Scott Myers

25 tape audio interview series with Alfred Hitchcock

Here’s a gem. From Richard Brody at The New Yorker: Last year, I recommended a virtual trip to the extraordinary pictorial treasure trove at Tom Sutpen’s terrific Web site, “If Charlie Parker Was a Gunslinger, There’d Be a Whole Lot of Dead Copycats.” Two years ago, I

Video Interview: Richard Price

Today’s interview is with novelist, screenwriter, and TV writer Richard Price. Some of his writing credits are The Wanderers (1979) (novel), The Color of Money (1986) (screenplay), Sea of Love (1989) (written by), Ransom (1996) (screenplay), and “The Wire” (5 episodes, 2004–2008) . The interview can be found at

Daily Dialogue — May 9, 2010

Billy Kramer: Who’s gonna read me my bedtime stories? Ted Kramer: Mommy will. Billy Kramer: You’re not gonna kiss me good night anymore, are you, Dad? Ted Kramer: No, I won’t be able to do that. But, you know, I get to visit. It’s gonna be

More thoughts on action genre and character

I did some more thinking about this thread where I went into some depth re Tony’s Stark’s character in Iron Man to make the point that we, as writers, need to dig into our characters in order to dimensionalize them. However, what we find there and present on

Update: “Metropolis” adds cities and playdates

Following up on this post, more good news re the release of the latest version of the movie Metropolis. They’ve added more cities and playdates: California Laemmle Royal Theatre   Los Angeles   CA   Opens May 14 Hillcrest Cinemas   San Diego   CA   Opens June 4 San Francisco Silent Film Festival   San

Written Interview: Vince Gilligan

Today’s interview is with screenwriter and TV writer Vince Gilligan. His feature film credits include Wilder Napalm (1993), Home Fries (1998), and Hancock (2008), and his TV credits include “The Lone Gunmen” (13 episodes, 2001) , “The X Files” (30 episodes, 1995–2002) , and “Breaking Bad” (33 episodes, 2008–2010)

Daily Dialogue — May 8, 2010

“We’ll drive. Keep driving. Head out to the middle of nowhere, take that road as far as it takes us. You’ve never been west of Philly, have ya? This is a beautiful country, Monty, it’s beautiful out there, like a different world. Mountains, hills, cows, farms, and

Balancing character and plot in action movies

Note: Since Iron Man 2 debuts in the U.S. this weekend and we had a question the other day about character and plot, I thought it was apropos to reach into GITS ‘wayback’ machine for this post. justwrite7 posed a question: “How does one balance character and plot in

Rob’s Finds

Rob Fuller is back with more movie and screenwriting oddities from the Web. First the secret is finally revealed as Roger Ebert releases the long-rumored original screenplay he penned “Who Killed Bambi”. Per SlashFilm: Recently Sex Pistols manager and rock impressario Malcolm McLaren passed away, which prompted Roger Ebert

Compiling Script Recommendations: Horror Writing

We are compiling lists of excellent screenplays per various categories as a resource for writers to read and analyze. Today: Horror writing. My recommendations: Black Christmas (1974) Carrie Exorcist, The Halloween Howling, The Zombieland I haven’t read nearly as many scripts in this genre, so please pick up the

Great Scene: “Shakespeare in Love”

In the screenwriting class I’m currently teaching at UNC, for the last two weeks we’ve been analyzing the truly wonderful screenplay Shakespeare In Love (1998), written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard.  There are so many fantastic scenes in the script, but here’s a great one: Viola,

Daily Dialogue — May 7, 2010

“You ain’t gonna believe this, but you used to fit right here. [taps on the inside of his hand] I’d hold you up to say to your mother, ‘This kid’s gonna be the best kid in the world. This kid’s gonna be somebody better than anybody

“Super 8”

If you’ve been tracking rumors the last few days re the mysterious “Super 8” project, here’s the scoop per THR’s Ace Fernandez and Borys Kit: What if Stephen King and J.K. Rowling brainstormed an idea together? Just how big would the potential audience be? Cosmic. Well,

Movies You Made: “At Least the Devil is Honest”

A few days ago, we looked at a short script written by The GITS Club member Matt Latham. Here is the film version: Congrats, Matt, on completing this project.  Perhaps time to run another “Moves You Made” series? If you’ve been involved in writing, directing, acting, and/or producing

Frank Cottrell Boyce: “How to write a movie”

H/T to @San_MonkeyGod from a Tweet for recommending this Guardian piece: Frank Cottrell Boyce: “How to write a movie”: A while back, I was on Radio 4’s Film Programme the same day as Simon Pegg. We were asked what we thought of screenwriting manuals. I dismissed them

Compiling Script Recommendations: Dramatic Writing

We are compiling lists of excellent screenplays per various categories as a resource for writers to read and analyze. Today: Dramatic Writing. My recommendations: Breaking Away Bridge on the River Kwai, The Casablanca Chinatown Dead Poet’s Society Dog Day Afternoon French Lieutenant’s Woman, The Godfather, The Godfather, The

Scene Description Spotlight: “Gattaca”

The 1997 movie Gattaca is one that many GITS readers have commented on with great affection, either publicly or to me via email. Here is the movie’s plot synopsis per IMDB: Vincent is one of the last “natural” babies born into a sterile, genetically-enhanced world, where life expectancy

Daily Dialogue — May 6, 2010

Don Corleone: Oh, I want you to arrange to have a telephone man check all the calls going in and out of here because it could be anyone… Michael: I did that already, Pop. I took care of that. Don Corleone: Oh, that’s right. I forgot. Michael: What’s

The writer’s life: What are you afraid of?

The single greatest inhibitor to creativity is fear. Do you recognize any of these ‘voices’: * I am afraid of typing FADE IN. * I am afraid I won’t be able to finish the script. * I am afraid I don’t have enough talent. * I am afraid the words won’t

Guest Columnist: Nate Winslow — “Producing an Indie Film”

We started a weekly column last week with Nate Winslow, a 22 year-old trying to get a $1M movie produced. Here is the next installment: Welcome to Week 2! Last week I left you at the end of my introductory post posing a question about writing for a limited

Compiling Script Recommendations: Thriller Writing

We are compiling lists of excellent screenplays per various categories as a resource for writers to read and analyze. Today: Thriller writing. My recommendations: Basic Instinct Blood Simple Fatal Attraction Memento Rear Window Rosemary’s Baby Se7en Silence of the Lambs, The Sixth Sense, The Please post your suggestions in

Screenwriting 101 — Lowell Ganz

“We’re [Ganz and writing partner Babaloo Mandel] always trying to have everything [a character says] come out of a very specific, personal place. Specific, honest, and emotional. Every once in a while, you hit all three at the same time. Those are the best moments.”  — Lowell Ganz (Splash, Parenthood,

Daily Dialogue — May 5, 2010

Scott: How could you do this to me? On national television! Dr. Evil: Well throw me a freakin’ bone here, Scott. Scott: Why did you run out on me? Dr. Evil: Because you’re not quite evil enough. [audience boos] Dr. Evil: Well it’s true! It’s true! You’

Jack Abramoff: Screenwriter?

Listening to NPR yesterday, I was shocked to learn this fact about convicted felon and former Congressional lobbyist Jack Abramoff: He is a screenwriter! Well, to be accurate, he has one writing credit: Red Scorpion (1989) (story) shared credit with his brother Robert Abramoff (screenplay written by Arne Olsen): Here’

TBSR: “Tips for the Class of ‘10”

Through email and comments, I’ve discerned that GITS has a surprising number of college students who follow the blog. With graduation looming for some of you, The Bitter Script Reader has some sound advice if you’re relocating to L.A.: Number two — while you’re still at school