Scott Myers

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 29

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 29. January 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. January 31: Type FADE OUT / The End. 31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. Whatever. Goal: Rewrite an existing draft. I’m doing it with a Zero Draft I knocked out in November. You’re invited

Interview (Part 5): Anthony Grieco (2015 Nicholl Winner)

Anthony Grieco wrote the original screenplay “Best Sellers” which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently Anthony and I had an excellent phone conversation in which we covered a lot of territory, his background and how he got into writing, a deep analysis of “Best Sellers”, and a discussion

Movie Analysis: “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens” — Dialogue

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

Black List Happy Hours Coming to Your City!

I posted this a few weeks back: Since 2014, The Black List has hosted happy hours on the first Wednesday of every month at Melrose Umbrella Company in Los Angeles, where hundreds of screenwriters come, meet fellow writers, hang out, and talk shop over a few drinks. But we don’

Daily Dialogue — January 29, 2016

INT. PRINCIPAL’S OFFICE — DAY Flynn is in. He shuts the door. FLYNN: May I come in? SISTER ALOYSIUS: A third party would be required. FLYNN: Yup — what was Donald’s mother doing here? SISTER ALOYSIUS: We were having a chat. FLYNN: About what? SISTER ALOYSIUS: A third party would

Trainwreck: A Study in Character = Function

Some people may look at the movie Trainwreck as being an entertaining, but rather innocuous project. In my opinion, that is giving the script short shrift. It’s not only quite funny, the narrative provides an interesting look at the life a young, modern woman, one who is likely representative

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 28

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 27. January 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. January 31: Type FADE OUT / The End. 31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. Whatever. Goal: Rewrite an existing draft. I’m doing it with a Zero Draft I knocked out in November. You’re invited

Interview (Part 4): Anthony Grieco (2015 Nicholl Winner)

Anthony Grieco wrote the original screenplay “Best Sellers” which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently Anthony and I had an excellent phone conversation in which we covered a lot of territory, his background and how he got into writing, a deep analysis of “Best Sellers”, and a discussion

Movie Analysis: “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens” — 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 Business of Screenwriting: The screenwriter as problem-solver

What do you see when you think about yourself as a screenwriter? A storyteller? A creative? A professional? However you see yourself, that’s not necessarily how people in Hollywood see you. This came up in a conversation with Max Millimeter: Hollywood Movie Producer Extraordinaire. I was trying to make

Daily Dialogue — January 28, 2016

TRACY: It wasn’t meant to be hurtful — I didn’t mean to hurt you, Brooke. BROOKE (shaking with fury): You don’t get to decide what’s hurtful and not hurtful. TRACY: I can only tell you my intention. BROOKE: You wrote this after ONE night with me? ONE?

Read 2016 Oscar Nominated Best Original and Adapted Screenplays

Studios and production companies have made public 9 of the 10 scripts nominated for Best Original and Best Adapted Screenplay for the 2016 Academy Awards. Here are links to download them: Original Screenplay Bridge of Spies Ex Machina Inside Out Spotlight Straight Outta Compton Adapted Screenplay The Big Short Brooklyn

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 27

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 27. January 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. January 31: Type FADE OUT / The End. 31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. Whatever. Goal: Rewrite an existing draft. I’m doing it with a Zero Draft I knocked out in November. You’re invited

Interview (Part 3): Anthony Grieco (2015 Nicholl Winner)

Anthony Grieco wrote the original screenplay “Best Sellers” which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently Anthony and I had an excellent phone conversation in which we covered a lot of territory, his background and how he got into writing, a deep analysis of “Best Sellers”, and a discussion

Movie Analysis: “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens” — 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 (Audio): Scott Frank

Simply put, Scott Frank is one of the best contemporary screenwriters in Hollywood with notable movie credits including Little Man Tate, Get Shorty, Out of Sight, Minority Report, Marley & Me, and Wolverine. He has just come out with his first novel “Shaker” which was released yesterday. Background on the

Daily Dialogue — January 27, 2016

GRU: So, what do we got? Who’s on the list? Fire ’em at me. LUCY: First suspect: Hedda Bloomintop, proprietor of Mum’s the Word floral shop. GRU: No, not her. LUCY: Okay, moving on…Chuck Kinney, owner of Stuff-a-Bear. Ooh. GRU: I don’t think so.

Character Archetype Analysis: “Good Will Hunting”

In my current Prep: From Concept to Outline online workshop, which by the way has a terrific group and is going great, we use five archetypes — Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster — as tools for understanding each of the writer’s set of story characters. The question came up: What about

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 26

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 26. January 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. January 31: Type FADE OUT / The End. 31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. Whatever. Goal: Rewrite an existing draft. I’m doing it with a Zero Draft I knocked out in November. You’re invited

Interview (Part 2): Anthony Grieco (2015 Nicholl Winner)

Anthony Grieco wrote the original screenplay “Best Sellers” which won a 2015 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. Recently Anthony and I had an excellent phone conversation in which we covered a lot of territory, his background and how he got into writing, a deep analysis of “Best Sellers”, and a discussion

Movie Analysis: “Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens” — 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

Screenwriting 101: Catherine Turney

“Never attack a scene head on, always do it obliquely, if possible. Never have anything on the nose. It makes the audience more curious if you approach your points sideways. Avoid sentimentality… Keep away from it, keep away from it! Give it a hard edge.” — Catherine Turney

Daily Dialogue — January 26, 2016

Miranda: I’m not deluded, Pete, I’m possessed. Pete: I don’t believe in ghosts. Miranda: Neither do I, but they believe in me. — Gothika (2013), written by Sebastian Gutierrez The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Accused. Trivia: The film leaves the identity of Doug’s killer ambiguous.

Guest Column: “Rescuing a Cat or Killing Me Softly”

Guest column from screenwriter Tom Benedek (Cocoon) who co-founded Screenwriting Master Class: I love our cat. I resisted adding another animal to the household and then she came to the house and hung out with the dog for 30 seconds. Mimi is part of the family now. To me,

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 25

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 25. January 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. January 31: Type FADE OUT / The End. 31 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. Whatever. Goal: Rewrite an existing draft. I’m doing it with a Zero Draft I knocked out in November. You’re invited