Scott Myers

Blogging Hall of Fame?

Note: This blog post involves two of my favorite things: Movies and baseball. So this weekend, I was in Toronto for the Film Festival and a Black List screenwriter’s mini-lab workshop. Amazing experience all around. While there, I was talking with some writers, longtime fans of the blog,

Interview (Part 3): Lori Evans Taylor

In July, Lori Evans Taylor sold the spec script “Bed Rest” to MGM. Deadline reported it this way: Spec is a Hitchcockian thriller in the vein of Rear Window and What Lies Beneath, centering on a pregnant woman who is isolated and confined to bed rest. I reached out to

Movie Analysis: “Nightingale” — 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

Classic 40s Movie: “The Ox-Bow Incident”

September is Classic 40s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from George “Clay” Mitchell. Title: The Ox-Bow Incident Year: 1943. It was completed in 1942, but according to a story, the studio didn’t know how to market the film. Writers: Written for the screen by Lamar Trotti,

Video: THR’s Comedy Writer’s Roundtable

THR’s roundtable with six writer-producers who oversee some of the most impactful comedies of the year: HBO’s Silicon Valley, vying for a best comedy series Emmy this year (Alec Berg), Amazon’s Emmy-nominated Transparent (Jill Soloway), ABC’s Modern Family, also up for a best comedy

Daily Dialogue — September 16, 2015

“You ain’t heard nothin’ yet.” — The Jazz Singer (1927), adaptation by Alfred A. Cohen, titles by Jack Jarmuth, based on a play by Samsom Raphaelson The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Minimum words, Maximum impact. Today’s suggestion by Rob Peterson. Trivia: First feature-length movie with audible

Interview (Part 2): Lori Evans Taylor

In July, Lori Evans Taylor sold the spec script “Bed Rest” to MGM. Deadline reported it this way: Spec is a Hitchcockian thriller in the vein of Rear Window and What Lies Beneath, centering on a pregnant woman who is isolated and confined to bed rest. I reached out to

Movie Analysis: “Nightingale” — 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

Classic 40s Movie: “Laura”

September is Classic 40s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Melinda Mahaffey Icden. Title: Laura Year: 1944 Writers: Screenplay by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein and Betty Reinhardt, based on the novel by Vera Caspary Lead Actors: Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Vincent Price Director: Otto Preminger IMDb

Screenwriting 101: Sterling Silliphant

“I map out five pages a day, thirty-five pages a week. I keep revising the schedule and the four weeks become six weeks or eight weeks, but to take more than eight weeks for the first draft would be reprehensible.” — Stirling Silliphant

Daily Dialogue — September 15, 2015

“E.T phone home.” — E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), written by Melissa Mathison The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Minimum words, Maximum impact. Trivia: John Sayles wrote a semi-sequel to Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) called ‘Night Skies’, about a group of hostile aliens that

Tom Benedek (Guest Post): Writer as Pioneer

A guest post from screenwriter Tom Benedek (Cocoon) and co-founder of Screenwriting Master Class: Stories have endings. Characters may have inevitable emotional destinations. They may start with an internal dissonance — a psychological itch they cannot scratch — something which they need to understand, come to terms with which they may

Interview (Part 1): Lori Evans Taylor

In July, Lori Evans Taylor sold the spec script “Bed Rest” to MGM. Deadline reported it this way: Spec is a Hitchcockian thriller in the vein of Rear Window and What Lies Beneath, centering on a pregnant woman who is isolated and confined to bed rest. I reached out to

Movie Analysis: “Nightingale”

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

Classic 40s Movie: “Casablanca”

September is Classic 40s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Paul Graunke. Movie Title: Casablanca Year: 1942 Writers: Jules J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch Lead Actors: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains Director: Michael Curtiz Plot Summary: When a former lover walks into the

On Writing

“Everyday, it’s about building a practice that enables you to try and forget that you’re afraid.” — Brian Koppelman

Daily Dialogue — September 14, 2015

“No, we are not an effective team.” — Oblivion (2013), screenplay by Karl Gajdusek and Michael Arndt, original story and graphic novel by Joseph Kosinski The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Minimum Words, Maximum Impact. Today’s suggestion by Will King. Trivia: Initially, Disney had acquired the rights to Joseph

Go Into The Story Week In Review: September 7–13, 2015

Links to this week’s most notable posts: A great question to ask about your Protagonist Andrew Stanton, Part 6: “The Clues to a Great Story” (TED Talk) Andrew Stanton, Part 7: “The Clues to a Great Story” (TED Talk) Andrew Stanton, Part 8: “The Clues to a Great Story”

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: Looper

This week, we have been reading, analyzing, and discussing the script and movie Looper, written and directed by Rian Johnson. IMDb plot summary: In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past, where a hired gun awaits — someone like Joe — who

Screenwriting News (September 7-September 13, 2015)

Stuart Fink writing comedy drama “The Last Word” for Myriad Pictures, Wondros, and Water Bear Productions. Erica Oyama sells comedy pitch “Schooled” to Universal Pictures. Zack Parker and Kevin Donner writing thriller “Inversion” for Along The Tracks Productions and Plattform. Victor Salva writing-directing “Jeepers Creepers 3” for Myriad Pictures

Classic 40s Movie: “The Sin of Harold Diddlebock”

September is Classic 40s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from David Joyner. Movie Title: The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (also released as “Mad Wednesday”) Year: 1947 Writer: Preston Sturges Lead Actors: Harold Lloyd, Jimmy Conlin Director: Preston Sturges Plot Summary: A madcap comedy following the ups and downs

Interview (Video): David Lynch

The writing and directing credits for David Lynch include Eraserhead (1977), The Elephant Man (1980), Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990), Lost Highway (1997), Mulholland Drive (2001), Inland Empire (2006), and the cult classic TV series “Twin Peaks” (1990–1991). Here is a rare 1979 interview with Lynch in

Daily Dialogue — September 13, 2015

Indiana Jones: Elsa… Colonel Vogel: That’s far enough, put down the gun Doctor Jones. Put down the gun or the Fraulein dies. Professor Henry Jones: But she’s one of them. Elsa: Indy, please! Professor Henry Jones: She’s a Nazi. Indiana Jones: What? Professor Henry Jones: Trust me.

Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Minimum Words, Maximum Impact

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Minimum Words, Maximum Impact. They say, “Less is more.” That’s no more true sometimes than in a screenplay. This week, let’s explore sides of dialogue in which a lot of meaning and import get conveyed in just a few or even

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 203rd installment of Saturday Hot Links! TIFF: The 20 Most Anticipated Films. TIFF: 9 Up-and-Coming Actors to Watch For. TIFF: How Relativity’s Implosion Impacts the Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF: Pre-Buys Could Provide Big Deals. TIFF’s Brutal First Year: “No One Came”