Scott Myers

Writing question: How do you handle finding out your story idea has already been written?

The other day I posted this: Earlier this week, per THR: Liv Tyler and Patrick Wilson have been cast in the suspense film “The Ledge” from first-time writer-director Matthew Chapman. The actors join Terrence Howard and Charlie Hunnam in the story of a man (Hunnam) standing on a

Movies You Made: “A Country Wedding”

From GITS reader Dave Baker: “A Country Wedding” was the first film project I worked on as a producer/director/editor. It was also the first short script I’ve written. I subsequently wrote the feature version, so our goal now is to get that one made. Here is “A

“Ten rules for writing fiction”: A.L. Kennedy

Several GITS readers emailed me about a great series The Guardian ran recently: Ten Rules For Writing Fiction. Today we feature A.L. Kennedy: 1 Have humility. Older/more ­experienced/more convincing writers may offer rules and varieties of advice. ­Consider what they say. However, don’t automatically give them

Rob’s Finds

A special weekend edition of Rob’s Finds, the curious and intriguing stories Rob Fuller digs up on the Web. And since the SXSW Festival kicked off in Austin this weekend, let’s start with this little gem Rob discovered: “Space Ships, Aliens And Comics To Watch at SXSW’s

Video Interview: J.K. Rowling

GITS reader Greg Colburn forwarded me this link: J.K. Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter book series, delivers her Commencement Address, “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination,” at the Annual Meeting of the Harvard Alumni Association: Here’s the transcript: President Faust, members

Daily Dialogue — March 14, 2010

Lester (V.O.): “I had always heard your entire life flashes in front of your eyes the second before you die. First of all, that one second isn’t a second at all, it stretches on forever, like an ocean of time… For me, it was lying on my back

“Korean Otaku Marries Anime Body Pillow”

It’s Lars and the Real Girl… only it’s real! Per the Huffington Post: Remember that episode of “30 Rock” where James Franco’s character was in love with a pillow? Oh that was so funny. You know, because it was a scripted television show. Not real life. I

“2010 Tribeca Film Fest reveals schedule”

The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival has announced its schedule: World Narrative Feature Competition “Buried Land,” directed by Geoffrey Alan Rhodes and Steven Eastwood, written by Rhodes, Eastwood and Dzenan Medanovic. Set in a war-torn town in Bosnia that attracts tourists visiting ancient pyramids. “Dog Pound,” directed by Kim Chapiron,

Mash-up: “Avatar” and “Pocahantus”

H/T to Cheerleader for sending me this Huffington Post link: A couple of months ago we told you about how “Avatar” was a beat for beat rip off of “Pocahantas” (“Pocahantas in Space,” if you will). And since then we’ve been counting the days until someone took the

Another contained thriller

Earlier this week, per THR: Liv Tyler and Patrick Wilson have been cast in the suspense film “The Ledge” from first-time writer-director Matthew Chapman. The actors join Terrence Howard and Charlie Hunnam in the story of a man (Hunnam) standing on a high-rise ledge who insists he

“Five rules for writing fiction”: P.D. James

Several GITS readers emailed me about a great series The Guardian ran recently: Ten Rules For Writing Fiction. Today we feature P.D. James: 1 Increase your word power. Words are the raw material of our craft. The greater your vocabulary the more ­effective your writing. We who write in

“100 Character Development Questions for Writers”

Rob Fuller forwarded this link: THE 100+ QUESTIONS Welcome to over one hundred of the dumbest questions about your character. These are things that, if someone were to ask you in real life, you could answer without giving it any thought whatsoever. Most characters, however, can’t answer this because

Written Interview: Linda Woolverton (Alice in Wonderland)

In this WGA.org interview with screenwriter Linda Woolverton, you can see just how easy it is to come up with a brilliant story concept: Linda Woolverton, the screenwriter behind the new Alice in Wonderland film, is the low-key kind — agreeable, modest and not the type to prattle on

Daily Dialogue — March 13, 2010

Private Detective Visser (V.O.): The world is full o’ complainers. An’ the fact is, nothin’ comes with a guarantee. Now I don’t care if you’re the pope of Rome, President of the United States or Man of the Year; somethin’ can all go wrong. Now go on

Form vs. free form

The other day, I posted this quote from screenwriter David Seltzer in the week’s Screenwriting 101: “I think if people try a few screenplays and they just fall apart in the middle, or people say, ‘It was great until this happened or that happened,’ then maybe they can read

“How to write a rom-com in 10 easy steps”

H/T to @BittrScrptReadr for this link: Unless you’ve been living in the moron cave on Retard Mountain, you’ve probably noticed that romantic comedies are big business. Movies like The Proposal, The Ugly Truth, that one with Matthew McConaughey and the treasure; they’re out there earning two

“Ten rules for writing fiction”: David Hare

Several GITS readers emailed me about a great series The Guardian ran recently: Ten Rules For Writing Fiction. Today we feature David Hare: 1 Write only when you have something to say. 2 Never take advice from anyone with no investment in the outcome. 3 Style is the art of

“Indie movie ‘Strictly Sexual’ heats up Hulu.com”

Jeff Messerman sent me an email with this CNN story back in February: Viewers might have a different idea of what they are going to see when they start watching the movie “Strictly Sexual” on Hulu.com, but that hasn’t stopped them from making it one of the most

Great Scene: “Broadcast News”

I love the movie Broadcast News (1987), written and directed by James L. Brooks. The movie is full of great scenes, but this one might be the funniest: The famous “flop-sweat” scene starring Albert Brooks. Playing Aaron, a field reporter desperate to get one shot at being an on-

Daily Dialogue — March 12, 2010

Willard (V.O.): Saigon. Shit. I’m still only in Saigon. Every time I think I’m gonna wake up back in the jungle. When I was home after my first tour was worse. I’d wake up and there’d be nothing. I hardly said a word to my

Spec Script Sale: “Ruthless”

Double Nickel Prods. has picked up crime thriller spec “Ruthless” from writer Cooper Layne: Story centers on an ex-con who shows up in a small Louisiana town and disrupts the lives of the inhabitants by exposing their secrets. Layne is repped by ICM and Integrated Films & Management. By

Donate Life Film Festival

Received an email from the fine folks who run the Donate Life Film Festival. They have a unique screenplay competition (see below): Donate Life Film Festival June 12, 2010 at the Paley Center for Media, formally known as the Museum of TV & Radio, Beverly Hills, California 2–20 Minute

How do YOU find the magic?

It’s great to see folks delving into the GITS archives. With nearly 3,000 posts, I think we’ve done a pretty good job of covering many questions and concerns re screenwriting. For instance, GITS reader Bob recently commented on this post from August 19, 2009: a little late

“Ten rules for writing fiction”: Neil Gaiman

Several GITS readers emailed me about a great series The Guardian ran recently: Ten Rules For Writing Fiction. Today we feature Neil Gaiman: 1 Write. 2 Put one word after another. Find the right word, put it down. 3 Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to

“Paramount Launching Micro-Budget Division Insurge Pictures”

I posted on this back in December here. But per Alex Billington at firstshowing.net, it’s now officially official: Apparently the success of Paranormal Activity had a bigger impact on Paramount than we initially thought. The studio is launching a new division called Insurge Pictures that will be specifically