Scott Myers

Have you read Tarantino’s latest script “Django Unchained”?

I have. What did you think? Here are some musings about the script from JoBlo. And via Vulture, here is a brief interview with QT about the script and what he did after he finished it. Finally QT supposedly wants Will Smith to star in the movie. Comment Archive

Spec Script Sale: “Hoof Harrington’s Greatest Hits”

1984 Films has acquired action spec “Hoof Harrington’s Greatest Hits” from writer Dutch Southern. Per IOTG: Pitched as SNATCH meets PAYBACK, story is said to be a pulpy hitman actioner. Southern is repped by UTA and Energy Entertainment.  Sale date: 4/8/11. By my count, 31 spec scripts

Saturday Hot Links

HuffPo: 10 movies that inspire wanderlust. Comment Archive

Written Interview: Lem Dobbs

This is one of the best interviews I’ve ever read with a screenwriter, an extensive Q&A with Lem Dobbs whose writing credits include Romancing the Stone (uncredited), Dark City, The Limey, and The Score. Here is an excerpt of Dobbs’ conversation with Dan Schneider: DS: Re: the

Spec Script Sale: “Father Daughter Time: A Tale of Armed Robbery and Eskimo Kisses”

Warner Bros. pays $500K against $800K to aquire spec road crime drama “Father Daughter Time: A Tale of Armed Robbery and Eskimo Kisses” from writer Matthew Aldrich. From Deadline: The script focuses on a man who goes on the lam with his daughter, his accomplice on a 3-state crime

Reader Question: In a script, how do you differentiate between two characters with the exact same name?

welday-j asks: Simple question, just need some quick clarification; here goes: If you have a screenplay where both protagonists coincidentally have the exact same name, how would you differentiate them through scene description and dialogue? Thank you. Comment Archive

‘Bad Guys,’ saving the cat, and whacking the cat, Part 2

I’m following up on this post with a reprint of a previous article to drive home a point: The best way to make a reader feel anything at a meaningful level of depth about a ‘Bad Guy’ / Nemesis is to immerse yourself in that character. That way you find

Writing Tips: Neil Gaiman

Here are some tips on writing from novelist and screenwriter Neil Gaiman: 1 Write. 2 Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down. 3 Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it. 4 Put it aside. Read it pretending

Great Characters: Edward Scissorshands (“Edward Scissorhands”)

Today’s great character is suggested by Jason: Edward Scissorshands from the movie of the same name. The plot summary from IMDB: An uncommonly gentle young man, who happens to have scissors for hands, falls in love with a beautiful teenage girl. This misunderstood fairy tale protagonist faces an incredible

Reader Question: What about writing a spec with a sequel or trilogy in mind?

Christopher asks: Hi Scott, what’s your take on writing spec with a sequel or trilogy in mind? Do you write the first and if things go really well pitch the follow-ups? Are there any advantages to having a script with future installments planned when it hasn’t been

Hollywood Won’t Learn: It’s a White Summer Again

Okay, so TheWrap details one of the major reasons for the success of Fast Five: The Universal sequel exploded onto theater screens last weekend, raking in $86.2 million with an ethnically diverse cast that attracted an equally diverse audience. Latinos represented almost as many moviegoers as whites (33% versus

Update: “Family Getaway” by Jeremiah Friedman & Nick Palmer

Talk about instant karma! Yesterday I post this Q&A with screenwriters Jeremiah Friedman & Nick Palmer. Later the same day, I read this: EXCLUSIVE: Jake Kasdan is already getting good buzz for “Bad Teacher,” the raunchy Cameron Diaz comedy that opens next month. Now he looks to be

Writing Tips: Jonathan Franzen

Writing tips from novelist Jonathan Franzen: 1 The reader is a friend, not an adversary, not a spectator. 2 Fiction that isn’t an author’s personal adventure into the frightening or the unknown isn’t worth writing for anything but money. 3 Never use the word “then” as a

The Business of Screenwriting: What to do on the day your movie premieres

On average, a human being will experience about 30,000 days in their life. I don’t know how many of those days are truly special, but here’s one that is: The day your movie premieres. While the life of a Hollywood screenwriter would seem to be pretty exciting,

Reader Question: If my story’s main character is a ‘bad guy,’ do they need a ‘Save the Cat’ moment?

From Mragendra Singh: Hi Scott,  I have a character related question. Like they always says when the main character is introduced people should instantly like him or rather relate to him (i.e. “Save The Cat” moment).  Now my question is if the main character is a bad guy and

A Checklist of All the Things You Are Sure to Find in Any Wedding Comedy

From New York magazine: Over the next two weekends, audiences will be treated to not one, not two, but three wedding-themed romantic comedies: Something Borrowed, Jumping the Broom, and Bridesmaids. While this is a particularly concentrated dose of wedding-related cinema, this romantic-comedy subgenre has been flourishing for

Q&A: Jeremiah Friedman & Nick Palmer

When last we heard from the screenwriting team of Jeremiah Friedman & Nick Palmer, they were just coming off the sale of their spec script “Family Getaway”: The pair worked various jobs while writing nights and weekend for almost two years to birth “Getaway.” Friedman acted in an administrative capacity

Writing Tips: Dennis Lehane

Writing tips from novelist and TV writer (“The Wire”) Dennis Lehane: START WITH CHARACTERS: “The plot is just the vehicle by which the characters are revealed. You create a bunch of characters and let them start bouncing into one another. That’s how a good story happens.” KEEP ’EM MOVING:

Screenwriting 101: Wes Anderson

“I use little notebooks. I write out everything longhand first, then I type it into the computer… I create seven of these [notebooks] for each film for some reason… The first notebooks are like this one, and then the fourth, fifth, and sixth notebooks; you can flip those open and

Dialogue: Finding your character’s voice

I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” “Gentlemen, you can’t fight in here! This is the War Room!” “Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary.” “Cinderella story. Outta nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now, about to become the Masters champion. It looks

Reader Question: How do I go about selling a script if I’m not interested in a screenwriting career?

From Anonymous: I’m finishing a script on a passion project I’ve been working on for a decade but I’m not one of the typical “aspiring screenwriters” you usually see on your blog. I’m not toiling away at a crap job to pay the bills while I

Seven pieces of conventional wisdom disproved by ‘Fast Five’

As long as we’re talking sequels, Steve Zeitchik at “24 Frames” (LAT) breaks down the ginormous success of Fast Five: To get an idea of what Vin Diesel’s “Fast Five” pulled off this weekend, consider this: In the three days just passed, the action movie took in about

95 movie sequels currently in the works

I’ve already noted there are 27 sequels slated to come out this year, a record. Turns out there’s more where those came from. 95 of them to be exact, at least according to Den of Geek. Here is a list just for movies starting with the letters A,

Writing Tips: David Hare

Writing tips from playwright and screenwriter David Hare: 1 Write only when you have something to say. 2 Never take advice from anyone with no investment in the outcome. 3 Style is the art of getting yourself out of the way, not putting yourself in it. 4 If nobody will

Hollywood Tales

“The presence of oranges in all three Godfather movies indicates that a death or a close call will soon happen. The Senator is framed for murder after playing with oranges at the Corleone house, and Johnny Ola brings an orange into Michael’s office before the attempt on Michael’s