Scott Myers

Interview: Elizabeth Chomko (2015 Nicholl Winner)

Elizabeth Chomko wrote the original screenplay “What They Had” which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Elizabeth about her background as a writer and her award-winning screenplay. Here are links to the six installments of the entire interview: Part 1:

Screenwriting News (May 30-June 5, 2016)

This week’s writing deals and movie project news. Paul Thomas Anderson with untitled fashion project at Annapurna Pictures. Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec sign first-look deal with Paramount. Lucas Carter sells action comedy spec script “The Gun Show” to Paramount. Ryan Condal writing remake of “Logan’s Run”

Mickey Fisher on Writing, Selling, and Producing a TV Pilot Spec Script — Part 7

On May 24, 2013, I posted about a TV pilot spec script which had Hollywood all abuzz: Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Hollywood development world — movies and TV — nothing shifts the tectonic plates of The Biz more than a spec script that gets people salivating over it. It’

Interview (Video): Whit Stillman (“Love & Friendship”)

A wonderful new movie out: Love & Friendship. Based on the Jane Austen novella “Lady Susan,” it was adapted and directed by Whit Stillman (Metropolitan, Barcelona, The End of Disco) and stars Kate Beckinsale, Chloë Sevigny, and Xavier Samuel. Here is a Studio Q interview with Stillman: Here is a

Daily Dialogue — June 5, 2016

Mr. Hand: [passing back exams] ‘C’, ‘D’, ‘F’. ‘F’. ‘F’. For three weeks we have been talking about the Platt Amendment. It was passed in nineteen-hundred and six. Notices Spicoli’s seat is empty. Mr. Hand: Where is Jeff Spicoli? I saw him earlier today, near the first floor

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Dog

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Dog. “Let’s get one thing straight. The woman is mine!” K-9 (1989) Dog movies. Scenes with dogs. TONS of movie dialogue about, with, and to dogs. So this should be easy, right? Need some help? Check here. The usual drill: * Copy/

Interview (Part 6): Elizabeth Chomko (2015 Nicholl Winner)

Elizabeth Chomko wrote the original screenplay “What They Had” which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Elizabeth about her background as a writer and her award-winning screenplay. Today in Part 6, Elizabeth provides some advice to aspiring writers: Scott: I’

Mickey Fisher on Writing, Selling, and Producing a TV Pilot Spec Script — Part 6

On May 24, 2013, I posted about a TV pilot spec script which had Hollywood all abuzz: Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Hollywood development world — movies and TV — nothing shifts the tectonic plates of The Biz more than a spec script that gets people salivating over it. It’

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 241st installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest. May 2016 Box Office Highlights: ‘Captain America’ & ‘Jungle Book’ Topped the Month. How Summer 2016 Could Rock Hollywood’s Confidence In Franchises & Sequels.

Spec Script Deal: “17 Bridges”

STX Entertainment acquires thriller spec script “17 Bridges” written by Adam Mervis. From Deadline: The thriller follows a disgraced detective in the NYPD who is given a shot at redemption. Thrust into a citywide manhunt for a cop killer, he begins to undercover a massive conspiracy that links his fellow

Spec Script Deal: “The Gun Show”

Paramount Pictures acquires cop comedy spec script “The Gun Show” written by Lucas Carter. From Deadline: An action comedy in the vein of Ride Along meets Demolition Man, the spec focuses on a famous top cop who wakes up 20 years after a shootout and gets reinstated to solve the

Interview (Written): Robert Kirkman (“The Walking Dead”)

A Rolling Stone interview with Robert Kirkman, comic-book writer and creator/executive producer of The Walking Dead. When did the idea that dead might rise and walk among us come across your radar? I wasn’t allowed to see horror movies as a kid — my parents would rent them

Daily Dialogue — June 4, 2016

Gertrude: Mr Holland? Glenn Holland: You”re late. And you left your clarinet here the other day. Gertrude: Yeah, um… if you know anyone who wants it… I’m giving up the clarinet. I’m just goofing everybody else up anyway. So, um… I just wanted to say thanks. Thanks

Reader Questions and Answers on Screenplay Format and Style

Yesterday I answered a question about screenplay format — Is there a current screenplay formatting ‘norm’? — and as I always do, I checked the site’s Reader Question archive to see if I’d already covered it and was reminded as I scrolled down the list… HOLY CRAP, I’VE ANSWERED

Interview (Part 5): Elizabeth Chomko (2015 Nicholl Winner)

Elizabeth Chomko wrote the original screenplay “What They Had” which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Elizabeth about her background as a writer and her award-winning screenplay. Today in Part 5, Elizabeth describes what it was like to win a

Mickey Fisher on Writing, Selling, and Producing a TV Pilot Spec Script — Part 5

On May 24, 2013, I posted about a TV pilot spec script which had Hollywood all abuzz: Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Hollywood development world — movies and TV — nothing shifts the tectonic plates of The Biz more than a spec script that gets people salivating over it. It’

2016 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 3

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: When you don’t get the gig

We are seated in the expansive bungalow office of a top Hollywood director and we are having a great time. I mean a really great time. We talk about the business, his movies, our movies, sports, politics. We laugh, he laughs. It is as close to a love-fest as

Daily Dialogue — June 3, 2016

DOLORES UMBRIDGE: Good morning, children. Ordinary Wizarding Level examinations. O-W-Ls. More commonly known as OWLs. Study hard and you will be rewarded. Fail to do so, and the consequences may be severe. Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven. But you’ll be pleased to

Reader Question: Is there a current screenplay formatting ‘norm’?

A question via email from Chaz Fatur: Just a quick Q, in hopes for a lengthy A… the whole do or don’t do on properly formatting accentuated words in all CAPS, bold, underline,etc… In your best experiences and what the Industry now sees fit on proper formatting, what

Interview (Part 4): Elizabeth Chomko (2015 Nicholl Winner)

Elizabeth Chomko wrote the original screenplay “What They Had” which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently I had the opportunity to chat with Elizabeth about her background as a writer and her award-winning screenplay. Today in Part 4, Elizabeth and I talk some themes at play in

Mickey Fisher on Writing, Selling, and Producing a TV Pilot Spec Script — Part 4

On May 24, 2013, I posted about a TV pilot spec script which had Hollywood all abuzz: Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Hollywood development world — movies and TV — nothing shifts the tectonic plates of The Biz more than a spec script that gets people salivating over it. It’

Scene-Writing Exercises [2016]

Here are 20 scene-writing prompts. At a fundamental level, screenwriting is scene-writing. Here are prompts for the 4th annual series GITS Scene-Writing Challenge. Use these to improve your scene-writing chops. A character has a ‘conversation’ with him/herself in the mirror A character reviews a series

2016 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 2

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: To Write, Stop Thinking

Think character. Think plot. Think theme. But when you sit down to write, don’t think… feel. The Atlantic runs a series called By Heart in which authors share and discuss their all-time favorite passages in literature. Here is one by author Kathryn Harrison: The line also defines writing,