, we would have to include Anthony Zuiker on that list. The three “CSI” series, all of which Zuiker co-created, have combined to make up 30 years of TV

Spirit Of The Spec: And If It Doesn’t Sell…

I had a conversation recently with a former studio executive turned producer in which I found myself talking about the “spirit of the spec,” essentially when a person chooses to pursue a project or goal entirely on speculation with the hopes of some eventual payoff. Not everybody would make that

GITS Weekly Script Analysis

So let’s move forward on this. And by this, I mean this: As longtime GITS readers may remember, in the past we have done a variety of script reading and analysis series including 40 Days of Screenplays, 6 Days of Screenplays, and so on. I think it’s time

Update: Story Ideas

Longtime GITS readers will recall every April, I run a series called A Story Idea Each Day for a Month. Every day, I post a different story idea I have collected over the year from various news sources. The rationale for this series: * To get you used to looking at

Movie Trailer: “50/50”

Yahoo! Video PlayerEdit descriptiond.yimg.com I posted about this spec script sale here back in October 2008 — a comedy about cancer. What do you think? Interested to see it? Comment Archive

Writers on how they write: Anne Rice

The Wall Street Journal has a great article: “How to Write a Great Novel”, reflections by 11 novelists on how they approach writing. I’ll feature one writer per day, highlighting their process with a key excerpt from the article. Today’s writer is Anne Rice whose books include “Interview

Great Characters: Samwise Gamgee (“Lord of the Rings”)

There are multiple characters from which to choose in the movie trilogy of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic fantasy novel “The Lord of the Rings,” but at the suggestion of my son Will, I’m going with Samwise Gamgee. As portrayed by actor Sean Astin from a script adaptation

Daily Dialogue — August 12, 2011

Col. Hans Landa: I just have a few questions, monsieur LaPadite. If you can assist me with answers, my department can close the file on your family. Now, before the occupation, there were four Jewish families in this area, all dairy farmers like yourself. Doleracs, Rollins, the Loveitts and the

Spirit Of The Spec: You Put It Out There

I had a conversation recently with a former studio executive turned producer in which I found myself talking about the “spirit of the spec,” essentially when a person chooses to pursue a project or goal entirely on speculation with the hopes of some eventual payoff. Not everybody would make that

Comparison: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” and “Cowboys & Aliens” (Part 1)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes is a hit. Cowboys & Aliens is not. Apes:  Production budget: $93M B.O. (1 week): $77.4M ($54M domestic / $23.4M international) C&A: Production budget: $163M B.O. (2 weeks): $67.4M (domestic) Apes will likely recoup its production budget

Spec scripts that started careers

Got a request via Twitter from @TheWriteScript and forwarded by @tracinell to create a list noting screenwriters whose writing careers in Hollywood started with the sale of a spec script. I responded with the first two to come to mind: Juno, Diablo Cody Little Miss Sunshine, Michael Arndt Here are

Writers on how they write: Colum McCann

The Wall Street Journal has a great article: “How to Write a Great Novel”, reflections by 11 novelists on how they approach writing. I’ll feature one writer per day, highlighting their process with a key excerpt from the article. Today’s writer is Colum McCann whose books include “The

The Business of Screenwriting: Celebrate your victories

Based on my experiences as a screenwriter in Hollywood, there are many things I can advise you to do that are not particularly enjoyable… I harangue you to read scripts. I push you to come up with story concepts daily to help you generate a great one. I advise you

Daily Dialogue — August 11, 2011

Gus: Did you ever do drugs with Mr. Boz? Catherine: Sure. Gus: What kind of drugs? Catherine: Cocaine. Have you ever fucked on cocaine, Nick? It’s nice. [Catherine Tramell uncrosses her legs and it can be seen she’s wearing no underwear] Nick: You like playing games don’t

Spirit Of The Spec: You Write Your Story

I had a conversation recently with a former studio executive turned producer in which I found myself talking about the “spirit of the spec,” essentially when a person chooses to pursue a project or goal entirely on speculation with the hopes of some eventual payoff. Not everybody would make that

Writing Question: For someone interested in screenwriting, is there value in reading plays?

This question comes from GITS reader Darren McLeod: I was going to ask you, Scott, about your opinion on reading plays. I’ve found that you can often find books of plays at thrift stores for under a dollar, and that the dialogue in plays is often sharper than in

“What is Brazil”?

This is simply brilliant and something I’d never seen before, let alone heard of: A 1985 thirty-minute documentary called What is Brazil?. Directed by Rob Hedden and written by Hedden and Janice Miller, it is equal parts funny and shocking as no one involved in the production of