Scott Myers

Movies You Made: Matt Latham

So Jeff Messerman, who along with Mike Scherer moderates The GITS Club, our peer script review site, recently sent me this email: Hi Scott, This was posted last week. I’m a big fan. It’s a 7 page short. Very well written. Best of all, a great example of

Compiling Script Recommendations: Comedy Writing

We are compiling lists of excellent screenplays per various categories as a resource for writers to read and analyze. Today: Comedy Writing. No recommendations thus far, so let me start things off: 40 Year-Old Virgin Down and Out in Beverly Hills Ferris Bueller’s Day Off Hangover, The Legally

Hollywood Tales

“The rejections piled up, hundreds of them. I’d write things and think something was going to happen, and it almost would. I almost got hired on sitcoms, and then I almost got hired here, almost got hired there, almost got hired everywhere. I remember pitching to ‘The Red Shoe

Daily Dialogue — May 4, 2010

Will Bloom: …we see that everybody is already there. And I mean…everyone. Will Bloom: Unbelievable. Senior Ed Bloom: The story of my life. Will Bloom: The strange thing is, there’s not a sad face to be found. Everyone is just so glad to see you…and send you

Update: Writing a screenplay with budget in mind

In comments from this post yesterday re things to consider when writing a screenplay with a low-budget in mind, screenwriter William Martell weighed in with solid advice: You’ll want a centralized location, limited cast, and things like confined cameos so that you can hire a name for a

Why I gave away 30 story ideas in 30 days

In April when I ran the “A Story Idea Each Day for a Month” [A.S.I.E.D.F.A.M] series, several GITS readers emailed me wondering if I’d lost my mind. Why give away story ideas?  I don’t think I’ve gone insane, although the

On Writing

“A synonym is a word you use when you can’t spell the other one.”  — Baltasar Gracián

Daily Dialogue — May 3, 2010

Darth Vader: Luke… help me take this mask off. Luke: But you’ll die. Darth Vader: Nothing… can stop that now. Just for once… let me… look on you with my *own* eyes. [Luke takes off Darth Vader’s mask one piece at a time. Underneath, Luke sees the face

Reader Question: Do Nemesis characters necessarily HAVE to suffer in the end?

Are there stories which can work without the Antagonist getting their comeuppance? Reader question via email from Darren McLeod: Hey Scott, I’m currently having a bit of a problem with my ending. As it currently stands, the protagonist solves his problem and everything works out for him in the

“30 Unexpected Movie Deaths”

Seeing as the tenor of discussion this week went rather morbid at times due the post “Reflections About Movies and Death, this TotalFilm.com list seems apropos: “30 Unexpected Movie Deaths”. Here’s five examples from their list: Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) Gone To Meet Their Maker: Ofelia (Ivana Baquero)

Nate Winslow: Writing a screenplay with budget in mind

We started a weekly column this week with Nate Winslow, a 22 year-old trying to get a $1M movie produced. I asked in comments: I’ll ask a question on behalf of GITS readers. For someone writing a screenplay they hope to produce on a low budget (let’s

Story Idea Scrapheap

Believe it or not, for the recent “A Story Idea Each Day for a Month” series, I had even more possibilities for posts. In the end, some didn’t make the cut. But per the adage, “One person’s ceiling is another person’s, floor,” I submit to you all

Video Interview: Derek Haas

Today’s video interview is with screenwriter Derek Haas. Haas, who is also the host of the very cool short fiction website “Popcorn Fiction”, has several screenwriting credits including 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), 3:10 to Yuma (2007), Wanted (2008), and the upcoming movie The Double (2011), and has

Daily Dialogue — May 2, 2010

John Kinsella: Well, good night Ray. Ray Kinsella: Good night, John. [They shake hands and John begins to walk away] Ray Kinsella: Hey… Dad? [John turns] Ray Kinsella: [choked up] You wanna have a catch? John Kinsella: I’d like that.  — John Kinsella (Ray Liotta), Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), Field

Reader Question: How can you tell if a scene is necessary or unnecessary?

You can figure this out by asking one simple question. In response to a previous post, Manwhit asked: thanks for the question/response. im having the same problem. any suggestions on non-formatting cuts. i.e. how can you tell what is important and what isn’t storywise scene by

“Cinema’s Best Human Villains”

H/T to GITS reader cteve who saw this post from January 2, 2010 featuring this montage from our UK editor friend hh1edits — — And recommended this clip: Cinema’s Best Human Villains Antagonists so often make the most interesting characters. Why is that? Comment Archive

Introduce Yourself!

So here it is May 1st, the beginning of a new month. And as part of a tradition started in 2010, the first day of the month is GITS’ official “Hey, Lurkers, Come Out And Play!” day. A little ‘mixer’ if you will. After all, in the first four months

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

Today’s interview is with Dean DeBlois and Chris Sanders, co-writers and co-directors of the wonderful new movie How to Train Your Dragon. Previous credits: Mulan (1998) and Lilo & Stitch (2002). Here are some key excerpts from the interview: How did you go about adapting the book?

Daily Dialogue — May 1, 2010

Jonathan Kent: Yeah, I know, you can do all these amazing things and sometimes you feel like you will just go bust unless you can tell people about them. Young Clark Kent: Yeah. I mean every time I kick the football I can make a touchdown. Every time! I mean,

Teaser Trailer: “Buried”

You may remember that Buried, written by Chris Sparling, was the first big sale at Sundance this year. Here is the story premise: Paul is a U.S. contractor working in Iraq. After an attack by a group of Iraqis he wakes to find he is buried alive inside a

Reader Question: Is the spec script market dead?

From Billy via email: A question for your open forum. Is it dead? I had my first spec go out last spring, during the low point of the economic meltdown. It received good coverage but in the end didn’t sell because it was ‘too big’ and studios development had

“A Rebuilding Phase for Independent Film”

With Nate Winslow introducing a weekly guest column on the trials and tribulations of a 22 year-old attempting to produce his first full-length feature independent film, this NY Times article seems particularly relevant: A Rebuilding Phase for Independent Filmmakers: Only five years ago, the center of the still

Update: “Everybody Loves Whales”

An update on a project I posted on here on May 7, 2009: Warner Bros. buys based on real life story “Everybody Loves Whales” from writers Jack Amiel and Michael Begler: The script tells the story of three California gray whales who were found trapped under the ice of the

Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 30

The final story idea in this month-long series comes from a GITS reader Anthony Williams. He sent it to me via email: Hi Scott, There was a small story reported in the last month about a photograph on the Bralorne Pioneer Museum website, of a group of people watching

Great Scene: “Fabulous Baker Boys”

Here’s a great scene involving music: Susie (Michelle Pfeiffer) vamping it up atop a Steinway piano in a slinky red dress, crooning “Makin’ Whoopie” from the movie The Fabulous Baker Boys: INT. “KING’S MANOR” DINING ROOM — NIGHT A banner stretched between two chandeliers, proclaims “HAPPY NEW YEAR!” As