Scott Myers

Script Analysis: “Nightcrawler” — 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: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Sequences Thursday: Themes Friday: Takeaways Today: Themes. I have

Rod Serling on Writing: Part 4

Part 4 of a 16 part series featuring the master storyteller on video. Ever since I launched Go Into The Story, I have regularly gone down the Internet’s rabbit hole in search of unique video clips featuring renowned writers. In 2010, I hit the Mother Lode: A series of

Writing and the Creative Life: Possibility Thinking, Practicality Thinking

You can not overestimate the value of a great idea as the basis of a story. Here are some quotes from a pair of established screenwriters about the importance of story concepts: “Most aspiring screenwriters simply don’t spend enough time choosing their concept. It’s by far the most

Daily Dialogue — October 8, 2015

OWEN: Call me. (Hands him a business card) PRICE: How about Friday? OWEN: No can do. Got a res at eight-thirty at Dorsia. Great sea urchin ceviche. There is a stunned silence as he walks away and sits in a corner of the room, ostentatiously studying papers. CLOSE-UP

Interview (Part 3): Ben Jacoby

This week I’m featuring an interview I did with Ben Jacoby. This has a particularly unique hook in that I have an email thread with Ben dating back to July 30, 2013. Every several months, Ben would contact me with the latest development in his writing life, so in

Spec Script Deal: “Met Gala Heist”

New Line Cinema acquires spec script “Met Gala Heist” written by Gregg Rossen and Brian Sawyer. From THR: Described as an Ocean’s Eleven-type heist film, the story centers on two estranged sisters who create an all-girl team to pull off a heist at the Oscars of fashion,

Script Analysis: “Nightcrawler” — Part 3: Sequences

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: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Sequences Thursday: Themes Friday: Takeaways Today: Sequences. A sequence

Rod Serling on Writing: Part 3

Part 3 of a 16-part series featuring the master storyteller on video. Ever since I launched Go Into The Story, I have regularly gone down the Internet’s rabbit hole in search of unique video clips featuring renowned writers. In 2010, I hit the Mother Lode: A series of

Great Scene: “Almost Famous”

Some times it’s a great idea to put your story’s characters together in a situation that ‘rattles their cages’ — and that’s certainly what happens in this great scene from Almost Famous (2000), written and directed by Cameron Crowe. The movie’s premise per IMDB: William Miller is

Daily Dialogue — October 7, 2015

Indiana: Hello… Belloq: Jones? JONES…. Indiana: I’m gonna blow up the Ark, Rene. Belloq: Your persistence surprises even me. You’re going to give mercenaries a bad name. Dietrich: Dr. Jones, surely you don’t think you can escape from this island? Indiana: That depends on how reasonable we’

The 2015 For Your Consideration Screenplay Download Season officially begins!

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: 8. Newly added scripts: Legend,

Interview (Part 2): Ben Jacoby

This week I’m featuring an interview I did with Ben Jacoby. This has a particularly unique hook in that I have an email thread with Ben dating back to July 30, 2013. Every several months, Ben would contact me with the latest development in his writing life, so in

Script Analysis: “Nightcrawler” — Part 2: Major Plot Points

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: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Sequences Thursday: Themes Friday: Takeaways Today: Major Plot Points.

Rod Serling on Writing: Part 2

Part 2 of a 16-part series featuring the master storyteller on video. Ever since I launched Go Into The Story, I have regularly gone down the Internet’s rabbit hole in search of unique video clips featuring renowned writers. In 2010, I hit the Mother Lode: A series of

Screenwriting 101: Paddy Chayefsky

“Artists don’t talk about art. Artists talk about work. If I have anything to say to young writers, it’s stop thinking of writing as art. Think of it as work.” — Paddy Chayefsky

Daily Dialogue — October 6, 2015

The occupant of the smoke-shrouded corner table becomes visible only as Indy reaches there: it is Emile Belloq. He is drinking wine. INDY: Belloq BELLOQ: Good evening, Dr. Jones. INDY: I ought to kill you right now. BELLOQ: It was not I who brought the girl into this dirty

Screenwriting as Scene-Writing

Every time we sit down to write a script, we are faced with a scene. This can be a daunting task considering a script may have 50, 60, 70 scenes or more. In a very real way, screenwriting is at its core scene-writing. Therefore it is essential for you

Interview (Part 1): Ben Jacoby

This week I’m featuring an interview I did with Ben Jacoby. This has a particularly unique hook in that I have an email thread with Ben dating back to July 30, 2013. Every several months, Ben would contact me with the latest development in his writing life, so in

Script Analysis: “Nightcrawler” — Part 1: Scene By Scene Breakdown

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: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Sequences Thursday: Themes Friday: Takeaways Today: Scene-By-Scene

Rod Serling on Writing: Part 1

Part 1 of a 16-part series featuring the master storyteller on video. Ever since I launched Go Into The Story, I have regularly gone down the Internet’s rabbit hole in search of unique video clips featuring renowned writers. In 2010, I hit the Mother Lode: A series of

On Writing

“What will keep people reading is a desire to spend more time with the characters you’re presenting on the page.” — John Gary via Twitter

Daily Dialogue — October 5, 2015

GOLDFINGER: Good evening, 007. BOND: My name is James Bond. GOLDFINGER: And members of your curious profession are few in number. You have been recognized. Let’s say by one of your opposite numbers who is also licensed to kill. Oh, that interesting car of yours! I, too, have a

Go Into The Story Week In Review: September 28-October 4, 2015

Links to this week’s most notable posts: 2015 Nicholl Fellowships In Screenwriting Winners Classic 40s Movie: Kind Hearts and Coronets Classic 40s Movie: Now Voyager Classic 40s Movie: The Big Sleep Classic 40s Movies: The Entire Series Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Rivalry Go Into The Story Movie

Movie Analysis: “Nightingale”

Two weeks back, we analyzed the movie Nightingale, written by Frederick Mensch. IMDb plot summary: A lonely war veteran psychologically unravels ahead of an old friend’s impending visit. General Comments Plot Characters Themes Takeaways Years ago, I came up with this mantra: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. A

Screenwriting News (September 28-October 4, 2015)

Peter Filardi sells “Magicus” pitch to DreamWorks. Ian Goldberg and Richard Naing adapting novel “The Boy Who Drew Monsters” for New Line. Cort Johns and Luke Jaden Sawicki writing “Hacker” for Eden Road Pictures. Katie Lovejoy sells thriller pitch “In Sight” to Universal Pictures. Ben Lustig and Jake Thornton sell