Scott Myers

On Writing

“Character is the very life of fiction. Setting exists so that the character has someplace to stand. Plot exists so the character can discover what he is really like, forcing the character to choice and action. And theme exists only to make the character stand up and be somebody.” — John

Daily Dialogue — August 24, 2015

Blane: How are you doing? Andie: Why haven’t you called me? Blane: Oh, I got nailed for the stable thing. I guess the groom saw us. It’s against the rules. Andie: I called you three times and I left messages. Blane: Yeah? Well I didn’t get them.

Go Into The Story Week In Review: August 17-August 23, 2015

Links to this week’s most notable posts: Black List writers on the craft: Characters (Part 1) Black List writers on the craft: Characters (Part 2) Black List writers on the craft: Characters (Part 3) Black List writers on the craft: Character (Part 4) Black List writers on the craft:

Interview: John Gary

There are several reasons I have wanted to interview John Gary for some time. First and foremost, he’s a talented screenwriter. Second, he has a unique vantage point about the craft as it exists in today’s Hollywood. John has been outside the system, worked inside it, achieved some

Screenwriting News (August 17- August 23, 2015)

Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski adapting graphic novel “Tag” for Twentieth Century Fox and BOOM! Studios. Derek Connolly doing a polish on “Kong: Skull Island” for Universal Pictures. Zach Dean writing “Sagan” for Warner Bros. Pictures. Ciaran Foy writing-directing thriller “The Shee” for Blumhouse Productions. John Gary sells spec

Interview (Audio): Samuel Goldwyn, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and Marlon Brando

This is pretty impressive: An audio interview by Walter Pidgeon with Samuel Goldwyn, one of the original movie moguls, and Joseph L. Mankiewicz, screenwriter of dozens of movies including The Keys of the Kingdom, All About Eve, and the movie the interview is about Guys and Dolls. Also interviewed three

Interview (Video): Callie Khouri (Thelma & Louise, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood)

A Writers Guild Foundation interview with Academy Award winning screenwriter Callie Khouri. The interviewers: Winnie Holzman (Wicked) and Robin Schiff ((Romy & Michele’s High School Reunion). Interview date: March 10, 2010. The WGF just made this video available online two weeks ago. For other Writers Guild Foundation videos, go

Daily Dialogue — August 23, 2015

“Hello! My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” — The Princess Bride (1987), screenplay by William Goldman, book by William Goldman The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Callback. Trivia: In a 2012 interview in New York Magazine, Mandy Patinkin said that his most famous line

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Hysterics

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Hysterics. Hysteria: An uncontrollable outburst of emotion or fear, often characterized by irrationality, laughter, weeping. “Are you saying that I put an abnormal brain into a seven and a half foot long, fifty-four inch wide GORILLA?” Think of moments where characters lose

Interview (Part 6): John Gary

There are several reasons I have wanted to interview John Gary for some time. First and foremost, he’s a talented screenwriter. Second, he has a unique vantage point about the craft as it exists in today’s Hollywood. John has been outside the system, worked inside it, achieved some

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 200th installment of Saturday Hot Links. Universal Hits New North American Box Office Record. How Universal Dominated The 2015 Box Office Without A Single Comic Book Movie. Universal’s “100-Year Flood”: What’s Behind the Historic 2015 at the Box Office? How ‘Straight Outta Compton’ Became

Black List writers on the craft: Characters (5 Part Series)

Over the years, I have interviewed over 40 Black List screenwriters. This month, I will run a series featuring one topic per week related to the craft of writing. This week: How do you develop your characters? Black List writers on the craft: Characters (Part 1) — Real people Black List

Interview (Written): Donald Margulies

A WGA.org interview with Donald Margulies, screenwriter of The End of the Tour, starring Jason Segel and Jesse Eisenberg, directed by James Ponsoldt. The author David Foster Wallace was widely considered “one of the most influential and innovative writers of the last 20 years,” as the Los Angeles Times

Daily Dialogue — August 22, 2015

“To infinity and beyond.” — Toy Story (1995), screenplay by Joss Whedon and Andrew Stanton and Joel Cohen & Alec Sokolow, original story by John Lasseter and Pete Docter and Andrew Stanton and Joe Ranft The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Callback. Trivia: Jeffrey Katzenberg often gave notes that he

Farewell Friday: @MysteryExec

By now, most of you have probably heard the news: @MysteryExec is no more. Arguably the dean of the whole Mystery Hollywood thing, I enjoyed his Twitter feed since way back in 2011. Almost two years ago to the day, I posted this: @MysteryExec calls out screenwriters: I have no

Interview (Part 5): John Gary

There are several reasons I have wanted to interview John Gary for some time. First and foremost, he’s a talented screenwriter. Second, he has a unique vantage point about the craft as it exists in today’s Hollywood. John has been outside the system, worked inside it, achieved some

Movie Analysis: “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” — Takeaways

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

Black List writers on the craft: Characters (Part 5)

Over the years, I have interviewed over 40 Black List screenwriters. This month, I will run a series featuring one topic per week related to the craft of writing. This week: How do you develop your characters? Reading through all of the responses was a fascinating exercise. Once again, this

Great Character: Bree Daniels (“Klute”)

It’s perhaps the best performance in Jane Fonda’s acting career, one for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress: Bree Daniels in the 1971 mystery-thriller Klute. The IMDb plot summary: A small-town detective searching for a missing man has only one lead — a connection with

Daily Dialogue — August 21, 2015

“Want to know how I got these scars?” — The Dark Knight (2008), screenplay by Jonathan Nolan and Christopher Nolan, story by Christopher Nolan & David S. Goyer, characters by Bob Kane The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Callback. Trivia: Unlike his counterpart in both the comics and Batman (1989)

Spec Script Deal: “Untitled Gary Deal” aka “Sarah”

Lionsgate announces it has acquired an untitled science fiction thriller spec script (aka “Sarah”) written by John Gary. From Deadline: Lionsgate’s Summit Entertaintment label just acquired an untitled spec script from screenwriter John Gary, described as a “grounded” sci-fi thriller which is a character-driven property in the

Interview (Part 4): John Gary

There are several reasons I have wanted to interview John Gary for some time. First and foremost, he’s a talented screenwriter. Second, he has a unique vantage point about the craft as it exists in today’s Hollywood. John has been outside the system, worked inside it, achieved some

Movie Analysis: “Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation” — 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

Black List writers on the craft: Characters (Part 4)

Over the years, I have interviewed over 40 Black List screenwriters. This month, I will run a series featuring one topic per week related to the craft of writing. This week: How do you develop your characters? Reading through all of the responses was a fascinating exercise. Once again, this

Writing and the Creative Life: The Curse of Shiny Object Syndrome

Ever had this happen? You discover a great story idea. You leap into it, both barrels of your creativity blazing. Research! Brainstorming! Characters! OMG, this is so incredible, a sure fire spec script sale in the making! One month later: You’re still into it, but the prep work has