Scott Myers

“Bad Contained Thriller Concept Day”

So the other day for no good reason, I declared on Twitter that it was “Bad Contained Thriller Concept Day.” To kick it off, I tweeted a few examples that popped to mind: “Guy wakes up to discover he’s stuck flying alone in a hot air balloon.” WT: “Effed

Screenwriting 101 — Ron Bass

“Everything I write is in three acts, and I actually start with three pieces of paper. I have some notion of where each act begins and ends before I get to this stage. I know my people and I know roughly about how many scenes each act should be. I

Daily Dialogue — May 19, 2010

The Graduate (1967), screenplay by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, based on a novel by Charles Webb The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is extended scenes with no dialogue, suggested by Désirée and Viewers Like You, a reminder that movies are primarily a visual medium — and that sometimes, the

Reader Question: When is it time give up on a lead?

Open forum question from Margaret: I started a query process for one of my scripts a few months ago with a combination of both formal query letters and passing my script along to well connected friends and friends of friends who had expressed interest in it. I was looking for

Compiling Script Recommendations: Non-linear

We are compiling lists of excellent screenplays per various categories as a resource for writers to read and analyze. Today: Scripts that are notable for non-linear (or non-traditional) narrative structure. My recommendations: (500) Days of Summer Adaptation Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Jacob’s Ladder Memento Out

Another contained thriller: “Lebanon”

Received a note GITS reader Nigel Anderson about another contained thriller Lebanon (2009): from today’s UK Guardian film reviews, “Lebanon” — filmed entirely in a tank, which reminded the reviewer of Hitchcock’s “Lifeboat” filmed entirely in…. a lifeboat. From the Guardian review: There have been a number of Israeli

Hollywood tales

“I worked as an intern-slash-reader at a little Paramount production company during my first semester of graduate school, and the contrast between the crappy scripts I read there and the great scripts I read for class was really illuminating. And encouraging on some level. I knew I could

Daily Dialogue — May 18, 2010

The Natural (1984), screenplay by Roger Towne and Phil Dusenberry, based on a novel by Bernard Malamud The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is extended scenes with no dialogue, suggested by Désirée and Viewers Like You, a reminder that movies are primarily a visual medium — and that sometimes, the

Pitch Sale: “Cinderella”

Deadline: EXCLUSIVE: After Disney’s new version Alice in Wonderland turned in a 3D record breaking opening weekend of $116 million and became a global juggernaut, there has been a resurgence of movie interest in timeless classics. For instance, there is a stampede for public domain literary properties like The

Reader Question: Is summer a bad time to send out a spec script?

Open forum question from Matisse: Do less specs sell during the summer? I heard that is not a good time to go out with one. Given how slow the spec market is — the last sale 4/27 and only 16 sales to date in 2010 — my snarky shadow self would

Compiling Script Recommendations: Subplots

We are compiling lists of excellent screenplays per various categories as a resource for writers to read and analyze. Today: Scripts that are notable for how they handle subplots. My recommendations: A Serious Man Adaptation American Graffiti As Good As It Gets Back to the Future Big Chill, The Dark

Daily Dialogue — May 17, 2010

The Good, the Bad & the Ugly (1966), screenplay by Agenore Incrocci & Furio Scarpelli & Luciano Vincenzoni & Sergio Leone, story by Luciano Vincenzoni & Sergio Leone The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is extended scenes with no dialogue, suggested by Désirée and Viewers Like You, a reminder

“The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer’s Block and the Creative Brain”

Always happy to receive recommendations from GITS readers. Here’s an interesting one from Alex Yalen: Scott, I am reading a book right now called The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer’s Block and the Creative Brain. This is the best book on creativity I have ever encountered

Another short film sells?

Per Deadline Hollywood: Pixels, which has become a viral sensation. No deal yet at Columbia, but Happy Madison bought the rights to Jean’s work and Adam Sandler’s company is a fixture on the lot. Here’s the short film: Possible plot: Characters come out of a video game

Robert Redford’s influence on indie films

Amazing that Redford’s vision from nearly 30 years ago is still pretty much the same today. Per Roger Ebert [note the date]: BY ROGER EBERT / July 5, 1981 Sundance, Utah — Up here above Provo, in the resort he has carved out of a little mountain meadow, Robert Redford is

Video Interview: Danny Strong

Today’s interview is with actor-writer Danny Strong. His writing credits are Recount (2008) and the upcoming The Crusaders (2011) . Part 1 http://www.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_rfgx49y8/uiconf_id/29111 Danny Strong: Yeah. Well, you know, I think that they always talk about technology,

Daily Dialogue — May 16, 2010

Norma Bates: No! I tell you no! I won’t have you bringing some young girl in for supper! By candlelight, I suppose, in the cheap, erotic fashion of young men with cheap, erotic minds! Norman Bates: Mother, please…! Norma Bates: And then what? After supper? Music? Whispers? Norman Bates:

“Best and Worst Sequels of All Time”

As the onslaught of summer movies begins, TheWrap.com provides this list: Best and Worst Sequels of All Time. BEST: “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) WORST: “Staying Alive” (1983) BEST: “Canonball Run II” (1984) WORST: “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull”(2008) BEST: “Terminator 2: Judgement Day”

Update: Kyle Killen

For those of you who remember me analyzing and generally fawning over the script “The Beaver” by Kyle Killen here, here, and here, tracking the progress of the script’s movie production (starring Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster) , and noting Killen selling a pilot script to Fox: “Midland,” from 20th

Written Interview: Justin Theroux (Iron Man 2)

Today’s interview, which comes from Movieline.com, is with Justin Theroux: In Hollywood, Justin Theroux puts most other multi-hyphenates to shame. The 38-year-old actor is already well-known for roles in film (Mulholland Drive, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle) and TV (Six Feet Under), and he

Daily Dialogue — May 15, 2010

“Don’t you think that everyone looks back on their childhood with a certain amount of bitterness and regret about something? You’re a big girl now. Aren’t you tired of it all? Bore, bore. It doesn’t have to ruin your life, darling. Life marches by, Chels. I

“All villains have mothers”

kiwichick made an interesting observation in another thread: “Clint’s “give-the-horse-a-drink-first” moment reminds me of Jean Reno in The Professional — he’ll take out anyone that needs taking out but don’t you dare touch his plant. Nothing more appealing than a broody ‘closed shop’

Compiling Script Recommendations: Narrative Voice

We are compiling lists of excellent screenplays per various categories as a resource for writers to read and analyze. Today: Scripts notable for their narrative voice. What do I mean by narrative voice? You can go here to read an article I wrote on the subject for Screentalk magazine. My

Great Scene: “Rushmore”

What a terrific movie Rushmore (1998) is. Co-written by Owen Wilson and Wes Anderson, who also directed the film, it’s a stellar follow-up to their first film Bottle Rocket (1996). A plot summary from IMDB: Max Fischer [Jason Schwartzman] is a precocious 15-year-old whose reason

Daily Dialogue — May 14, 2010

Dirk’s Mother: You can’t do anything. You’re a loser. You’ll always be a loser — you couldn’t even finish high school because you were too stupid — so what are you gonna do? Dirk: I’ll do something . . . I’ll do it. I’ll go somewhere and