Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue theme for next week

I was blown away by how many of you listed Star Wars in response to this question: What movies have you watched so many times, you’ve basically memorized them. So I thought it would be fitting to have that as a Daily Dialogue theme. So for next week, what

“Your characters want you to tell their story”

I found myself blurting this out in a recent teleconference with some writers in one of my screenwriting classes. I assume someone has said or written this before. I don’t know the source. But I do believe it. When we write a story, we deal with characters. We may

Young adults deserting movies?

There is definitely something going on re the state of movies right now, reflected in a number of articles out recently about this subject: Are young adults deserting movies?TheWrap had this piece with notes some startling figures: According to one tracking firm, pre-release data measuring audience interest in

Showrunner Transcript: Graham Yost (“Justified”)

In conjunction with the annual broadcast network upfronts, New York magazine is running a series called “Showrunner Transcripts.” We will feature one each day for the next two weeks on GITS. What’s a showrunner? For a primer, you can go here to Wikipedia. The short answer: “The person who

Great Characters: Chauncey Gardener (“Being There”)

Great Character: Chauncey Gardener (“Being There”) In my view, satire is the single most difficult movie genre to pull off as the tone has to be just right. And my favorite comic actor Peter Sellers was in two of the best: Dr. Strangelove: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and

Did the PC kill Hollywood’s archetypal screenwriter?

Gather ‘round all you young ‘uns and listen to tales of Hollywood writers gone by: Long before the days of word processors and computers, the manual Underwood typewriter was the standard for writers. (In Hollywood, screenwriters were often called “schmucks with Underwoods.”) ?? Then came electrics and as Carl Gottlieb, the

How to Become a Better Writer: 11 Completely Non-Writing-Related Ideas

Some advice from literary agent Rachelle Gardner: 1. Be creative any way you can. Cook new recipes. Paint a picture. Design a garden. Compose a song. Build something with Legos. Organize the garage. 2. Pay attention. Observe the mannerisms of people around you. Listen to how they speak. Marvel at

Showrunner Transcript: Robert Corlock (“30 Rock”)

In conjunction with the annual broadcast network upfronts, New York magazine is running a series called “Showrunner Transcripts.” We will feature one each day for the next two weeks on GITS. What’s a showrunner? For a primer, you can go here to Wikipedia. The short answer: “The person who

The Business of Screenwriting: Work stoppages and picket line etiquette

PICKET LINE ETIQUETTE 2001  by Scott Myers Hollywood writers have not gone on strike in over a decade. As a public service to Guild members, we provide the following reminders and tips on the benefits of good manners in the picket line. 1. Please, no shuffling. When you shuffle, your

Daily Dialogue — May 26, 2011

Door Gunner: Git some! Git some! Git some, yeah, yeah, yeah! Anyone who runs is a VC. Anyone who stands still is a well-disciplined VC! You guys oughta do a story about me sometime!  Private Joker: Why should we do a story about you?  Door Gunner: ‘Cuz I’m

Tom Benedek on prep-writing

A note from screenwriter and educator Tom Benedek (Cocoon, Free Willy) about the importance of prep-writing: My Prep course at Screenwritingmasterclass.com starts May 30. I love it. Alfred Hitchcock believed that screenplays were all prep. The draft itself was only a transcription of a lot of thought and

Deep Focus: The Go Into The Movies Project

In a perfect world, I would have a trillion dollars and send each and every one of you to film school. Short of that, I came up with this idea: “Deep Focus: The Go Into The Movies Project.” The GITS community responded with some great suggestions. Thus I present to

Showrunner Transcript: Vince Gilligan (“Breaking Bad”)

In conjunction with the annual broadcast network upfronts, New York magazine is running a series called “Showrunner Transcripts.” We will feature one each day for the next two weeks on GITS. What’s a showrunner? For a primer, you can go here to Wikipedia. The short answer: “The person who

Screenwriting 101: Bruce Joel Rubin

“Often I just trust that an idea that comes to you once will come again. That’s not always true, but so much of the technique of writing is in the moment. If you watched a particular newscast or read a particular article in the paper, had a fight with

Reader Question: Should I take budget into account in a spec script or just write best possible…

Reader Question: Should I take budget into account with a spec script… …or just write the best possible story? From Twitter @NickySilv asks: “should budget be considered when you’re an unrepped writer workin on a spec? Or just best poss story?” The easy thing is simply to say “Write

Question: What movies have you watched so many times…

…you almost know them by heart? On my list: The Apartment To Kill a Mockingbird Casablanca The Shawshank Redemption Animal House Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Love the Bomb It’s a Wonderful Life The Silence of the Lambs How about you? Comment Archive

Three levels of characters: Primary, Secondary, Tertiary

As with many things I have rolling around in my head about screenwriting, I don’t know the exact origin of this idea. There’s a good chance I came up with it myself.I operate under the assumption there are three levels of characters in a script: Primary, Secondary,

Showrunner Transcript: Dan Harmon (“Community”)

In conjunction with the annual broadcast network upfronts, New York magazine is running a series called “Showrunner Transcripts.” We will feature one each day for the next two weeks on GITS. What’s a showrunner? For a primer, you can go here to Wikipedia. The short answer: “The person who

Hollywood Tales

“‘The Conversation’ was an original screenplay written probably in the mid sixties, it’s difficult for me sometimes to place these scripts because usually there is a kind of leapfrog effect in which I write a script, get three quarters through it, decide that it’s terrible, abandon it, and

Daily Dialogue — May 24, 2011

“Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country.”  — General George S. Patton, Jr. (George C. Scott), Patton 1970), story and screenplay by Francis Ford Coppola and

Reader Question: If you sell a project on your own, do you owe your agent/manager their commission?

Point Break asks: If you have a manager or agent promoting your work but you manage to sell or option a screenplay by yourself, without their help, do you have to pay the manager or agent 10%? If you have a signed contract with an agent or manager, then you

Subtext types

In a recent SMC class discussion, it occurred to me it would be both fun and interesting to ask GITS readers for examples of specific types of subtext. For example: * If a character refers to him/herself in the third person (e.g., when Reggie Jackson said in an interview,

Showrunner Transcript: Shonda Rhimes (“Grey’s Anatomy”)

In conjunction with the annual broadcast network upfronts, New York magazine is running a series called “Showrunner Transcripts.” We will feature one each day for the next two weeks on GITS. What’s a showrunner? For a primer, you can go here to Wikipedia. The short answer: “The person who

Popcorn Fiction: “The Invader” by Eugene Son

A new short story at Popcorn Fiction, the site hosted by screenwriter-novelist Derek Haas: Now back to our regularly scheduled programming. I’m excited to bring you a new sci-fi story from screenwriter Eugene Son. I think the most rabid emails I get are from sci-fi fans

On writing

“I try to create sympathy for my characters, then turn the monsters loose.”  — Stephen King