Scott Myers

Spec Script Deal: “Silver Arrow”

Green-Light International acquires thriller spec script “The Silver Arrow” written by Nika Agiashvili. From Variety: “The Silver Arrow” is being developed as an international heist thriller about a group of thieves in the search of the Mercedes-Benz Silver Arrow, a legendary pre-World War II racing car. Producers

Spec Script: Untitled Mindy Kaling Talk Show Project

Fox 2000 acquires untitled Talk Show spec script written by Mindy Kaling. From THR: The story centers on Thompson’s character, a late-night talk show host who’s at risk of losing her long-running show right when she hires her first female writer (Kaling). Emma Thompson is also

Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 19]

Spec scripts, that is. I’m guessing that perhaps 90% of the people who follow this blog at some point in their lives will write a spec script. And the other 10% are involved in buying and selling them. In light of that fact, last year I interviewed a top

The Business of Screenwriting: Low-budget filmmaking [Part 2]

Last week, I shared the story of a low-budget indie film script I wrote called “Snowbirds”. You can read that post here. Using a set of production guidelines (e.g., 90 page script, 4–5 week shoot, no more than 10 actors, 1 primary location), I wrote a script

Daily Dialogue — September 29, 2016

Oracle: I’d ask you to sit down, but, you’re not going to anyway. And don’t worry about the vase. Neo: What vase? Neo turns to look for a vase, and as he does, he knocks over a vase of flowers, which shatters on the floor. Oracle: That

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Autumn Challenge: Day 28

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 28. September 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. September 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. Get it down. Get it done. For background on how the Zero Draft Challenge came into being and what

Reader Questions?

Haven’t done this for awhile, opened up the floor to any questions you may have about screenwriting, TV writing, or the entertainment business in general. Before you post something, be sure to check out this archive: Go Into The Story Reader Questions. There are well over 200 questions and

October: Classic International Movie Month

Every several months since 2013, we’ve had a Classic Movie Month in which I invite GITS readers to volunteer writing up an overview of one of their favorite movies. We’ve moved through this process decade by decade, the idea being to create an online resource for writers to

Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 18]

Spec scripts, that is. I’m guessing that perhaps 90% of the people who follow this blog at some point in their lives will write a spec script. And the other 10% are involved in buying and selling them. In light of that fact, last year I interviewed a top

Great Scene: “Fight Club”

One of the most effective ways to begin a script is to start at the ending. And one of the best scenes that opens with the ending is in the movie Fight Club. Adapted for the screen by Jim Uhls from a novel by the notable writer Chuck Palahniuk, Fight

Daily Dialogue — September 28, 2016

TRELAWNEY: He will return tonight. POTTER: Sorry? TRELAWNEY: Tonight, he who betrayed his friends at Hogwarts with murder shall break free. Innocent blood shall be spilled, and servant and master shall be reunited once more. — Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004), screenplay by Steve Kloves, based on the

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Autumn Challenge: Day 27

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 27. September 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. September 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. Get it down. Get it done. For background on how the Zero Draft Challenge came into being and what

Screenwriting & Editing: The Shawshank Redemption

The movie version of the story’s opening is much better than the script. [Originally posted September 1, 2009] Over the weekend, we had an interesting discussion in response to this post about the [thus far] ill-fated movie project “Moneyball”. In comments, Carpet made the following statement: i agree,

Video: “MICHAEL CLAYTON: The Tortured Path to Redemption”

A lot of video essays come my way and frankly many of them are not very good. This one is as it does a nice job delving into the psychological and existential journey of the Protagonist in the outstanding movie Michael Clayton. Two things. First, you can watch this movie,

Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 17]

Spec scripts, that is. I’m guessing that perhaps 90% of the people who follow this blog at some point in their lives will write a spec script. And the other 10% are involved in buying and selling them. In light of that fact, last year I interviewed a top

Daily Dialogue — September 27, 2016

“There is no death. There is only a transition to a different sphere of consciousness. Carol Anne is not like those she’s with. She is a living presence in their spiritual earthbound plane. They are attracted to the one thing about her that is different from themselves — her life-

Screenwriting as Scene-Writing

Every time we sit down to write a script, we are faced with a scene. This can be a daunting task considering a script may have 50, 60, 70 scenes or more. In a very real way, screenwriting is at its core scene-writing. Therefore it is essential for you

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Autumn Challenge: Day 26

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 26. September 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. September 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. Get it down. Get it done. For background on how the Zero Draft Challenge came into being and what

October: Classic International Movie Month

Every several months since 2013, we’ve had a Classic Movie Month in which I invite GITS readers to volunteer writing up an overview of one of their favorite movies. We’ve moved through this process decade by decade, the idea being to create an online resource for writers to

Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 16]

Spec scripts, that is. I’m guessing that perhaps 90% of the people who follow this blog at some point in their lives will write a spec script. And the other 10% are involved in buying and selling them. In light of that fact, last year I interviewed a top

On Writing

“A writer friend advised, when I was starting out on my first book: ‘write like you talk.’ I took that to mean that good writing must have a conversational quality, should not be arch or pretentious. And as you are aware when speaking to others when their attention lapses, so

Daily Dialogue — September 26, 2016

ERRONIUS: (V.O.) Home at last. After years of searching for my long-lost children, how good it is to see this street once more. These tired old eyes fill with tears at the sight of the little they see. (Bumps into Hysterium) Pardon me, young woman. I’m sorry

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Autumn Challenge: Day 25

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 25. September 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. September 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. Get it down. Get it done. For background on how the Zero Draft Challenge came into being and what

Dumb Little Writing Tricks That Work: Set a deadline

There are a lot of find things to motivate a writer to write. The desire to craft a wonderful story… The fantasy of writing a million dollar spec script… The realization of putting on paper the singular story your life has led you to tell. And then there’s possibly

Screenwriting News (September 19-September 25, 2016)

This week’s writing deals and movie project news. Amy Aniobi adapting “The Love Playbook” for Codeblack Entertainment. Christian Contreras 2015 Black List script “LABryinth” moving forward with Open Road Films with Johnny Depp to star. Richard Cordiner writing untitled Wimbledon FC project for Fox 2000. Christopher Cosmos sells historical