Scott Myers

The stories you need to find are right out there

You can brainstorm. You can do ‘what if’. You can generate as many story ideas as possible. But sometimes the stories you need to find are right out there. Yesterday @AmosPosner tweeted me this news article: BERKS COUNTY, Pa. — Deputy Sheriff Kyle D. Pagerly’s K-9, Jynx, tried to

Get a damn good lawyer: Revisited

Remember when I wrote a Business of Screenwriting column called Get a damn good lawyer? Here’s more evidence why you should heed that advice. From THR: The creators of the hit 1980s sitcom Head of the Class have suedCAA claiming the agency has reaped huge “package fees” from the

Script to Screen: “Alien”

Here is a memorable scene from “Alien,” screenplay Dan O’Bannon, story by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett. Setup: There is an alien on board the spaceship Nostromo. The ship’s captain Dallas has entered the air shaft to find the alien and kill it using a flamethrower. The

Spec Script Sale: “Haunted”

Warner Bros. buys horror spec “Haunted” from writer Eric Kripke. Per Variety: A tale of a haunted house told from the ghost’s point of view. Similar but different: A haunted house movie, only switch the POV to the ghost. Takeaway: You can find a ‘new’ story simply by changing

R.I.P.: Sherwood Schwartz

The creator of “Gilligan’s Island” and “The Brady Bunch” wrote a farewell letter which The Hollywood Reporter has just released here. An excerpt: Godspeed, Sherwood Schwartz. Comment Archive

“Comedy: How deep will the R-rated renaissance run?”

When you’re in the middle of a trend, sometimes it’s hard to see it. But not this one: R-rated comedies are hot as Steve Zeitchik (24 Frames/LAT) notes: There have been very few surprise hits in this year of modest box office and relentless sequels. Topping

“Breaking Bad” begins new season on Sunday night

Season 4 of the AMC series “Breaking Bad” starts Sunday night. For those who need to catch up, Vulture provides this handy guide: Breaking Bad begins its fourth season on Sunday night. If you’re a highly meticulous person capable of sticking to a long-term plan, you followed the

Science Fiction clichés

While it’s okay in some circumstances for a writer to traffic in clichés, more often than not their existence in a story is an example of lazy writing. And I would think no one feels more discomfort on this front than sci-fi fans, especially when the clichés involve

“The Dark Knight Rises”: First poster

Looks like a cross in visual tone between The Dark Knight and Inception. Comment Archive

Screenwriting 101: Philip Dunne

“Never leave a scene by the same door you came in. Every scene should advance the story. The other thing… let the characters tell the story. Don’t try and make the characters fit into a preconceived idea. Rather, see how the characters develop the story.”   — Philip Dunne (The Count

Reader Question: Is it better to have talent attached to a spec script or not?

Jack Benjamin asks: When trying to sell a spec, what are the advantages of trying to attach talent vs. just going wide with the script itself? Which one should I be doing (assuming the script is the type a studio is looking for)? Unless you have a direct in to

Once again, the value of a strong story concept

Straight from the horse’s mouth, the horse in this case being a high ranking studio executive talking about the big opening weekend ($28.1M) of Horrible Bosses: “It’s a concept we can all relate too. We’ve all heard about the mythical boss from hell, even if we’

Soccer, Hollywood, writing, and magic moments

Yesterday at the Women’s World Cup, one of the most remarkable moments in sports history took place. Here is an excerpt from one of the zillions of news accounts to set the stage: DRESDEN, Germany — Running low on hope and almost out of time, the Americans were surely beaten,

On writing

“The first draft is nothing more than a starting point, so be wrong as fast as you can.”  — Andrew Stanton HT to Greg Colburn for sourcing the quote. Comment Archive

“Storyboards from Michael Bay’s The Great Gatsby”

From Cracked: Hey, Michael, thanks for sending over these storyboards, we’re super psyched to have you on board for The Great Gatsby. We did have a couple of issues. Nothing major, just some… Well, let’s just get right into it. OPENING SCENE Really spectacular opening. I suppose the

Written Interview: David Simon (“Treme”)

If you missed my post this week about the HBO series “Treme,” you can check it out here. Whether you responded to Season 2 the way I did or not, I think we can all agree that David Simon is a special writer with a unique vision of the world.

Video Interview: J.J. Abrams

Via SlashFilm, here is a 90-minute conversation between J.J. Abrams and Emmy, Grammy and Academy Award winning composer Michael Giacchino, taped last month. Comment Archive

“‘Midnight in Paris’ has secret formula to lure adult moviegoers”

Patrick Goldstein at The Big Picture blog (LAT) analyzes the surprise box office success of Woody Allen’s new movie Midnight in Paris: Marketing muscle can get millions of wide-eyed fanboys to see a $150-million comic book superhero movie. But if you want to earn some real respect

Written Interview: John Carpenter

Today’s interview is with writer-director John Carpenter. The writer part of that hyphenate description may surprise you: He has 35 writing credits on his IMDB page. Excerpts from the interview: The Ward’s an interesting project for you because the film’s main antagonist is internalized, whereas in

Find your story by developing your characters!

Characters are the heart and soul of your story. Doesn’t it make sense that your narrative’s structure should evolve from who they are — their goals, their desires, their wants and needs? In addition the more time you spend going into your characters, the more likely you will surface

Reader Question: What screenplays and screenwriting books should I read?

Phil asks: Top ten screenwriting books everyone should have on their shelf. Top ten screenplays everyone should analyze. Thanks, Phil, for this question as it allows me to hammer one of my big screenwriting mantras again: Read scripts. Watch movies. Write pages. Life is a zero-sum game. We only

“Superheroes suck!”

Here is the lede from a Salon.com article by Matt Zoler Seitz: “From Spidey to Batman to Iron Man, comic-book movies are Hollywood’s most bankrupt genre. And I say that as a fan.” Follow Mr. Seitz into the darkness of his soul as he confronts the current

A shift in star power?

Ever since the advent of CGI and big special effects driven movies, you see articles posing the question is star power on the wane? The July 4th weekend box office should add fuel to that fire. Per the LAT: “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” demolished its enemies at the domestic

Great Characters: Toaster (“The Brave Little Toaster”)

Before there was Toy Story, there was a wondrous little animated movie called The Brave Little Toaster. Released in 1987, here is an IMDB summary of the story: A toaster, a blanket, a lamp, a radio, and a vacuum cleaner journey to the city to find their master after being

Daily Dialogue — July 8, 2011

Pyle: Hi, Joker. Joker: Are those live rounds? Pyle: 762 millimeter. Full metal jacket.  Joker: Leonard, if Hartmann comes in here and catches us, we’ll both be in a world of shit. Pyle: I AM. IN A WORLD. OF SHIT.   — Pyle (Vincent D’Onofrio), Joker (Matthew Modine), Full Metal