Scott Myers

Update: Award season screenplay downloads — 1 new script / 31 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. A special note of thanks to Drafthouse Films for releasing the script for

How They Write A Script: Walter Bernstein

Walter Bernstein was born 1919 and thankfully is still with us, a screenwriter with a lengthy career in which he managed to survive 4 years in the Army during World War II and a stint during which he was blacklisted. Notable films for which Bernstein received credit: Fail-Safe (1964)

Daily Dialogue — November 30, 2015

“He doesn’t even look like a writer.” — Mistress America (2015), written by Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig The Daily Dialogue theme for the month: Writers and Writing. Today’s suggestion by Katha. Trivia: Greta Gerwig: “We don’t do improvisation and no lines are changed.” Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 29

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 29. November 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. November 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. To learn everything you need to know about the ZDT Challenge, go

Update: Award season screenplay downloads — 1 new script / 30 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: Current total of 2015 scripts for download: 30. Newly added script (1)

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Regret

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Regret, suggested by Pj Woodside. Born on the Fourth of July (1989) Regret born of despair. Regret tinged in anger. Regret as confession. Regret as acceptance. What memorable movie moments come to mind in which a character or characters express regret? Consecutive days

Screenwriting News (November 16-November 29, 2015)

Jessie Andrews writing-directing dramedy “Empress of Serenity” for Good Universe and Mr. Mudd, Bill Hader to star. Philippa Boyens adapting YA novel “The Merlin Saga” for Walt Disney Pictures. Scott Cooper rewriting-directing “White Knight” for Warner Bros. Pictures. Jon Croker adapting “The Famous Five” for Working Title Films.

Interview (Video): Nick Hornby (“Brooklyn”)

Indiewire’s Anne Thompson interviews Nick Hornby whose novels include Fever Pitch, High Fidelity, and About a Boy, and screenplays An Education and Wild. His latest: Brooklyn starring Saoirse Ronan, directed by John Crowley. Here is Part 1 of the interview: For Parts 2 and 3, go here.

Daily Dialogue — November 29, 2015

“Fellas, I don’t recognize the right of this committee to ask me these kind of questions. And furthermore, you can all go fuck yourselves.” — The Front (1976), written by Walter Bernstein The Daily Dialogue theme for the month: Writers and Writing. Trivia: Several people involved in this film were

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 28

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 28. November 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. November 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. To learn everything you need to know about the ZDT Challenge, go

Your suggestions wanted for Daily Dialogue themes!

We will be wrapping up a month’s worth of Daily Dialogue posts on the theme: Writers and Writing, that in conjunction with the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge. Now it’s time for a new batch of Daily Dialogue themes! And I want your suggestions! Here’s what we’re

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 214th installment of Saturday Hot Links. One Year Later: Inside the Sony Hack. Announced: 2016 Film Independent Spirit Award Nominations. For Your Consideration: The 10 Biggest Surprises of the 2015 Spirit Awards Nominations. UnPacking the Spirit Award Nominations: What they Might Mean for the Oscar Race. Why

Interview (Audio): Phyllis Nagy (“Carol”)

An Awards Daily podcast interview with Phyllis Nagy who wrote the screenplay for the 2015 movie Carol, starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, directed by Todd Haynes. Go here to listen to the interview.

Interview (Written): Drew Goddard (“The Martian”)

A THR interview with Drew Goddard whose TV writing credits include Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Alias, and Lost, and whose screenplay credits include Cloverfield, The Cabin in the Woods, World War Z, and The Martian, based on a novel by Andy Weir: How much did you work with Andy

Daily Dialogue — November 28, 2015

Martin Scorsese: I want to do a remake of “Raging Bull” with a really thin guy. Not just thin, but REALLY thin. Thin and angry, thin and angry, thin and angry. Can you see it? Can you see it? Steven Phillips: Kind of. Martin Scorsese: Is there a Starbucks near

Update: Award season screenplay downloads — 2 new scripts / 29 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. A special note of thanks to Big Talk Pictures and Saban Films for

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 27

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 27. November 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. November 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. To learn everything you need to know about the ZDT Challenge, go

Spec Script Deal: “Claire”

Scott Free and Black Bicycle Media preemptively acquire drama spec script “Claire” written by Brad Ingelsby. Via Tracking Board: Ingelsby’s latest drama is in the vein of Cape Fear, but centers around a female protagonist living on a rural farm who must defend her daughter when she falls in

How They Write A Script: John Michael Hayes

Alfred Hitchcock worked with several great writers, one of them being John Michael Hayes, who wrote the screenplays for Rear Window (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), The Trouble with Harry (1955), and The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956). After he and Hitchcock had a falling out, Hayes went

Great Scene: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”

Fight scenes. Whether swords or knives, guns or fists, lasers or kung fu, fight scenes are a staple of the movies. One problem: They’re so common, what can a screenwriter do to distinguish theirs from all the previous examples? William Goldman came up with an unexpected twist with this

Daily Dialogue — November 27, 2015

HENSLOWE: Will! Where is my play? Tell me you have it nearly done! Tell me you have it started. WILL: (struggling with his boots) Doubt that the stars are fire, doubt that the sun doth move. HENSLOWE: No, no, we haven’t the time. Talk prose. Where is my play?

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 26

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 26. November 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. November 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days. 1 script. Movie script. TV script. First draft. Rewrite. Whatever. I’m doing it. You’re invited. To learn everything you need to know about the ZDT Challenge, go

“What makes every Pixar movie tick, in one chart”

As loyal GITS readers know, I have an obsession with all things Pixar as they have proven themselves to be master storytellers. So I thought this infographic put together by some folks at Vox was worth highlighting: There are some insights to be gleaned here, but it’s a pretty

How They Write A Script: Leigh Brackett

“I don’t think there’s anything better than screenwriting to teach you the construction of a story.” “She wrote that [The Big Sleep] like a man. She writes good.” — Howard Hawks, quoted in “Hawks on Hawks”. The “she” to whom Hawks was referring was screenwriter Leigh Brackett. Brackett, whose

Writing and the Creative Life: Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling (Part 1)

The Harvard Business Review had an interesting article recently with a series of links I thought would make for a good sets of posts in the Writing and Creative Life series. The article is entitled: Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling. Two key excerpts. Here is the first: As social