Scott Myers

Screenwriting News (April 11-April 17, 2016)

This week’s writing deals and movie project news. Alisha Brophy and Scott Miles sell romantic comedy pitch “Swiped” to CBS Films. Hadi Hajaig sets up “Blue Iguana” at UK Film Studio Productions with Sam Rockwell to star. Cliff Hollingsworth options spec biopic “Done It All” at GMH Productions Richard

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 17

This is the seventh year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today: Anarchist librarian kid. This literally came across my Twitter feed last night and my mind went: It’s Dead Poets Society meets Pump Up the Volume. The former movie you all know. The latter

Daily Dialogue — April 17, 2016

“The ship’s company will remember that I am your captain, your judge, and your jury. You do your duty and we may get along. Whatever happens, you’ll do your duty.” — Mutiny on the Bounty (1935), screenplay by Talbot Jennings & Jules Furthman and Carey Wilson, book by Charles

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Pixar

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Pixar! As longtime GITS readers will know, I am pretty obsessed with Pixar. After all, it is the most successful movie studio in the history of the business in this regard: 16 of their 17 releases have opened at #1 at the box

Spec Script Deal: “Smoke on the Water”

Trey Callaway and Rick Parks set up action spec script “Smoke on the Water” at Thunder Road: Set in the world of offshore boat racing, open water drug smuggling and the U.S. Coast Guard–exploring the “nautical narcotic highway” from Cuba to Key West. Writers are repped by CAA,

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 234th installment of Saturday Hot Links, your week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, Hollywood, and other things of writerly interest. Cannes 2016: The Lineup. Cannes 2016: A Look at the Official Selection, by the Numbers. It’s an Amazon World at Cannes, with Four Selection

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 16

This is the seventh year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today: Living and Dying on Airbnb. The rope swing looked inviting. Photos of it on Airbnb brought my family to the cottage in Texas. Hanging from a tree as casually as baggy jeans, the swing

Interview (Video): Jeff Nichols (“Midnight Special”)

An April 1, 2016 Directors Guild of American appearance by Jeff Nichols, writer-director of the movie Midnight Special. A trailer for the movie: The movie’s website here.

Daily Dialogue — April 16, 2016

“I’ll be back.” — The Terminator (1994), written by James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd, William Wisher Jr. The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Villain. Today’s suggestion by Michael Waters. Trivia: The Terminator only has 18 lines of dialogue. More Trivia: James Cameron told Empire magazine he wrote Terminator,

May: Classic 30s Movie Month

Every several months since 2013, we’ve had a Classic Movie Month in which I invite GITS readers to volunteer writing up an overview of one of their favorite movies. We’ve moved through this process decade by decade, the idea being to create an online resource for writers to

Tweetstorm: Geoff LaTulippe on Avoiding Red Flags in Screenplays

If you are an aspiring screenwriter, Twitter is an amazing resource. For example, screenwriter Geoff LaTulippe (Going the Distance) did a lengthy tweetstorm in which he provided advice to writers on how to avoid red flags in screenplays. Reprinted here by permission: And it’s not even a rant — it’

Spec Script Deal: “Stuber”

Tripper Clancy sells action comedy spec script “Stuber” to Fox. From Deadline: Fox has acquired for mid-six figures Stuber, an action-comedy spec by Tripper Clancy takes place over one harrowing night in the life of an Uber driver named Stu. Good to see the majors stepping into spec

Character Archetypes: “Up”

Over the years, I’ve analyzed dozens of movies through the lens of five primary character archetypes: Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster. This is my theory, that most movies have these five narrative dynamics at work in them: A character or characters with a conscious goal toward which they are

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 15

This is the sixth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Each day, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories. Tip: Public domain Laws vary from country to country, but if a person, event, book is considered to be in

Script To Screen: “Rushmore”

The revenge sequence from Rushmore (written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson). Setup: Vying for the affections of Rosemary, Max and Herman decide to go after each other. INT. HOTEL ROOM. DAY The living room of Mr. Blume’s suite. Mr. Blume is dressed in a  bathrobe with the Bilbly-

Daily Dialogue — April 15, 2016

DARKNESS: Eat. LILI: I’m not hungry. DARKNESS: You lie. (Chuckles) Just to please me. LILI: I do nothing for your pleasure. DARKNESS: All I wish is for you to sit and talk with me. LILI: Sit? Here? DARKNESS: Yes. Please. LILI: I prefer to stand. DARKNESS: Sit! Or stand,

“Mad Men” Creator Matthew Weiner’s Reassuring Life Advice For Struggling Artists

If this excerpt featured in Fast Company is any indication, the book “Getting There: A Book of Mentors” looks to fall into my must-buy-then-must-read category (as opposed to must-buy-then-lie-in-a-stack-by-the-bed-and-collect-dust-for-years). This is a

Character Archetypes: “Juno”

Over the years, I’ve analyzed dozens of movies through the lens of five primary character archetypes: Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster. This is my theory, that most movies have these five narrative dynamics at work in them: A character or characters with a conscious goal toward which they are

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 14

This is the seventh year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.

The Business of Screenwriting: OWA

Three little letters: OWA. But they mean big things for Hollywood screenwriters. What do these letter stand for? Owen Wilson’s Assistant? Afraid screenwriter Mike Le has that covered already. Okay, maybe Overworked Wretched Assistants. Nah, see in Hollywood, they’re just called assistants. The real significance of OWA in

Daily Dialogue — April 14, 2016

“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti.” — The Silence of the Lambs (1991), screenplay by Ted Tally, novel by Thomas Harris The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Villain. Today’s suggestion by Rashonda. Trivia: Jame “Buffalo

Gender as Represented in Spec Script Deals: 1991–2015

In 2013, I posted some analysis of spec script deals from 1991–2012: Recently we have seen quite a few studies and analysis pointing out gender inequity in the entertainment business including independent films, television, even the theater. Now we can add spec scripts to the mix. The post included

Character Archetypes: “The Apartment”

Over the years, I’ve analyzed dozens of movies through the lens of five primary character archetypes: Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster. This is my theory, that most movies have these five narrative dynamics at work in them: A character or characters with a conscious goal toward which they are

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 13

This is the sixth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.

Spec Script Deal: “Deeper”

Max Landis sells supernatural action spec script “Deeper” to MGM. From Variety: The spec was announced last November and involves a former astronaut hired to take a submersible to the lowest point in the ocean. As the submersible gets closer to its destination, supernatural events transpire. Bradley Cooper is attached