Scott Myers

Learn the craft

Here’s one big problem with most of the screenwriting approaches I see floating around: Their focus is almost exclusively on writing a screenplay. Obviously this is important. You must be able to translate your talent, voice, and vision for a story onto the printed page. A script not only

Screenwriting News (August 15-August 21, 2016)

This week’s writing deals and movie project news. Jeff Buhler writing “Blood” for Bold Films. Etan Cohen writing-directing “Holmes and Watson” for Sony Pictures Entertainment with Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly attached to star. Cameron Fay writing feature adaptation of TV series “COPS” for Boies/Schiller Film

Interviews (Video): Seth Rogen (“Sausage Party”)

An R-rated animated movie with a production budget of $19M which to date has grossed $55M. That’s Sausage Party, a project 10 years in the making. Here are the writing credits: Screenplay by Kyle Hunter & Ariel Shaffir & Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg, story by Seth Rogen

Daily Dialogue — August 21, 2016

Sutter walks with Aimee at an outside party. He produces a flask from his back pocket. Aimee: Ooh, can I try that. Sutter: I don’t know. It’s pretty serious stuff. Aimee: Just a taste. Sutter: You sure? Aimee: Yes. Sutter: Awright, here you go. Go for it. He

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Mentor

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Mentor suggested by Michael Waters. So many memorable Mentor characters in movies. They teach. Inspire. Give directions. Provide insight. And sometimes they have to get in the face of the Protagonist and lay down the God’s honest truth. Let’s see what

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 251st installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest. Box-Office Analysis: ‘Suicide Squad’ and the Summer of Steep Second-Week Drops. Rising Box Office Masks Glut of Big-Budget Film Flops. Why DC

Interview (Video): Vince Gilligan (“Breaking Bad”)

I was thinking about the TV series “Breaking Bad” the other day and started rooting around the Internet for interviews with show creator Vince Gilligan. Guess what I found? A lot of great videos! Here are some of them: If you’re a BB fan and you miss the show,

Daily Dialogue — August 20, 2016

Henry: I had an idea I’d be discovered after my death. Tully: You look well on the way. You might be on a deadline. Henry: Hey, what’s with this deadline crap, huh? Tully: Don’t you remember? You sent us dozens of stories. Why did you send your

5 Questions to Test Your Story Concept

Keys to assessing the viability of your story ideas. If your goal is to traffic in mainstream, commercial movies, I cannot overstate the importance of your spec script’s story concept. As I detailed here, it is critical to the success of your original screenplay. So let’s say you

Script to Screen: “Witness”

From the 1985 movie Witness [screenplay by Earl W. Wallace and William Kelley, story by William Kelley and Pamela Wallace & Earl W. Wallace]. Setup: Samuel, a young Amish boy, is traveling with his mother. Needing to use the facilities, he enters the bathroom at a train station in Philadelphia.

Interview (Written): David Benioff & D.B. Weiss (“Game of Thrones”)

A Deadline interview with David Benioff & D.B. Weiss, showrunners of the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones”: Your background was books and features and you once said early on that your unfamiliarity with episodic TV sometimes left you short of scenes that had to be written hastily. What

Writing and the Creative Life: Why Staring Into Space Is an Important Strategy for Success

“In the shower we are simply staring into space, washing our hair on autopilot. We aren’t checking our messages or Twitter feed, or writing a report. We’re just day dreaming.” Via Psychology Today: Think about the last time and place you got a great idea, or solved a

Daily Dialogue — August 19, 2016

OLD TIMER #2: How much has he had? CHESTER: None. That’s the first one. He hasn’t touched it, yet. He just likes to hold it. MARTY: Doc! Doc! What are you doing? DOC: I’ve lost her, Marty. There’s nothing left for me here. MARTY: Alright, that’

Hollywood’s Business Mantra: “Similar but different”

Sequels. Prequels. Remakes. Reboots. Why do Hollywood studios choose to go this route with such familiar material? Why not fill their development slates with bold projects full of fresh ideas and innovative stories? That would run entirely counter to the working ethos which informs the studio system decision-making process,

Video: “When Words Fail in Movies”

A video essay from Fandor about the use of silence in movies: Reminder: Movies are primarily a visual medium. Yes, dialogue is important, but sometimes the best dialogue is no dialogue. Silence can speak volumes. HT Indiewire. Comment Archive

Interview (Written): Eric Heisserer (“Lights Out”)

A Creative Screenwriting interview with Eric Heisserer, screenwriter of the recent horror movie hit Lights Out: What’s the first step in taking a short and turning it into a feature length movie? The first step was to get the treatment or outline down that gave us the skeletal structure

The Business of Screenwriting: They don’t think like you [Part 2]

Note: To understand this post, you need to go back and read last week’s entry here. After we sell the spec script K-9, we are ushered around town for meetings. This is what happens when you are the ‘flavor-of-the-week’ as producers and studio execs want

Daily Dialogue — August 18, 2016

Mac heads inside the store, the Newspaper Reporter following him to the door. Newspaper Reporter: Dixie told me a lot about you. Don’t you want to tell me some things about her? She said alcohol is what licked you. You still drink? Mac heads outside. No response. — Tender Mercies

Starting September 1st: The Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Autumn Challenge!

It all started with this blog post in October 2015: Who’s with me to pound out a script in November? That led to this: Zero Draft Thirty: Write a Script in a Month Challenge. Every day for 30 days in November, I did a Zero Draft Thirty post with

Spec Script Deal: “Life Itself”

FilmNation Entertainment acquires drama romance spec script “Life Itself” written by Dan Fogelman. From Deadline: The script is a multi-generational love story that weaves together a number of characters whose lives intersect over the course of decades from the streets of New York to the Spanish countryside and back.

Update: Black List Happy Hours

From the good folks at the Black List: Beginning September 7th, I will become Imbiber-In-Chief at the monthly Chicago events. More information on that in coming weeks. These are great events in convivial environments, so I encourage you to take a brief break from solitary confinement at your

Video: Mark Duplass keynote address at 2015 SXSW Festival

This just crossed my path: Mark Duplass, a director, actor, writer, and producer, discusses the migration of filmmakers to television, to the emergence of VOD and its impact on micro-budget film. Duplass has eight pieces of advice for those who want to start a career in filmmaking. He also

Great Scene: “No Country For Old Men”

The coin toss scene from No Country For Old Men (2007), screenplay by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, one of the most riveting scenes in the movie: GAS STATION/GROCERY SHEFFIELD At an isolated dusty crossroad. It is twilight. The Ford sedan that Chigurh stopped  is parked alongside the pump.

Daily Dialogue — August 17, 2016

DUDE: Begin with you, Charlie. The shotgun you keep under the bar. Pick it up by the barrels. Easy. CHARLIE: Thought you were going to ask for a drink. Been a long dry spell. DUDE: Shotgun first. Set it down. Back up. Jim, Pedro, get over there. All right, the

Reader Question: Should I reference other movies when pitching my own?

“I have heard/read that most Hollywood types believe it to be amateurish, while others feel it gives the reader a better sense of the story.” A question from mscherer: What is your take on using the infamous: ‘in the vein of…’ (or something akin) when submitting queries? For example,