Scott Myers

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Get Un-Comfortable

As background to this trick, consider what screenwriter Alvin Sargent suggests: “You must write everyday. Free yourself. Free association. An hour alone a day. Blind writing. Write in the dark. Don’t think about what it is you’re writing. Just put a piece of paper in the typewriter, take

Written Interview: Joss Whedon

Today’s interview is a great one with writer-director Joss Whedon that appeared in the journal In Focus, their August / September 2005 issue. Whedon’s writing credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992), Toy Story (1995), Alien: Resurrection (1997), Titan A.E. (2000), and Serenity (2005), and several TV

Daily Dialogue — June 26, 2010

[eyeing the “KEEP OUT” signs surrounding Shrek’s home]   Donkey: You, uh… you don’t entertain much, do you?   Shrek: I like my privacy.   Donkey: Y’know, me too. That’s another thing we have in common. I hate it when you’ve got someone in your face, you try

How They Write A Script: Walter Hill

“I tried to write in an extremely spare, almost haiku style, both stage directions and dialogue. Some of it was a bit pretentious — but at other times I thought it worked pretty well.” We’ve discussed writer-director Walter Hill previously here and here. Noted for his distinctive approach to

How I Write A Script, Part 5: Plotting

Here’s another in a series of posts about how I approach writing a script. Previous posts: Part 1: Story Concept Part 2: Brainstorming Part 3: Research Part 4: Character Development PART 5: PLOTTING This is another part of the process that happens while I’m brainstorming, doing research, and

Great Scene: Amadeus

This is one of my favorite all-time scenes, a brilliant inspiration for the viewer to hear what Mozart is ‘hearing’ in his own mind, but Solieri not to hear, both to give Solieri an actual taste of creative genius at work in the moment, and also to underscore to

Daily Dialogue — June 25, 2010

George:Ok, men all aboard. Lets go somewhere. Ringo:[Indicating Jeremy] What about him? John:He’s happy enough going around in circles. Ringo:Aw, poor fellow. Can’t he come with us? Paul:I don’t know. Ringo’s just a sentamentalist. Ringo:Hey, Mr Boob! You can come

How They Write A Script: Philip Dunne

Today some words of wisdom from screenwriter Philip Dunne. A veteran of the Hollywood “studio system”, Dunne had a long and prolific screenwriting career from 1932 to 1965. Writing credits include The Count of Monte Cristo (1932), The Last of the Mohicans (1936), The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), and

How I Write A Script, Part 4: Character Development

People asked me how I write a script, so here we go with Part 4. This is a follow up to Part 1, which focused on story concept, Part 2, where we looked at brainstorming, and Part 3, which talked about research.  PART 4: CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT I’m compartmentalizing my

Scene Description Spotlight: Wall-E

[This post was originally published on 12/10/09]. Since Monday, we’ve considered scene description in three different scripts and their respective ‘narrative voice’: Monday we looked at an excerpt from the Orci & Kurtzman screenplay for Star Trek, focusing on how the scene description reflected the fact that

Daily Dialogue — June 24, 2010

Buzz: [Woody, scared, walks backwards and he gets startled by Buzz. Buzz keeps talking to his “mission log”] And according to my navi-computer, the…   Woody: [whispering] SHUT UP! Just, SHUT UP, you idiot!   Buzz: Sheriff, this is no time to panic.   Woody: This is a perfect time to panic!

How They Write A Script: Paddy Chayefsky

The only individual writer to win 3 Academy Awards for screenwriting. Noted playwright, screenwriter, and arguably the most famous television writer during its so-called golden age of live TV, Paddy Chayefsky is a deeply revered figure among American authors. This fact is underscored by the “Paddy Chayefsky Laurel Award

How I Write A Script, Part 3: Research

People asked me how I write a script, so here we go with Part 3. This is a follow up to Part 1 where we considered the importance of story concept in the script-writing process, and Part 2 where we discussed brainstorming. PART 3: RESEARCH This generally goes hand-

Screenwriting 101 — Gary Ross

“So many kids work backward methodically, calculatingly from a process instead of from the inside out in terms of what they want to express. All anybody really wants to find, (those) who take home stacks of scripts over the weekend, is an original voice that stirs them. Then they want

Daily Dialogue — June 23, 2010

“Trees and people used to be good friends. I saw that tree and decided to buy the house. Hope Mom likes it too. Okay, let’s pay our respects then get home for lunch.”  — Tatsuo Kusabe (Shigesato Itoi) , Tonari no Totoro (1988), written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki This week’

“Has Anyone Come Close to Pixar’s 11-Peat?”

Per TheWrap: Like the pinch-hitter who only comes to the plate once a week, Pixar’s box-office batting average has gotten little respect. How difficult could it be to have a string of hits when you’ve released fewer than one movie a year, for 15 years? But

How They Write A Script: Stirling Silliphant

Stirling Silliphant (1918–1996) is a Hollywood icon with numerous notable film writing credits including Village of the Damned (1960), In the Heat of the Night (1967), Charly (1968), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974), and The Enforcer (1976). Silliphant is remembered for two hit TV series in

How I Write A Script, Part 2: Brainstorming

Another installment in the 10-part series “How I Write A Script.” PART 2: BRAINSTORMING Once I find a story concept I think might make a good movie, I create a Word file in my computer and start brainstorming ideas into that file. I can not emphasize enough how important

“Shyamalan shopping new movie with big stars”

Per THR: As he puts the finishing touches on Paramount’s big-budget fantasy spectacle “The Last Airbender,” filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan is quietly circulating a new script around town. No details are known about the project, but it comes with some major acting talent: We’ve learned that Bradley

Hollywood Tales

“My primary way into a story is the characters. That’s who I identify with. I’ve had great relationships with directors, and I’ve had more difficult relationships with directors. Executives… I frequently have lots of trouble with. I have never really had trouble with the actors. It’s

Daily Dialogue — June 22, 2010

“The soup. Where is the soup? Out of my way. Move it, garbage boy! You are COOKING? HOW DARE YOU COOK in my kitchen! Where do you get the gall to even attempt something so monumentally idiotic? I should have you drawn and quartered! I’ll do it! I think

“Awesome Infographic: Music Metaphors, Simplified”

From FlavorWire: How about something similar for movies? Suggestions? UPDATE: I put together a list of suggestions here. Comment Archive

How They Write A Script: Horton Foote

One of the most beloved American movies — and also one of my personal favorites — is To Kill a Mockingbird, the cinematic version of Harper Lee’s 1960 novel. The writer who adapted the novel into a screenplay is Horton Foote. A noted playwright as well as screenwriter, Foote’s movie

How I Write a Script, Part 1: Story Concept

“How do you write a script?” I get asked that question a lot. So here it is, a 10-part series, “How I Write A Script.” PART 1: STORY CONCEPT It all starts with the concept. And every day, I task myself to come up with strong, marketable story concepts.

On Writing

“The artist’s only responsibility is his art. He will be completely ruthless if he is a good one…. If a writer has to rob his mother, he will not hesitate: The “Ode on a Grecian Urn” is worth any number of old ladies.”  — William Faulkner