Scott Myers

Reader Question: What is life really like for a beginning screenwriter who has just broken into the business?

Reader question from Eric Harris: What is life really like for the beginning screenwriter who breaks in with a manager/agent, maybe sells a spec? Do they start taking meetings, competing for open writing assignments? Are they chewing their nails because it’s an unstable profession? No one ever gives

Interview: Brian Duffield (2010, 2011, 2014 Black List)

One of the best ways to learn the craft is read what professional screenwriters have to say about it. To that end for the next few weeks, I will be featuring interviews I have conducted with Black List screenwriters. Today: My June 2014 interview with Brian Duffield. In Hollywood development

Know your genre

I have gotten to know a lot of screenwriters through the years. In talking with or interviewing them, one thing I find they pretty much have in common: They know their genre. That is a lesson for all of us. When you write an original screenplay within a specific genre,

Classic 30s Movie: “Topper”

May is Classic 30s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Wayne Kline. Movie Title: Topper Year: 1937 Writers: Screen play by Jack Jevne & Eric Hatch & Eddie Moran, novel by Thorne Smith Lead Actors: Cary Grant, Constance Bennett, Roland Young, Billie Burke, Eugene Pallette Director: Norman Z.

Writing and the Creative Life: The Virtues of Spacing Out and Goofing Off

Finally, science is good for something! Spacing out rules! Think the key to creativity is 100% total focus and hard work? Think again. Stanford based psychologist Emma Seppälä promotes the idea learning how to “unfocus” as means of promoting creativity: We believe that the opposite of focus — daydreaming, goofing off,

Daily Dialogue — May 5, 2016

Danny is playing a video game when Walter walks into the room, shuts off the game console and takes up the TV remote. DANNY: Hey! WALTER: Dad said no video games. DANNY: He did not. (Frustrated) Fine. Walter settles into the chair and switches on a SpongeBob cartoon. As Danny

“Go into the story and find the animals”

On May 16th, this humble blog will celebrate its 8th birthday. Eight years! In the run-up to this august event, I’m going to write an occasional post reflecting on what it is you and I do here. As always, I am keen to hear any advice and suggestions

Interview: Geoff LaTulippe (2008 Black List)

One of the best ways to learn the craft is read what professional screenwriters have to say about it. To that end for the next few weeks, I will be featuring interviews I have conducted with Black List screenwriters. Today: My May 2014 interview with Geoff LaTulippe. Writer of the

Spec Script Deal: “Victim 321”

Millennium Films acquires time-travel thriller script “Victim 321” written by Michael McGrale. From Deadline: Victim 321 tells the story of a jaded Chicago homicide detective who wakes up in the body of an ex-con three days before his murder. He has 72 hours to unravel the conspiracy behind

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

Classic 30s Movie: “The 39 Steps”

May is Classic 30s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Felicity Flesher. Title: The 39 Steps Year: 1935 Writers: Charles Bennett, Ian Hay, adapted from the novel by John Buchan Actors: Robert Donat, Madeline Carroll Director: Alfred Hitchcock Plot Summary: A man in London tries to help a

Script To Screen: “Unforgiven”

From the 1992 movie Unforgiven [written by David Webb Peoples] the movie’s Final Struggle sequence. Setup: Retired gunslinger William Munny takes on one last job… and this is the finale. VIEW on Little Bill in the crowded bar and he is shouting to make himself heard over the din.

Daily Dialogue — May 4, 2016

Tadashi: You better make this up to Aunt Cass before she eats everything in the cafe. Hiro: [not really listening] For sure. Tadashi: And I hope you learned your lesson, bonehead. Hiro: [faces him, looking honest] Absolutely. Tadashi: [realizes he’s lying, frustrated] You’re going bot fighting, aren’t

Alexander Payne on appealing characters vs. sympathetic characters

In my current Create a Compelling Protagonist 1 week class, the subject came up about writing characters who don’t fit into the conventional role of a sympathetic figure, Willie (Billy Bob Thornton) in Bad Santa for example. Whenever this subject comes up, I default to an interview I read

Interview: James DiLapo (2012 Black List)

One of the best ways to learn the craft is read what professional screenwriters have to say about it. To that end for the next few weeks, I will be featuring interviews I have conducted with Black List screenwriters. Today: My May 2013 interview with James DiLapo whose original screenplay

Screenplays are stories, not formulas

William Goldman has famously written, “Screenplays are structure.” That is true in a tangible sense because at some point, a script becomes a blueprint for the production of a movie. And in a very real way, everything hangs on the structure of the narrative — how one scene flows to the

Classic 30s Movie: “Dracula”

May is Classic 30s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Sheila Seclearr. Movie Title: Dracula Year: 1931 Writers: Garrett Fort adapted the screenplay from Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderson’s Broadway play, all based on the novel by Bram Stoker Lead Actors: Bela Lugosi, Helen Chandler, Dwight

Screenwriting 101: Martin Scorsese

“The films that I constantly revisit have held up for me over the years not because of plot but because of character.” — Martin Scorsese

Daily Dialogue — May 3, 2016

Mufasa: Scar! Brother, help me! Scar: Long live the king. — The Lion King (1994), screenplay by Irene Mecchi and Jonathan Robert and Linda Woolverton, story by Brenda Chapman & Burny Mattinson & Barry Johnson & Lorna Cook & Thom Enriquez & Andy Gaskill & Gary Trousdale & Jim Capobianco &

Guest Column: “Actually, Feature Film is Devouring TV”

A guest column from screenwriter and TV writer Tom Benedek (Cocoon): People will say TV is swallowing film. But perhaps it is the reverse. The best TV is becoming more like feature film — evolving into the feature form more and more. With a few differences, of course. The “one hour”

Interview: Elijah Bynum (2013 Black List)

One of the best ways to learn the craft is read what professional screenwriters have to say about it. To that end for the next few weeks, I will be featuring interviews I have conducted with Black List screenwriters. Today: My April 2014 interview with Elijah whose screenplays “Mississippi Mud”

There is no right way to write

It is perhaps the single most fundamental truth about screenwriting in particular and writing in general that I know… There is no right way to write. No single formula. No one system. No mystical process that guarantees success. Think about it: Why should there be? Stories are organic. Living, breathing,

Classic 30s Movie: “The Adventures of Robin Hood”

May is Classic 30s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Clay Mitchell. Movie Title: The Adventures of Robin Hood Year: 1938 Writers: Norman Reilly Raine and Seton I. Miller Rowland Leigh was brought on to write the screenplay early in the process, but the studio didn’t like

On Writing

“The two most engaging powers of an author are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.” — Samuel Johnson

Daily Dialogue — May 2, 2016

BLACKWOLF: The trouble with you, my brother, is that you’ve always been too good. AVATAR: Well, that may be, but I still think I look more like Ma than you do; y’know, uh, lots of character. I’m aging better. BLACKWOLF: Brother, there is no need for me