Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — January 9, 2016

STEWART MENZIES: Six minutes? Is that even possible? ALAN TURING: No. It takes me eight. But this isn’t about crossword puzzles — it’s about how one approaches solving an impossible problem. Do you tackle the whole thing at once or divide it into small… You’ve finished? JOAN CLARKE:

Go Into The Story Movie Analysis: Creed

Starting Monday, we begin our next installment of the Go Into The Story Movie Analysis series: Creed, screenplay c-written by Ryan Coogler and Aaron Covington, story by Ryan Coogler, based on characters by Sylvester Stallone. Creed is a hit having grossed over $116M in box office revenues worldwide, still

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 8

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 8. 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

Script Analysis: “Ex Machina” — Part 5: Dialogue

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Plot Wednesday: Characters Thursday: Themes Friday: Dialogue Saturday: Takeaways Today: Dialogue For Part

Reflections on Carl Jung (Part 5): Become Who You Truly Are

The more I study Carl Jung, the more I discover his ideas about psychology have a direct relevance to screenwriting (specifically) and stories (generally). This week, a 5 part series focusing on Jung’s notion of individuation, the achievement of one’s self-actualization through a process of integrating the

BAFTA David Lean Lecture: David O. Russell

From an event in London on December 19, 2015: For more BAFTA lectures and interviews, go here.

Daily Dialogue — January 8, 2016

DANNY: Gentlemen, the 3000 block of Las Vegas Boulevard, otherwise known as the Bellagio, Mirage and MGM Grand. Together, they’re three of the most profitable casinos in Las Vegas. This is the vault at the Bellagio, it’s located below the strip, beneath 200 feet of solid earth. It

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 7

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 7. 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

Script Analysis: “Ex Machina” — Part 4: Themes

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Plot Wednesday: Characters Thursday: Themes Friday: Dialogue Saturday: Takeaways Today: Themes. I have

Reflections on Carl Jung (Part 4): Psychological Rule as ‘Fate’

The more I study Carl Jung, the more I discover his ideas about psychology have a direct relevance to screenwriting (specifically) and stories (generally). This week, a 5 part series focusing on Jung’s notion of individuation, the achievement of one’s self-actualization through a process of integrating the

Writing and the Creative Life: “Get a mentor”

I recently interviewed Jason Mark Hellerman, a young screenwriter who had a major breakthrough when his original screenplay “Shovel Buddies” placed high on the 2013 Black List. As a result of that, Jason has signed with a major agency and management company, and been busy with meetings across Hollywood. My

Daily Dialogue — January 7, 2016

FLETCH: Aha! I got one. See that? These little buggers are the piranhas of the insect world. The only thing they like better than wood is human flesh. COP: Really? FLETCH: You bet. COP: Well, if you can’t see it, how do you know you got one? FLETCH: Well,

Reader Question: What pitfalls to avoid when writing a script?

Question from Anonymous: When writing a script, what are some pitfalls one should avoid? Here is a list off the top of my head: A Quick Top 10 List of Screenwriting Pitfalls to Avoid 1. Don’t get caught up in supposed screenwriting ‘rules’. 2. Don’t commit to a

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 6

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 6. 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

Script Analysis: “Ex Machina” — Part 3: Characters

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Plot Wednesday: Characters Thursday: Themes Friday: Dialogue Saturday: Takeaways Today: Characters. Characters are

Reflections on Carl Jung (Part 3): Make the Darkness Conscious

The more I study Carl Jung, the more I discover his ideas about psychology have a direct relevance to screenwriting (specifically) and stories (generally). This week, a 5 part series focusing on Jung’s notion of individuation, the achievement of one’s self-actualization through a process of integrating the

Great Scene: “The Deer Hunter”

This has to rank as one of the most riveting scenes in movie history: The Russian roulette sequence in The Deer Hunter (1978). Setting: Vietnam War. Two captured American soldiers, surrounded by Vietnamese guards, forced to take turns putting a pistol to their heads and pulling the trigger, while the

Daily Dialogue — January 6, 2016

“The ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Gloin, by any craft that we here possess. The ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there can it be unmade. The ring must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it

Update: Award season screenplay downloads — 2 new scripts / 45 total

It’s that time of year again when studios and production companies make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season. As in years past, we will be tracking them and posting links as they become available. UPDATE #2: Paramount just made The Big Short public! UPDATE: Current total of

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 5

Re-Write-O-Rama: Day 5. 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

Script Analysis: “Ex Machina” — Part 2: Plot

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Plot Wednesday: Characters Thursday: Themes Friday: Dialogue Saturday: Takeaways Today: Plot. In every

Reflections on Carl Jung (Part 2): Make the Unconscious Conscious

The more I study Carl Jung, the more I discover his ideas about psychology have a direct relevance to screenwriting (specifically) and stories (generally). This week, a 5 part series focusing on Jung’s notion of individuation, the achievement of one’s self-actualization through a process of integrating the

Screenwriting 101: Tim Blake Nelson

“I have to be responsible to a schedule to be the sort of writer/director I want to be. Every day I get up and put myself in a frame of mind for inspiration to come, and manipulate and coax inspiration into stories that can actually be made. And that

Daily Dialogue — January 5, 2016

ADVISOR #1: Sir, it’s at dire times like this when I stop and ask myself: “What would Oprah do?” PRESIDENT: Hang it all! What’s the point? It’s a disaster. President readies to push a giant red button but the advisors around the conference table panic and try

“What you seek is seeking you”

One of the groovy things about hosting a blog, a Twitter account, and a Facebook group is folks are always sending stuff my way. Like this yesterday on the Zero Draft Facebook Group page from Paula Redlefsen: Here’s what I posted in response: Reminds me of that quote from