Scott Myers

“No one ever became a successful screenwriter by writing less”

This tweet last night from screenwriter John Gary: I followed up with John and in an email, he added this: “Every successful screenwriter I know has one thing in common — they write all the time.” Six years ago, I coined the screenwriting mantra: “Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages.” Write

Spec Script Deal: “Mid ‘90s”

A24 and Scott Rudin producing spec script drama “Mid ‘90s” written by Jonah Hill. From Variety: Jonah Hill will step behind the camera to direct coming-of-age film “Mid ’90s” based on the script he penned. Plot details are vague, but sources say the film follows a young boy

Daily Dialogue — April 1, 2016

INT: GRU’S LAIR — CONTINUOUS The girls look around, taking in the scary looking interior. Images of demons and Gothic evil are everywhere. Agnes turns to Gru, nervous. AGNES: Can I hold your hand? GRU: Ahhh no. They go deeper into the lair. Edith pulls Margo aside. EDITH: When we

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Spring Challenge: Day 31

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 31. March 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. March 30 31: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. For background on how the Zero Draft Challenge came into

Interview: Carter Blanchard (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 March 2013 interview with Carter Blanchard. His first writing

Movie Analysis: “The Shawshank Redemption” — Themes

Another in our bi-weekly series in which we analyze movies currently in release. Why? To quote the writing mantra I coined over 5 years ago: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. You will note which one comes first. Here are my reflections from that post about the importance of

The New Hollywood Movie Thing: “Requels”

It’s 1989. My writing partner and I are meeting with director Joel Schumacher about a sequel to the movie The Lost Boys, a surprise hit which he directed. As I sit listening to his ideas, I am thinking, “This isn’t a sequel. It’s a remake.” With one

Writing and the Creative Life: Is the key to creativity “unlearning”?

What if everything we have learned in our lives has actually diminished our creativity? That we were inherently creative as children, then over time lost much of that capability. That possibility is what I discovered when I stumbled across this blog post at Creativity at Work. In 1968, George Land

Daily Dialogue — March 31, 2016

BUD BRUMBER: A writer! What could you write about? You’re not oppressed or gay. SHAUN BRUMBER: Not all writers are gay. BUD: Well, they’re all poor. SHAUN: That’s not true. What about Tom Clancy, Stephen King, Anne Rice? BUD: Three people in the history of literature. SHAUN:

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Spring Challenge: Day 30

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 30. March 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. March 30 31: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. For background on how the Zero Draft Challenge came into

Interview: Roberto Bentivegna (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 February 2013 interview with Roberto Bentivegna whose original screenplay

Movie Analysis: “The Shawshank Redemption” — Characters

Another in our bi-weekly series in which we analyze movies currently in release. Why? To quote the writing mantra I coined over 5 years ago: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. You will note which one comes first. Here are my reflections from that post about the importance of

Interview (Written): Aaron Sorkin

I’ve read, seen, and heard hundreds of interviews with screenwriters. This interview in which Stephen Galloway talks with Aaron Sorkin (A Few Good Men, Malice, The American President, The Social Network, Moneyball, Steve Jobs) is one of the best around. It is part of the Hollywood Reporter’s ongoing

Great Scene: “Witness”

If I asked you to name the most memorable scene in Witness (1985), it would probably be this one: Where young Samuel witnesses a murder in a Philadelphia train station bathroom. It is an incident that unbeknownst to the story’s Protagonist John Book (Harrison Ford) will become his Call

Daily Dialogue — March 30, 2016

EXT. SIDEWALK — BARE-KNUCKLED BOXERS — DAY duke it out as sidewalk spectators watch. The boys work the crowd, each in his own style — DAVID: (the rookie) Extra, ‘Trolley strike drags on!’ JACK: (the master) Nextry, nextry — ‘Ellis Island in flames — big con-fla-gration!’ DAVID: What — ? Where’s that story

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Spring Challenge: Day 29

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 29. March 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. March 30 31: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. For background on how the Zero Draft Challenge came into

Interview: Nikole Beckwith (2012 Nicholl Fellowship, 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 April 2013 interview with Nikole Beckwith whose script Stockholm,

Movie Analysis: “The Shawshank Redemption” — Plot

Another in our bi-weekly series in which we analyze movies currently in release. Why? To quote the writing mantra I coined over 5 years ago: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. You will note which one comes first. Here are my reflections from that post about the importance of

Wanted: Clichés in Scripts

Yesterday I posted the Definitive List of Cliché Dialogue to which we added several more examples. Today I’d like to start a crowdsourcing initiative: Compile a list of cliché beats/scenes in scripts. This was inspired by an email exchange with Franklin Leonard who wrote this: The idea hit

Screenwriting 101: Damien Chazelle

“I know my strengths, and I know my weaknesses… I’m very good at sitting around and brainstorming, thinking up ideas and mapping them out in my head. What I’m not good at is getting them onto a piece of paper or a computer screen. Everything is a little

Daily Dialogue — March 29, 2016

Marcus: You probably shouldn’t be digging in your ass. The Kid: Santa. Marcus: Ah, Jesus. Willie: Is that your underwear? The Kid: Part of it. Willie: Where the hell’s the rest of it? No, actually don’t tell me, I don’t want to know. What do you

Character Development Keys

If there’s one question I get asked about screenwriting theory more than any other it’s what’s my deal with character archetypes? Here’s your chance to find out with my upcoming Screenwriting Master Class course: Character Development Keys. It’s a 1-week online class where you

Zero Draft Thirty 2016 Spring Challenge: Day 28

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 28. March 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. March 30 31: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. For background on how the Zero Draft Challenge came into

Interview: Arash Amel (Black List 2011, 2014)

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 July 2013 interview with Arash Amel whose scripts Grace

Movie Analysis: “The Shawshank Redemption”

Another in our bi-weekly series in which we analyze movies currently in release. Why? To quote the writing mantra I coined over 5 years ago: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. You will note which one comes first. Here are my reflections from that post about the importance of