Scott Myers

Short Film: “Modern Times”

A sci-fi short filmed by a Scottish art director has become what The Hollywood Reporter calls the “year’s first hot short.” Ben? Craig, 37, used the short film, titled Modern Times, as an exercise in on-the-job training. The DIY filmmaker “relied on the goodwill of friends,

Exclusive GITS Q&A: Jeremiah Friedman & Nick Palmer (Part 2)

Back in September 2010, I posted this announcement about newcomers Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer who sold their spec script “Family Getaway” to Warner Bros.. Turns out the guys are fans of the blog and have been reading it for some time. Seeing as they are living out the dream

Screenwriting 101: Jim Sheridan

“When Gauguin left Van Gogh, Van Gogh painted Gauguin’s room, and you can feel the abandonment in the emotion of the painting. What he got on canvas was an emotion of something that’s invisible. Emotion, by definition, is invisible. So cinema is, by definition, dealing with the invisible.

Daily Dialogue — January 12, 2011

Curly: Do you know what the secret of life is? [holds up one finger] Curly: This. Mitch: Your finger? Curly: One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean shit. Mitch: But, what is the “one thing?” Curly: [smiles] That’s what you have

Analysis: “True Grit” (Part 2: Character)

In order to learn the craft of screenwriting, you must immerse yourself in movies. One of the best things you can do in that regard is analyze the movies you watch. I like to view them through four ‘lenses’: Structure, Character, Dialogue, Theme. As an example, I’m going to

Reader Question: Is it worth it for an aspiring screenwriter to spend some time in LA?

A reader question from Alistair Kaley: Do you think it’s worth aspiring screenwriters spending some time (like a year maybe) in LA? Admittedly, my motivation has been low and my work irregular, but I also can’t help but feel that I’m somewhat handicapped by the fact that

Meet screenwriter Pen Densham (“Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves,” “Moll Flanders”)

I recently had a great nearly hour-long conversation with screenwriter and TV writer Pen Densham whose writing credits include the movies Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves and Moll Flanders, and TV series the reprisals of both “The Outer Limits” and “The Twilight Zone.” Pen has a screenwriting book coming

Exclusive GITS Q&A: Jeremiah Friedman & Nick Palmer (Part 1)

Back in September 2010, I posted this announcement about newcomers Jeremiah Friedman and Nick Palmer who sold their spec script “Family Getaway” to Warner Bros.. Turns out the guys are fans of the blog and have been reading it for some time. Seeing as they are living out the dream

Hollywood Tales

“But the actor’s always as good as the stories are. And so many important things, there is the light, there is the costumes, the makeup, there’s the text, there’s so many elements which the actor himself cannot control. But the script is the most important thing. First

Daily Dialogue — January 11, 2011

“This was never about the money, this was about us against the system. That system that kills the human spirit. We stand for something. We are here to show those guys that are inching their way on the freeways in their metal coffins that the human sprit is still alive.

Analysis: “True Grit” (Part 1: Structure)

In order to learn the craft of screenwriting, you must immerse yourself in movies. One of the best things you can do in that regard is analyze the movies you watch. I like to view them through four ‘lenses’: Structure, Character, Dialogue, Theme.  As an example, I’m going to

Reader Question: Would a studio allow a novice to direct a script they wrote?

A question from Matti in Finland: I had a question for you, actually. It was inspired by your “The only thing a writer controls is what they write” post and it got me thinking. Let’s assume a situation where I, basically a nobody, would write a script and try

Inside Aaron Sorkin’s writing process

I love to see articles like this: They elevate people’s awareness of screenwriters and give us a glimpse into a writer’s creative process. In this case, The Hollywood Reporter and Aaron Sorkin. Some excerpts: There are index cards everywhere in Aaron Sorkin’s office. Index cards for scenes

Popcorn Fiction: “The Interview” by Drew McWeeny

The latest short short from screenwriter Derek Haas’ great site PopcornFiction: A lot of readers asked me after the partnership with Mulholland if I would only be printing hard-boiled crime stories on Popcorn Fiction going forward. The answer is “hell no.” I love all kinds of popcorn genres: horror,

On writing

“What you want is practice, practice, practice. It doesn’t matter what we write (at least this is my view) at our age, so long as we write continually as well as we can. I feel that every time I write a page either of prose or of verse, with

Daily Dialogue — January 10, 2011

“Time rules over us without mercy. Not caring if we’re healthy or ill. Hungry or drunk. Russian, American, beings from Mars. It’s like a fire, it could either destroy us or it could keep us warm…we live or we die by the clock. We never turn our

Studio Report Cards: Warner Bros.

TheWrap has done a series of Studio Report Cards assessing how well — or not — the major studios did in terms of box office performance in 2010. I’ll be featuring excerpts from those articles each day for the next week or so. Today: The box office champ and head of

Video Interview: Hayao Miyazaki

We wished famed writer-director Hayao Miyazaki a Happy 70th Birthday here. Today the celebration continues. First an interview in two parts: Part 1 Part 2 Then a French documentary: “Ghibli: The Miyazaki Temple.” Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — January 9, 2010

Inspector Kemp: Vee had better confeerm de fect dat Yunk Frankenshtein iss indeed VALLOWING EEN EES GANDFADDA’S VOOTSHTAPS. Villagers: What? Inspector Kemp: Following in his grandfather’s footsteps, footsteps, footsteps. Villagers: Ohhh. Footsteps.  — Inspector Kemp (Kenneth Mars), Young Frankenstein (1974), screenplay by Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks The Daily

Studio Report Cards: Lionsgate

TheWrap has done a series of Studio Report Cards assessing how well — or not — the major studios did in terms of box office performance in 2010. I’ll be featuring excerpts from those articles each day for the next week or so. Today: Lionsgate: Lionsgate Grade: B  Its “Saw” franchise

Saturday Hot Links

Another edition of Saturday Hot Links! We start off with Michael Caine impersonating… Michael Caine: Thanks to @eacion for that link. Here is a nice remembrance of 2010 through independent movie moments. From Flavorwire: 10 director’s cuts worse than the original. Interesting story: Physician balances film and medical career.

Written Interview: Christopher Nolan

Terrific Q&A via Deadline with Nolan focusing on his writing process. Some excerpts: DEADLINE: How was writing Inception different for you? NOLAN: What I try to do is write from the inside out. I really try to jump into the world of the film and the characters, try

Daily Dialogue — January 8, 2011

Chekov: [to a street cop] Excuse me, sir! Can you direct us to the naval base in Alameda? It’s where they keep the nuclear wessels. [He pauses, looks at Uhura, and tries again] Chekov: Nuclear wessels!  — Chekov (Walter Koenig), Star Trek IV: The Voage Home (1986), screenplay by Steve

Studio Report Cards: Paramount

TheWrap has done a series of Studio Report Cards assessing how well — or not — the major studios did in terms of box office performance in 2010. I’ll be featuring excerpts from those articles each day for the next week or so. Today: Paramount: Paramount Grade: B+ The mountain had

One filmmaker’s impression of Sundance Institute’s “Middle East Screenwriters Lab”

Almost nothing gives me greater joy than when one of my students achieves success and takes another step in their creative journey. Faiza Ambah is a writer-filmmaker I’ve worked with in the last few years. The fact she is based out of Saudi Arabia speaks to the wonders