Scott Myers

Pitch Sale: “Substitute Husband”

Dreamworks buys comedy pitch “Substitute Husband” from writer Michelle McGrath and actor Hayes MacArthur: Plot details for the high-concept comedy are being kept under wraps. There are no producers yet attached to the project. McGrath’s credits include the screenplay “Chip on the Old Block,” which she sold to

Question: How about adapting a comic book for a first screenplay?

Reader Question: How about adapting a comic book for a first screenplay? Hollywood may be crazy about comic books, but for a writer there are some specific concerns which need to be addressed. A reader question from rajiv130: Is is it reasonable to adapt a comic book for my first

Hollywood Breakthrough: Harlan Ellison

The Wrap has a feature called “Hollywood Breakthrough,” where people who work in the entertainment industry describe how they got their big break. At present, there are five featured screenwriters, perfect for a five-part series, one per day this week. Today’s featured writer is Harlan Ellison, whose writing

“Man of Extremes The Return of James Cameron”

Fascinating piece on writer-director James Cameron in the latest New Yorker: The director James Cameron is six feet two and fair, with paper-white hair and turbid blue-green eyes. He is a screamer — righteous, withering, aggrieved. “Do you want Paul Verhoeven to finish this motherfucker?” he shouted, an

Screenwriting 101: Tom Schulman

I want to know my whole story works before I start writing.” — Tom Schulman (Dead Poet’s Society, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, What About Bob?) Comment Archive

Daily dialogue — October 20, 2009

“You couldn’t have stopped them, the army couldn’t have stopped them. So I had to.”  — Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), screenplay by George Axelrod, based on the novel by Richard Condon Comment Archive

Question: Where to start when developing a story?

Reader Question: Where to start when developing a story? As always, my advice is: Begin with your story’s characters. Reader question from attatt: When you write a script, do/did you usually start with a character, a specific plot point, or a specific ending you want to reach? Curious

Pitch sale: “What Boys Want”

New Line picks up comedy pitch “What Boys Want” from writers Amy Andelson and Emily Meyer: Story centers on a teenage girl who can hear what men are thinking. Allen Fisher of Principato-Young and Gomez’s mother, Mandy Teefey, will exec produce. Take What Women Want (2000), gender-bend

Hollywood Breakthrough: Matt Weiner (Mad Men)

The Wrap has a feature called “Hollywood Breakthrough,” where people who work in the entertainment industry describe how they got their big break. At present, there are five featured screenwriters, perfect for a five-part series, one per day this week. Today’s featured writer is Matthew Weiner, creator of

“Shawshank Syndrome”

One of my online students tipped me off about this from Bill Maher on his HBO show: New Rule: Scientists must explain why we will stop and watch a movie on cable even though we own that exact same movie on DVD, and could watch it any time we want.

Hollywood Tales

“Alex Jacob’s script of Point Blank (1967) was a revelation. He was a friend (wonderful guy, looked like a pirate, funny and crazy). This revelation came about despite a character flaw of mine. I have always had difficulty being complimentary to people whose work I admire, when face-to-

Daily dialogue — October 20, 2009

“I’ve written a letter to Daddy / His address is Heaven above / I’ve written “Dear Daddy, we miss you / And wish you were with us to love” / Instead of a stamp I put kisses / The postman says that’s best to do / I’ve written a letter to Daddy

Question: What about working with a co-writer?

A question from Tom: I am just beginning to work with a foreign-born writer I met who asked me about working with him on a screenplay that takes place in his native (third world) country. He approached me for a variety of reasons, but bottom line, we like each

Hollywood Breakthrough: Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park)

The Wrap has a feature called “Hollywood Breakthrough,” where people who work in the entertainment industry describe how they got their big break. At present, there are five featured screenwriters, perfect for a five-part series, one per day this week. Let’s kick off the series with Julia Fellowes,

Spec script sale: “Rehab”

Another comedy spec sells, this one to Fox called “Rehab” from writer Sam Laybourne: The story centers on a man who fakes going to rehab to reconnect with a former high school sweetheart, now a rock star and in rehab for her excesses. That’s a strong story concept. Clear

Spec Script Sale: “The Black Phantom”

Screen Gems nabs spec comedy “The Black Phantom” from first-timers Dave Lease & Megan Hinds. In “The Black Phantom,” a double-crossed Caucasian mob hitman turns for help to an unlikely source: the title character, an African-American hitman who was hired to kill him. Always good to see

On writing

“In my experience the principle of antagonism is the most important and least understood precept in story design. Neglect of this fundamental concept is the primary reason screenplays and films made from them fail… A protagonist and his story can only be as intellectually fascinating and emotionally compelling as the

Daily dialogue — October 19, 2009

“What drives me insane is the twofold nature of this nymphet, of every nymphet perhaps, this mixture in my Lolita of tender, dreamy childishness and a kind of eerie vulgarity. I know it is madness to keep this journal, but it gives me a strange thrill to do so. And

Question: How long for a first draft?

Another open forum question from E.C. Henry: Do you advocate “page budgeting” in the outline-to-1st draft stage? Here’s where I’m coming from: Currently I do some prep work before I write, but I’m finding as I write a first draft most of the time

“The Essence of Story”

FilmmakerIQ posted an article by James Bonnet called “The Essence of Story”. It’s well worth reading. Some excerpts: What is the essence, or heart and soul, of a great story? There are seven critical elements: the change of fortune, the problem of the story, the complications, crisis, climax and

Video interview: Dave Eggers

The movie Where the Wild Things Are debuts this weekend. The screenplay is co-written by the movie’s director Spike Jonze & Dave Eggers. Eggers, who also co-wrote the recently released movie Away We Go has quite a background as a writer as noted here: Dave Eggers is

Question: “What about InkTip?”

A question from the recent Open Forum: Deaf Indian Muslim Anarchist! said… What do you think of screenwriting market websites like InkTip? Are they really effective as they claim to be? Let me state upfront that I am familiar with InkTip, but only on a cursory level of bumping around

Rick Blaine & Louis Renault: The movie after Casablanca

Okay, so everyone remembers the ending of Casablanca, right? Let’s zero in on Rick and Renault. They have an interesting relationship: Rick the Protagonist, and Renault the Trickster (“I’m shocked! Shocked to find that gambling’s going on in here!”). Consider their last lines of dialogue: Rick and

Interview: Matthew Robinson (The Invention of Lying)

Today’s interview is with Matthew Robinson, who co-wrote and co-directed (with the star of the movie Ricky Gervais) the current release The Invention of Lying. How did the movie come to pass? After toiling fairly fruitlessly for a decade as a scripter in L.A., he hit

Exclusive Q&A Interview: Movie Marketing (Part 5)

Today is the last part of a series on movie marketing. For the others: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, and Part 4. We are fortunate to have an insider’s take on the subject. Our expert, who prefers to remain anonymous, has worked in marketing for one of the