Scott Myers

Writing guidelines from an 8 year-old

A few years back when my son Luke was about 8 years old, we created a writer’s group. The name of it has drifted from my mind along with our attendance at the group’s sessions. It had the initials “WWW” and I remember it went something like “The

David Milch: “The Writer’s Voice” (Part 3)

Here is Part 3 of “The Writer’s Voice,” a series of presentations given by TV writer David Milch at the WGA Theater in 2001 as excerpted from the journal “Written By”: With our work [as writers], we oftentimes feel an impulse to attach special conditions, and some of those

Screenwriting 101: Stirling Silliphant

I believe there is a certain preparation the writer should make before he goes each morning or afternoon or evening to his computer or typewriter or yellow pad. It may be the Buddhist in me, but I truly believe that a sort of rite of cleansing is involved here. Certainly,

Daily Dialogue — September 15, 2010

“I feel the need… the need for speed.”  — Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell (Tom Cruise) and Lt. Nick “Goose” Bradshaw (Anthony Edwards), Top Gun (1986), written by Jim Cash & Jack Epps Jr., based on a magazine article by Ehud Yonay The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is catch phrases.

“Grading the Networks on Their New Fall Slates”

TheWrap offers this overview of the broadcast networks’ fall slate of TV series: Fall 2010 — it’s a season that’s nothing short of ambitious, across all the broadcast networks. NBC and ABC stand out for boldness and sheer quantity — though that isn’t necessarily a good thing — and everyone’

Joseph Campbell’s “The Hero’s Journey”

Ran across this post from the blog What’s In My Manvelope, hosted by John T. Trigonis whose About page reads: “Published poet, indie filmmaker, & freelance professor by day … & pretty much the same things by night.” In the post, Trigonis discusses writing and rewriting (six drafts) his current

David Milch: “The Writer’s Voice” (Part 2)

Here is Part 2 of “The Writer’s Voice,” a series of presentations given by TV writer David Milch at the WGA Theater in 2001 as excerpted from the journal “Written By”: A psychiatrist will tell you — well, a psychiatrist won’t tell you shit. But in psychiatric terms, the

Hollywood Tales

“Richard Brooks, a sharp-tongued ex-Marine, was adapting Evan Hunter’s bestselling novel Blackboard Jungle at Metro — William Wyler was scheduled to shoot it, but Brooks wound up directing as well. He’d heard a song on his car radio driving home one night from a poker game, and

Daily Dialogue — September 14, 2010

“They’re here.”  — Carol Anne Freeling (Heather O’Rourke), Poltergeist (1982), screenplay by Steven Spielberg & Michael Grais & Mark Victor, story by Steven Spielberg The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is catch phrases.  Trivia: When writers Michael Grais and Mark Victor first met with Steven Spielberg, they were

Working with a script’s central theme and sub-themes

Typically when I read an article or book where they discuss movie themes, the focus is on the one, big, overarching story theme. “Love conquers all.” “A divided house can not stand.” “You can’t judge a book by its cover.” People tend to frame the subject as if there

Reports from TIFF

The Toronto International Film Festival is kicking into gear and here are a few reports from people on the scene: TIFF Diary: Crime D’Amour, Deep in the Woods, Film Socialism, at Ellen’s Age [Thompson on Hollywood] TIFF Diary: Legend of the Fist, The Return of Chen Zhen, Biutiful,

David Milch: “The Writer’s Voice” (Part 1)

David Milch is a talented writer. Check out these credits: Television credits (as creator) * Beverly Hills Buntz (1987–1988) — co-creator, writer, producer of this Hill Street Blues spin-off. * Capital News (1990) — co-creator, writer, producer. * NYPD Blue (1993–2005) — co-creator, writer, executive producer. * Brooklyn South (1997–1998)

On Writing

“A writer has to have an imagination — that’s what make a writer. He has to be able to put himself imaginatively in the position of whatever character he selects.” — W. R. Burnett (The Great Escape, Scarface)

Popcorn Fiction: “After the Fire” by Alicia Gifford

From screenwriter Derek Haas and his excellent website Popcorn Fiction: Hope everyone had a great Labor Day, or whatever you celebrated last weekend for you non-Americans. Our new story this week is “After The Fire,” by talented author Alicia Gifford. It’s not quite as hard-boiled as most

Daily Dialogue — September 13, 2010

“I see dead people.”  — Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), The Sixth Sense (1999), written by M. Night Shyamalan The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is catch phrases.  Trivia: M. Night Shyamalan deliberately used the color red to depict when the world of the living and the world of the

“Inception Trailer A Capella Re-Dub”

Simply brilliant! Comment Archive

Profile: Steven Spielberg (Part 3)

Our friend Trevor Hogg is back at FlickeringMyth with another profile, this one on Steven Spielberg. Here is an excerpt from Part 3: In the screenplay Night Skies drafted by American filmmaker John Sayles (Passion Fish), a violent space creature has the ability to kill with a touch of its

Dennis Potter’s last interview, Part 7

Each day this week, we have been featuring a segment from the last interview given by the late great writer Dennis Potter. His TV credits are remarkable including one of the greatest limited run series of all time “The Singing Detective”. Other credits include numerous televised plays such as Stand

Video Interview: Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders (How to Train Your Dragon)

If you didn’t see How to Train Your Dragon, you missed out on a terrific movie. How terrific? How about a 98% rating on RottenTomatoes. It was released in March and went on to gross $491M worldwide. It’s a cleverly crafted story with nicely defined and fun characters,

Daily Dialogue — September 12, 2010

“You can’t handle the truth.”  — Col. Nathan R. Jessep (Jack Nicholson), A Few Good Men (1992), screenplay by Aaron Sorkin based on his play The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is catch phrases.  Trivia: Writer Aaron Sorkin got the story idea from his sister, who in real life

Are zombies the new vampires in Hollywood?

I’ve talked about zombie movies before — for example, here, here, here, and here — engaging in some speculation re their current popularity. But this THR article offers perhaps the most detailed analysis of the sub-genre, comparing them to vampire movies: What’s that shambling over the curb toward the

Dennis Potter’s last interview, Part 6

This week each day at noon EDT (U.S.), we’ll be featuring a segment from the last interview given by the late great writer Dennis Potter. His TV credits are remarkable including one of the greatest limited run series of all time “The Singing Detective”. Other credits include numerous

Written Interview: Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell (“Get Low”)

Today’s written interview is with Chris Provenzano and C. Gaby Mitchell, writers of the new movie Get Low. Some background from the interview at WGA.org: Get Low, the new film starring Robert Duvall as a fearsome, foul-tempered hermit who comes in from the cold, is a special

Daily Dialogue — September 11, 2010

“What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.”  — Captain (Strother Martin), Cool Hand Luke (1967), screenplay by Donn Pearce and Frank Pierson, based on Pearce’s novel The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is catch phrases. Cool Hand Luke suggested by DeafEars. Trivia: The movie’s line

First Person: In defense of ‘Happy Days’ ‘ ‘Jump the Shark’ episode

Veteran TV writer-producer Fred Fox, Jr. penned this first person piece about the famous ‘Fonzie-jumps-the-shark’ episode of the TV series “Happy Days”. Here’s how he frames his article: In 1987, Jon Hein and his roommates at the University of Michigan were drinking beer and had