Scott Myers

Q&A: Professional Script Reader D.C. Mar (Part 4)

Another in a series of questions and answers from my interview with script reader DC Mar. What is your process when you sit down to read a script (i.e., look at the title page to see who’s written the script and who represents it, flip to the back

Great Characters: Del Griffith (“Planes, Trains & Automobiles”)

Typically Trickster characters are master shapeshifters, switching ‘masks’ from one scene to another. Part of this dynamic is a reflection of their personality. However from a writing point-of-view, the main point in this regard is tied to the character’s narrative function: By shifting from the Protagonist’s

Daily Dialogue — November 26, 2010

For John Dillinger In hope he is still alive Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1986 Thanks for the wild turkey and the Passenger Pigeons, destined to be shit out through wholesome American guts thanks for a Continent to despoil and poison —  thanks for Indians to provide a modicum of challenge and

Movies You Made: “Revision” by Matthew Cowan

Here is the first in a 7-part web series called “Revision” from Glasgow, Scotland filmmaker Matthew Cowan. The premise: Jolyon Reid, a final year student, receives a message from himself warning of Orpheus, a shadowy company he is about to work for. Revision: A science fiction, espionage web drama

Roger Ebert’s Top 10 Films of All Time: 1991

In 1991 Roger Ebert put out this list of his top 10 films of all time: “Casablanca” After seeing this film many times, I think I finally understand why I love it so much. It’s not because of the romance, or the humor, or the intrigue, although those elements

Rating the Star Wars movies

What’s a college student to do when given the Thanksgiving respite from all their academic work? Why spend an entire day screening all 6 Star Wars movies back-to-back. That is precisely what my oldest son Will did yesterday with one of his college friends. After his eyes

Q&A: Professional Script Reader D.C. Mar (Part 3)

Another response from DC Mar, longtime script reader and story analyst to a Q&A she did with me: How many scripts do you read/provide coverage on each week and for what type of companies? When I was reading full-time for several companies at a time, I

Spec Script Sale: “Game Theory”

Per Variety [subscription required], Summit Entertainment buys action-thriller spec “Game Theory” from writer Michael Alan Lerner: Story’s focused on a college professor and game theorist who gets sucked into a large-scale global incident. Lerner is repped by ICM and Anonymous Content.  By my count, this is the

“Sundance 2011 Wishlist: 30 Films That May Head to Park City”

The lineup for the Sundance Film Festival will be announced soon. IndieWire put together this wishlist of 30 movies they’d like to see there. A few examples: The Beaver, directed by Jodie Foster Perhaps a dark horse for inclusion here, but the fact “The Beaver” was being sold in

Daily Dialogue — November 25, 2010

Claudia: You don’t know the first thing about me.  Joanne: Likewise, I’m sure. If I just met you on the street… if you gave me your phone number… I’d throw it away.  Claudia: Well, we don’t have to like each other, Jo. We’re family.  — Claudia

“A Writer’s Thanksgiving”: Why are you thankful to be a writer?

In response to this post, Courtney was inspired to write the following: “A message of hope…” Wow… thought it was about hard work and not giving up in the midst of economic implosion… where many aspiring screenwriters are even more concerned about their future… meaning, keeping the lights on and

Movies You Made: “Nightlife”

Born in Sydney, Australia and currently studying at the Australian National University in Digital Media. I have taken to film making by producing a collection of short video’s which show only a glimpse of a much greater story. I’m aiming to continue producing works and to take my

10 Screenwriters To Watch (2010)

Variety is out with their annual 10 Screenwriters to Watch list. They are: Travis Beacham Travis Beacham’s screenwriting career didn’t begin in Hollywood. Instead, it began in North Carolina. While wrapping up his senior year at the North Carolina School of the Arts, Beacham wrote a script titled

Q&A: Professional Script Reader D.C. Mar (Part 2)

Here is the second installment in a Q&A interview I did with longtime script reader and story analyst D.C. Mar. The first one is here. How did you go about becoming a script reader? Most script readers, me included, are writers who read for a living to

Screenwriting 101: David Mamet

“Forget every rule Syd Field, Robert McKee or any other screenwriting guru ever taught you. Except one: Never be boring.”  — David Mamet (The Verdict, The Untouchables, Hoffa)  Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — November 24, 2010

Neal: Del… Why did you kiss my ear? Del: Why are you holding my hand? Neal: [frowns] Where’s your other hand? Del: Between two pillows… Neal: Those aren’t pillows!  — Neal (Steve Martin), Del (John Candy), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), written and directed by John Hughes The Daily

Movies You Made: “Quarter Life Crisis”

For the next several days, I’ll be featuring more Movies You Made. Today two episodes of a web series from Bay 51 Media called “Quarter Life Crisis”:  Episode 1 (Pilot) Episode 2 Bay 51 Media website here. YouTube channel here. Facebook page here. Email: bay51media@gmail.com If you

New Paddy Chayefsky movie?

It’s often fascinating what one can discover while plowing through the day’s announcements of Hollywood movie deals. Take this from Deadline. Your basic PR piece going through the list of projects writer-director Harris Goldberg has going. One of the projects caught my eye: On the film side,

“The Weinsteins are ready for their comeback”

Looks like the Weinsteins are on the comeback trail: On Friday, Weinstein Co. releases “The King’s Speech,” a $12.3-million period drama about King George VI’s relationship with his speech therapist that is putting Harvey Weinstein back in his favorite spot at the center of Oscar buzz.

“Joss who? Meet the writer of the new ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ film”

A Buffy the Vampire Slayer moive… without Joss Whedon?!?! Maybe: Back in her high school days in a Delaware small town, Whit Anderson’s days were jammed with activity — academics and athletics were all-consuming and there was little time for empty entertainment. ”I didn’t really watch much television

Q&A: Professional Script Reader D.C. Mar (Part 1)

Script readers are Hwood’s threshold guardians. Nobody who is involved in the script acquisition and development decision-making process reads a script without coverage. But a script reader, or more accurately story analyst, is much more than merely about providing script coverage. I asked one of my online screenwriting

Weird new video from “District 9” director Neill Blomkamp

From YouTube: A mysterious video by Neill Blomkamp that has been discovered in the latest iPad issue of Wired magazine: I don’t know about you, but I’d pay for a ticket to take a ride inside Blomkamp’s mind.

Hollywood Tales

“There is a power attached to screenwriting — a power I discovered in the first weeks of my first paying job as a staff writer on a television drama. The producer called late one night: a new scene needed to be written for the next day’s shooting. I had the

Daily Dialogue — November 23, 2010

[Saying grace at Thanksgiving] Wendy Hood: Dear Lord, thank you for this Thanksgiving holiday. And for all the material possessions we have and enjoy. And for letting us white people kill all the Indians and steal their tribal lands. And stuff ourselves like pigs, even though children in Asia are

Q&A: Tom Benedek, Part 5

Today is the conclusion of a 5-part Q&A with screenwriter Tom Benedek (Cocoon), who has partnered with me in founding Screenwriting Master Class, a unique online resource that provides writers the essential knowledge and workshop experience to craft a professional quality script. During the last decade, you