Scott Myers

Movies You Made: “Another Life” by Nathan Ruegger

In comments, this from filmmaker Nathan Ruegger: So not too long ago, I made a short film, “Another Life.” “Another Life” is a suspense thriller about a young female veteran who has three days to kill an innocent man or both of them will die. A trailer for the film:

Movie Trailer: “The Beaver”

Just debuted in theaters last night: What do you think? Comment Archive

Written Interview: Jez and John-Henry Butterworth (“Fair Game”)

Today’s interview is with a pair of brothers who frequently collaborate, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, including the current political thriller Fair Game. The plot summary from IMDB: [Valerie] Plame’s status as a CIA agent was revealed by White House officials allegedly out to discredit her husband after

Daily Dialogue — December 4, 2010

“Jesus wept.”  — Frank (Sean Chapman), Hellraiser II (1988), screenplay by Peter Atkins, story by Clive Barker The Daily Dialogue theme this week is five words or less — maximum impact, minimum words — suggested by CWillGoWrite. Hellraiser II suggested by Chris Drzewiecki. Trivia: The horn sound that is continually made by Leviathan

Reader Question: Do all Protagonists need a character arc?

A character’s ‘arc’ is a big buzzword in Hollywood development circles. From Gregaria: I am wondering if protagonist character arcs (in which they learn something and grow in a positive way) apply to protagonists of comedy. I can see where the personal growth of the character would be important

Movies You Made: “Last Chance” by Greg Mantell

Here is a short movie by filmmaker Greg Mantell. His description of the story: In a film, a young businessman on the way to his big promotion is accosted by his struggling, drug-addicted sister. This film stars Jake Meyer, Anita Ostrovsky, Andy Belt, Dan Li, Ivan Mosley, and Danielle

Update: “The Beaver”

H/T to Tom Peterson for sending me this: I’m hearing from myriad insiders that Summit Entertainment has scheduled the Jodie Foster-directed film The Beaver starring Mel Gibson for Spring of 2011. Once the studio decided not to give the film an Oscar qualifying run, it was just

The GITS Club Treatment Challenge: Volume 1: “House on Wheels”

Mike Scherer who moderates the script peer review site The GITS Club came up with this idea which I posted about here: Each month, we invite TGC members to write and submit a 2-page treatment of a story they plan to write or have written as a full-length

2011 Sundance Film Festival out-of-competition lineup of premieres

From Sundance: “2011 sees the majority of films in the Premieres section coming from outside the studios, illustrating that independent film is both robust and broadening its scope,” said John Cooper, Director of the Sundance Film Festival. “The decision to create a Documentary Premieres section was a natural evolution to

National Board of Review Awards: “The Social Network” is the big winner

Per Anne Thompson: And the award goes to…The Social Network, The National Board of Review’s pick for Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay (Aaron Sorkin) and Best Actor (Jesse Eisenberg). UPDATE: The NBR is not always a forecaster of things to come, but rather a bellwether of where the

Great Characters: Ellen Ripley (The “Alien” series)

Simply one of the best Protagonists in cinema history. Ever. Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) in the movie Alien (screenplay by Dan O’Bannon, story by Dan O’Bannon and Ronald Shusett) is smart, tough, and riveting to watch. And in Aliens (screenplay by James Cameron, story by James Cameron and

Daily Dialogue — December 3, 2010

“I’ll have what she’s having.”  — Older Woman Customer (Estelle Reiner), When Harry Met Sally (1989), written by Nora Ephron The Daily Dialogue theme this week is five words or less — maximum impact, minimum words — suggested by CWillGoWrite. When Harry Met Sally suggested by The Grinder. Trivia: The woman

Reader Question: What about a credit sequence at the beginning of a spec script?

I explain why you shouldn’t do it. And also how to handle it in a spec. A question from Gregaria: First, you said it’s generally the mark of an amateur if a script includes an opening credit sequence. With my script, there’s an entire montage-y scene

Tom Benedek: Rewriting the Script, Part 3

Screenwriter and teacher Tom Benedek, my partner in founding Screenwriting Master Class, has vast experience in an area all of us who write know is hugely important, but also notoriously difficult: rewriting the script. Tom has put together a 3-part series of reflections on the rewriting process. Today is

2011 Sundance Film Festival competition lineup

Per IndieWire: The beginning of December is always a pivotal time in the film calendar. Just as awards season is hitting its prime, looking back at the best offerings from the year, filmmakers, industry and seasoned fans await what will be among the most talked about titles the following year

The Business of Screenwriting: Movies don’t owe anybody a living

This is actually a lesson I learned before I became a screenwriter. After I graduated with an M.Div. from Yale and turned my back on an academic career — although I didn’t know it at the time, only thought I was taking a year off before I went on

Daily Dialogue — December 2, 2010

“Forget it, Jake. It’s Chinatown.”  — Walsh (Joe Mantell), Chinatown (1974), written by Robert Towne The Daily Dialogue theme this week is five words or less — maximum impact, minimum words — suggested by CWillGoWrite. Chinatown was suggested by Sean Z P Harris. Trivia: Oscar-nominated actor Joe Mantell, who co-starred

Reader Question: Are the holidays a lousy time to submit a spec script?

From Courtney: ’Tis the season and everyone is ready to enjoy turkey… football… and naps. Which will soon lead to that jolly man in the red suit. A large percentage of folks throttle down during the holiday season which spawns the question… is submitting a script during the holidays a

Tom Benedek: Rewriting the Script, Part 2

Screenwriter and teacher Tom Benedek, my partner in founding Screenwriting Master Class, has vast experience in an area all of us who write know is hugely important, but also notoriously difficult: rewriting the script. Tom has put together a 3-part series of reflections on the rewriting process. Today is

Analysis: Star Trek

A week late, but I did get to see Star Trek this weekend — and like so many of the reviews have said, it is a terrific movie. I’ve got several observations so: SPOILER ALERT!!!!! If you don’t want to learn some of the story’s key plot points:

Lessons you can learn from “Star Trek” writers

I thought the latest incarnation of a Star Trek movie was great entertainment and I promoted it accordingly on GITS as in here, here, and here. So it was with much interest I read this yesterday at TheHeroComplex, an interview with Geoff Boucher and the screenwriting duo of K&

Update: “Buffy” reboot

Remember this: A Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie… without Joss Whedon?!?! Here’s Whedon’s response: This is a sad, sad reflection on our times, when people must feed off the carcasses of beloved stories from their youths — just because they can’t think of an original idea of their

Screenwriting 101: Dale Launer

“Over the next six or seven years I honed my writing skills to a point where I actually sold a screenplay: Ruthless People. It was made and became a bona fide box-office hit, and it got pretty good reviews. The reviews would often mention a scene or a moment

Daily Dialogue — December 1, 2010

“Well — nobody’s perfect.”  — Osgood Fielding III (Joe E. Brown), Some Like It Hot (1959), screenplay by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan The Daily Dialogue theme this week is five words or less — maximum impact, minimum words — suggested by CWillGoWrite. Some

Reader Question: What about using a pseudonym?

A question from Hamilton: Hey Scott, Hope all is well. That great news about the successful launch of your screenwriting class!  I had a question regarding the business side, that is: If you are querying an agent to get representation, but you want to use a pseudonym on the material