Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — June 25, 2016

Rita: It’s beautiful. I don’t know what to say. Phil: I do. Whatever happens tomorrow, or for the rest of my life, I’m happy now… because I love you. — Groundhog Day (1994), screenplay by Danny Rubin and Harold Ramis, story by Danny Rubin The Daily Dialogue theme

Screenwriting ‘Hats’: Editor

When we write a screenplay, I like to think of the process as one in which we wear several ‘hats’. Primarily, of course, we wear our writer ‘hat’, where we get in touch with our vision for each story and give evidence on the page to our unique voice. That

How to Write a Thrilling Horror, from ‘Silence of the Lambs’ Screenwriter and More

There was an excellent panel at the recent 2016 Lower East Side Film Festival featuring screenwriters Ted Tally (The Silence of the Lambs), Jeremy Saulnier (Green Room), Chris Sparling (Buried), and Ingrid Jungerman (Women Who Kill). The subject was horror and thriller movies, moderated by writer-director William Cusick, also

Spec Script Deal: “Mary”

Tooley Productions acquires thriller spec script “Mary” written by Anthony Jaswinski. From Deadline: It’s a supernatural thriller in which a struggling family buys an old ship at auction with high hopes of starting a charter business, only to discover her horrifying secrets on the isolated open waters. Described as

Spec Script Deal: “Trigger Warning”

Thunder Road Pictures acquires action spec script “Trigger Warning” written by Josh Olson and John Brancato. From Deadline: The script is described as a female First Blood with John Wick thrown in for good measure, where the reluctant heroine reveals herself in a small town. Olson is repped by Paradigm

Spec Script Deal: “Moonfall”

Universal Pictures acquires science fiction spec script “Moonfall” written by Roland Emmerich, Harald Kloser, and Spenser Cohen. From Deadline: This one is best described as Emmerich’s 2012 mashed together with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, following an unlikely band of misfits who must unite to save humanity when

2016 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 18

For the fourth straight year, June is Scene-Writing Month here at Go Into The Story. Every Monday-Friday at noon Eastern / 9AM Pacific, I will upload a post with a scene-writing prompt. Each day, write a scene per those guidelines. Upload your scene here in the comments section

Writing and the Creative Life: Of Beginnings and Endings

Brothers and sisters, we all know the act of writing a story is hard work. Coming up with good ideas. Figuring out characters, Solving plot issues. Confronting scenes that don’t work. Dialogue that won’t come. Losing sight of where we’re going. Sometimes writing can be the very

Daily Dialogue — June 24, 2016

Ramona: Dude, I’m changing. Scott: Ah. I’m just cold. She moves close to him. Ramona: Does that help? Scott: Hm, that’s warm. — Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), screenplay by Michael Bacall & Edgar Wright, graphic novel by Bryan Lee O’Malley The Daily Dialogue theme for

Reader Question: Does a writer have any control over casting decisions?

A question via email from Z.D.: First I would like to tell you that I am enormously grateful for your blog and your advice, which is really priceless, especially for an aspiring screenwriter. You really are a true mentor and a fantastic person for doing that. I could not

“22 Story Basics from Pixar”

In researching a previous post, I ran across a slew of blog items I’ve done over the years featuring the Pixar process of storytelling. How about this from 2012: Emma Coats — “freelance director of films, boarder of story” — recently posted 22 #storybasics I’ve picked up in my time

One Way to Deal With Peak TV: Watch Programming in Fast Forward

Click on the video below and watch the clip. Is this how you want to watch TV? 1.6 times faster than normal? May not be your cup of tea, but it works for Washington Post ‘Wonkblog’ writer Jeff Guo. I have a habit that horrifies most people. I watch

2016 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 17

For the fourth straight year, June is Scene-Writing Month here at Go Into The Story. Every Monday-Friday at noon Eastern / 9AM Pacific, I will upload a post with a scene-writing prompt. Each day, write a scene per those guidelines. Upload your scene here in the comments section

The Business of Screenwriting: Chilled white whine

On March 7, 1988, the Writers Guild of America went on strike. It lasted 155 days and is the longest work stoppage in Guild history. Having only joined the Guild one year previous, the experience was an eye-opener for me. Am I referring to how studios and networks treat

Daily Dialogue — June 23, 2016

GOOFY: You’re doing the right thing, son. MAX: Yeah, I know, but she’ll probably never talk to me again. GOOFY: Well, if she doesn’t, maybe she’s just not the one for you. MAX: That’s what I’m afraid of. Max walks to the door of

Happy Birthday, Billy Wilder!

Billy Wilder is my favorite writer-director and although he died in 1999, I think it’s appropriate to celebrate today which would have been…

Screenwriting ‘Hats’: Actor

When we write a screenplay, I like to think of the process as one in which we wear several ‘hats’. Primarily, of course, we wear our writer…

Screenwriting ‘Hats’: Actor

When we write a screenplay, I like to think of the process as one in which we wear several ‘hats’. Primarily, of course, we wear our writer ‘hat’, where we get in touch with our vision for each story and give evidence on the page to our unique voice. That

Happy Birthday, Billy Wilder!

Billy Wilder is my favorite writer-director and although he died in 1999, I think it’s appropriate to celebrate today which would have been his 110th birthday. Wilder’s list of movie credits is astounding — check out his IMDb page — showing incredible range. To me, The Apartment is as

Video: “The Evolution of Pixar”

With Finding Dory now in theaters to a record-breaking box office performance, this video hit online a few days ago: “The Evolution of Pixar”: I love Pixar for many reasons, but primarily because they are 100% committed to Story. If you don’t believe it, check out my March

2016 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 16

For the fourth straight year, June is Scene-Writing Month here at Go Into The Story. Every Monday-Friday at noon Eastern / 9AM Pacific, I will upload a post with a scene-writing prompt. Each day, write a scene per those guidelines. Upload your scene here in the comments section

Great Scene: “Double Indemnity”

Great dialogue often makes a great scene. And some of the best dialogue in Hwood movie history exists in older movies — like this one Double Indemnity (1944), currently the #47 most popular film on the IMDB.com top 250 list. This scene occurs early in the movie where Walter Neff

Daily Dialogue — June 22, 2016

Jonah: I think he’s doing the dice thing too much. Jay: That’s really all he’s got. — Knocked Up (2007), written by Judd Apatow The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: First Dates. Trivia: Since “knocked up” doesn’t mean anything in most languages, the film’s translation

Screenwriting ‘Hats’: Director

When we write a screenplay, I like to think of the process as one in which we wear several ‘hats’. Primarily, of course, we wear our writer ‘hat’, where we get in touch with our vision for each story and give evidence on the page to our unique voice. That

Movies You Made: “Exit Survey”

Here is a terrific short film from co-writer/director Thom Harp called Exit Survey: Background on the movie from Thom: I’m so glad you liked EXIT SURVEY — it was the result of two writers being incredibly frustrated about our scripts NOT GETTING MADE. I moved to LA from