Scott Myers

“Studio Notes on the 2016 Presidential-Election Screenplay”

From the latest New Yorker, a fun piece by Tom O’Donnell: Over all, we LOVE what you’ve done. (So many unexpected twists!) However, we feel like we’re not quite there yet. Excited to see you incorporate these notes into the next draft!! 1 — Hmm. Does Donald have

Daily Dialogue — September 23, 2016

LEWIS: Sergeant Ross, this is the most pathetic group of trainees I have ever laid my eyes on. ROSS: Ma’am. LEWIS: Ladies, my companies are the best-trained, the best-disciplined soldiers on this base– BENJAMIN: Excuse me. LEWIS: Huh? BENJAMIN: Um, I hate to interrupt you, but, um,

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Autumn Challenge: Day 22

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 22. 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

Courier 12 Screenwriting Conference

The DePaul University School of Cinematic Arts is hosting the 5th Annual Courier 12 Screenwriting Conference on October 8, 2016 here in downtown Chicago. We are finalizing the schedule, but I know I’ll be moderating a panel featuring two screenwriting icons: Steven E. de Souza, whose credits include 48

Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 14]

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

Videos: “Film Meets Art”

Movies are primarily a visual medium. It’s something I repeat over and over to my students. It’s also something I’ve been reminded of recently due to my move to Chicago. The cityscape is stunning. The other night, I was at a social event for the upcoming 52nd

The Business of Screenwriting: Low-budget filmmaking [Part 1]

After I left Yale with my M.Div. degree in 1978, I spent the next two plus decades as a free-lancer. First as a musician. Then as a stand-up comic. And finally screenwriter. In 2002, one of my best friends [who I had met as a fellow grad

Daily Dialogue — September 22, 2016

“15… 14… 13… 12… 11… 10… 9… 8… 7… 6… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1… zero…” — Paths of Glory (1957), screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Calder Willingham and Jim Thompson The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Military Moments, suggested by Will King. Trivia: For box-office reasons, Stanley Kubrick

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Autumn Challenge: Day 21

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 21. 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

Interview (5 Part Series): Julia Hart and Jordan Horowitz (“Miss Stevens”)

Entertainment Weekly calls it a “breezy indie gem”. Bilge Ebiri of the Village Voice calls it a “tight, unnerving and deceptively complex movie”. David Ehrlich of Indiwire writes, “With her directorial debut, The Keeping Room screenwriter Julia Hart proves that she belongs behind the camera.” And the New York Times

Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 13]

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 Narrative Connection Between Protagonist and Antagonist

I normally don’t promote content involving the screenwriting ‘guru’ set for a variety of reasons, however here is a post via an outfit called StudioBinder, who approached me, which pretty much aligns with how I write and what I teach. The post, inspired by this video, lays out what

Great Scene: “Casablanca”

NOTE: This is the very first post in the Great Scene series from all the way back to August 2008. When you think about it, screenwriting is really aboutscene-writing. If a typical script is 120 pages and the average scene is 2 pages, then that means we write about

Daily Dialogue — September 21, 2016

BARNICKE: Where the hell have you been, soldier? WINGER: Training, sir! PLATOON: Training, sir! BARNICKE: What kind of training, son? WINGER: Army training, sir! PLATOON: Army training, sir! WINGER: Platoon, just like last night, only better! And right shoulder, ho! Order, ho! Side step right! Why does a chicken cross

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Autumn Challenge: Day 20

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 20. 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

Interview (Part 5): Julia Hart and Jordan Horowitz (“Miss Stevens”)

Entertainment Weekly calls it a “breezy indie gem”. Bilge Ebiri of the Village Voice calls it a “tight, unnerving and deceptively complex movie”. David Ehrlich of Indiwire writes, “With her directorial debut, The Keeping Room screenwriter Julia Hart proves that she belongs behind the camera.” And the New York Times

Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 12]

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

Video: “‘Blood Simple’ — Storyboards”

What a beautiful thing. Criterion has just released a DVD of the first Coen brothers movie Blood Simple. This film is like a fine wine, it ages really well. And what’s amazing is how much of who the Coens are as filmmakers is in evidence in their initial cinematic

Screenwriting 101: John Milius

“Never compromise excellence. To write for someone else is the biggest mistake that any writer makes. You should be your biggest competitor, your biggest critic, your biggest fan, because you don’t know what anybody else thinks. How arrogant it is to assume that you know the market, that you

Daily Dialogue — September 20, 2016

“We can’t hold the boat.” — Das Boot (1981), screenplay by Wolfgang Petersen, novel by Lothar G. Buchheim The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Military Moments, suggested by Will King. Trivia: To help his actors convey the claustrophobic conditions found on a real U-boat, director Wolfgang Petersen insisted

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Autumn Challenge: Day 19

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 19. 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

Interview (Part 4): Julia Hart and Jordan Horowitz (“Miss Stevens”)

Entertainment Weekly calls it a “breezy indie gem”. Bilge Ebiri of the Village Voice calls it a “tight, unnerving and deceptively complex movie”. David Ehrlich of Indiwire writes, “With her directorial debut, The Keeping Room screenwriter Julia Hart proves that she belongs behind the camera.” And the New York Times

Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 11]

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

Reader Question: What’s the scoop on writer’s residuals?

Justin asks: Hi Scott, could you talk about writer residuals in a real world sense, sort of break it down? The first thing you need to know is residuals are awesome! Seriously. Every three months, screenwriters get these pale green envelopes with checks inside and accompanying statements for any movie

On Writing

“The novel is a narrative that organizes itself in the world, while cinema is a world that organizes itself into a narrative.” — Jean Mitry