Scott Myers

Video: “What advice do you have for screenwriters?”

Literally every single piece of advice in this video is directly relevant to what we do. Watch and learn from the likes of Aaron Sorkin, Drew Goddard, Seth Rogen, Matt Charman, Danny Boyle, Sarah Silverman, Brie Larson, Jeff Daniels, and Steven Spielberg. If some energetic soul wants to transcribe this

Interview (Part 1): Tess Morris (“Man Up”)

Tess Morris wrote the screenplay for the movie Man Up, a romantic comedy starring Lake Bell and Simon Pegg, directed by Ben Palmer. The movie opens November 13 in North America. I got to see a sneak of Man Up and it is terrific! The directing, acting, but particularly the

On Writing

“The difference between characters and people is the same as the difference between a photograph and a painting.” — Aaron Sorkin

Daily Dialogue — November 2, 2015

“How do you like it?” — The Shining (1980), screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson, novel by Stephen King The Daily Dialogue theme for the month: Writers and Writing. Trivia: For the scenes when we can hear Jack typing but we cannot see what he is typing, Stanley Kubrick recorded

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 1

Zero Draft Thirty: Day 1. 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

Screenwriting News (October 26-November 1, 2015)

Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker adapting YA novel “Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda” for Fox 2000. Ryan Coogler writing-directing drama “Wrong Answer”. Jason Fuchs writing science fiction “Luna Park” for Paramount Pictures. Dennis Kelly rewriting “World War Z” sequel for Paramount Pictures. Paul King writing-directing “Paddington 2”

Zero Draft Thirty: Download Your Very Own ZDT Calendar!

Thanks to two awesome GITS readers, you can download a Zero Draft Thirty Calendar, print it out, and mark off your progress day by day, week by week. Click here to download one created by Shelly Artello. And here for one created by Chris Neumann. It’s amazing how something

Interview (Written): Stephen King

A Los Angeles Review of Books interview with Stephen King. ANGELA S. ALLAN: You’ve given a great deal of consideration to how the popular market has influenced and shaped your work as a “brand name” author: Finders Keepers is, much like Misery, interested in questions about authorial ownership and

Interview (Video): Emma Thompson

A BAFTA screenwriting lecture by Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility, Nanny McPhee). From BAFTA. Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — November 1, 2015

Jay: Nastiest shit you’ve ever done? I’m talkin’ about nasty! Andy Stitzer: Ahh… wow. So many stories are running through my head right now. [pauses, then lies] I dated this girl for a while. She was really a… nasty freak. She just loved to get down with sex

Zero Draft Thirty: All You Need To Know

For 99.99% of the world, today is Halloween. For the writing community which frequents this site, today is T-Minus 1 Day. Just one more day until the inaugural Zero Draft Thirty Challenge. November 1: Type FADE IN / The Beginning. November 30: Type FADE OUT / The End. 30 days.

“To aid and support writers”

A comment from Karl Gerhardt the other day: Thank you for all the screenwriting tools/links that you’ve given over the years and continue to give and give… GITS is by far the leading online screenwriting resource and daily inspirational motivator for screenwriters. Your intentions are pure and your

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 210th installment of Saturday Hot Links, this week’s essential reading about movies, TV, streaming, writing, and Hollywood. If you haven’t read it, here is Zola’s story. Top 10 Takeaways: Why This Weekend Was a Box Office Horror Story. ‘Steve Jobs’ Bombs: What Went Wrong

Daily Dialogue theme for the Month: Writers and Writing

In honor of the Zero Draft Thirty Challenge, we’re going to have one theme for the entire month of November. That theme: Writers and Writing Can you name this movie? Consecutive days of Daily Dialogue posts: 2,725. Over 400 people have committed to join me in the #ZD30SCRIPT

Interview (Written): Jonathan Ames

A Writers Guild of America, East interview with TV and screenwriter Jonathan Ames (Bored to Death, The Extra Man) about his new Starz series “Blunt Talk”. You are the Showrunner and Executive Producer of the Starz series BLUNT TALK, which recently wrapped its first season and has been renewed for

Daily Dialogue — October 31, 2015

“In ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of history, an ancient race of people… the Druids. No one knows who they were or what they were doing…” — This Is Spinal Tap (1984), written by Christopher Guest & Michael McKean & Harry Shearer & Rob Reiner The Daily Dialogue

Zero Draft Thirty: Get the damn thing done!

T minus 2 days. On November 1, the Zero Draft Thirty challenge kicks off! Zero Draft is what some writers call the vomit draft… or muscle draft… the just-get-the-damn-thing-done draft. And thirty is… well… the number 30 which is… oh, yeah… the number of days

Interview: Amy Koppelman and Paige Dylan (“I Smile Back”)

The movie I Smile Back is rolling out in select theaters this week. Starring Sarah Silverman in a breakout dramatic starring role, I had the opportunity to talk with Amy Koppelman, who wrote the novel upon which the movie is based, and co-writer of the screenplay adaptation along with

Movie Analysis: “Back to the Future” — Takeaways

A 5 part series on one of the most beloved movies of our generation. 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 watching

Video: Stephen Beresford meets Islay Bell-Webb

BAFTA has a new series called Guru Encounters in which established writers meet with younger writers to share their wisdom. Here iStephen Beresford (Pride) talks with Islay Bell-Webb. “The truth is when you first start out, the distance between your taste and your ability is absolutely vast. The only

“It works!”

I received an email yesterday from Dawn LeFever, a talented writer who worked with me in my Prep: From Concept to Outline workshop back in October 2014. Hey Scott - Hope you and your family are well. I know you are about to begin another prep course and I thought I’

Daily Dialogue — October 30, 2015

Pageant Official Jenkins: [outraged at Olive’s talent act] What is your daughter doing? Richard: She’s kickin’ ass… that’s what she’s doing. — Little Miss Sunshine (2006), written by Michael Arndt The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Embarrassment. Trivia: Michael Arndt had to quit his job as

Zero Draft Thirty: Trust the Process

T minus 3 days. On November 1, the Zero Draft Thirty challenge kicks off! Zero Draft is what some writers call the vomit draft… or muscle draft… the just-get-the-damn-thing-done draft. And thirty is… well… the number 30 which is… oh, yeah… the number of days

Interview (Part 4): Amy Koppelman and Paige Dylan

The movie I Smile Back is rolling out in select theaters this week. Starring Sarah Silverman in a breakout dramatic starring role, I had the opportunity to talk with Amy Koppelman, who wrote the novel upon which the movie is based, and co-writer of the screenplay adaptation along with

Movie Analysis: “Back to the Future” — 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