Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — August 8, 2015

LOUISE: Hi. What’d he say? THELMA (V.O.): What time are you gonna pick me up? LOUISE: You’re kiddin’! Alright! I’ll be there around two or three. THELMA (V.O.): What kind of stuff do I bring? LOUISE: I don’t know. Warm stuff, I guess. It’

Go Into The Story Script Read and Analysis: “Birdman”

Beginning Monday, August 10, our next movie script read and analysis will be Birdman: Or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), written by Alejandro González Iñárritu & Nicolás Giacobone & Alexander Dinelaris & Armando Bo. Starring Michael Keaton, Emma Stone, Zach Galiafnakis, and Edward Norton Jr. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-

In Hollywood, It’s a Reboot by Any Other Name

A NYT article I flagged from a few weeks back: “To Hollywood, ‘reboot’ is a four-letter word.” Indeed. The article provides a helpful list of “re”-terms: THE REMAKE Definition: Telling the exact same story as the original, with modern gadgets. Example: “Poltergeist.” THE REBOOT Definition: Trying to recapture

Movie Analysis: “Trainwreck” — 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: Story Concepts (Part 5)

Over the years, I have interviewed over 40 Black List screenwriters. For the next month, I will run a series featuring one topic per week related to the craft of writing. This week: How do you come up with story concepts? Here three writers zero in on questions as a

Great Character: John Blutarsky (“Animal House”)

Is there a better comedy than Animal House? I don’t think so. Make your arguments, I’m happy to hear them, but I am willing to make my stand on this big, dumb movie from 1978 (written by Harold Ramis & Douglas Kenney & Chris Miller). We may argue

Daily Dialogue — August 7, 2015

BOB: Hold still? VOICE: Match. Mister Incredible. Drops the tablet, which scans the room. VOICE: Room is secure. Commence message. MIRAGE: Hello, Mister Incredible. Yes, we know who you are. Rest assured your secret is safe with us. My name is Mirage. We have something in common. According to the

Reader Question: What do I do if I’m less interested in my Protagonist than other characters?

This is actually a question that arose in the current prep workshop I am leading. My response: It’s kind of ironic that in many movies, the Protagonist is not necessarily the most interesting character. Per your references, Lecter is more interesting to most folks I would guess than Clarice

Privacy Policy

We do not share personal information with third-parties nor do we store information we collect about your visit to this blog for use other than to analyze content performance through the use of cookies, which you can turn off at anytime by modifying your Internet browser’s settings. We

Interview: Minhal Baig

I first met filmmaker Minhal Baig at the 2013 Black List Screenwriters Lab in Las Vegas. She struck me as a bright, ambitious, and talented storyteller. Since that time, I have followed Minnie’s progress with great interest. This week she is launching a Kickstarter campaign for a short film

Movie Analysis: “Trainwreck” — 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

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 19]

Spec scripts, that is. I’m guessing that perhaps 90% of the people who follow this blog at some point in their lives will write a spec script. And the other 10% are involved in buying and selling them. In light of that fact, last year I interviewed a top

Daily Dialogue — August 6, 2015

Morpheus: Do you want to know what it is? Neo nods. Morpheus: The matrix is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you

Reader Question: Does one character “own” each scene?

Question via email from Nick Whittle: I just wanted to gain some clarity here — within a scene, am I right to think that one particular character “owns” the scene, or drives it? Not necessarily the protagonist but certainly only one character at a time in contained within the scene…and

Interview (Part 3): Minhal Baig

I first met filmmaker Minhal Baig at the 2013 Black List Screenwriters Lab in Las Vegas. She struck me as a bright, ambitious, and talented storyteller. Since that time, I have followed Minnie’s progress with great interest. This week she is launching a Kickstarter campaign for a short film

Movie Analysis: “Trainwreck” — 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

Video: The Use of Doors in Film

This is an excellent tutorial on the use of doors in narrative, well worth watching. Doors can signify separation… inclusion… warning… welcome… power… weakness. They are threshholds and crossing through one can lead to new experiences… and consequences. The next time you write a scene, consider if you can use

Daily Dialogue — August 5, 2015

KAY: Humans, for the most part, don’t have a clue. They don’t want one or need one, either. They’re happy. They think they have a good bead on things. JAY: Why the big secret? People are smart. They can handle it. KAY: A person is smart. People

Reader Question: What should I do if a project sells that is similar to a script I’m writing?

From an Anonymous GITS Reader: Big fan of your site. Easily one of the best screenwriter sites out there for info and inspiration. Anyways, I wanted to get your opinion on something. I was putting the finishing touches on an outline of my current script — almost finished with 1st draft

Interview (Part 2): Minhal Baig

I first met filmmaker Minhal Baig at the 2013 Black List Screenwriters Lab in Las Vegas. She struck me as a bright, ambitious, and talented storyteller. Since that time, I have followed Minnie’s progress with great interest. This week she is launching a Kickstarter campaign for a short film

Movie Analysis: “Trainwreck” — 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

Screenwriting 101: Eleanor Perry

“Each writer starts differently, but I think the only valid way is to start with character. Character is plot. Character is story. The human behavior and human feelings and emotions and thought is what makes a story.” — Eleanor Perry

Daily Dialogue — August 4, 2015

WILLARD: I only met Kurtz once. CIVILIAN: Would he remember you? WILLARD: Maybe. CIVILIAN: What was your impression of him? Willard shrugs. CIVILIAN: You didn’t like him. WILLARD: Anyone got a cigarette. The Major offers him one; they wait as he lights up, thinks. WILLARD: (continuing) I thought he

Plot is only one part of Story Structure

I don’t read the so-called screenwriting ‘gurus’. Rather through my blog or teaching, I deal with writers who have plowed through their books, attended their weekend seminars, and bought their DVDs. The surprising thing is, what people seem to be taking away from the gurus is that story

Interview (Part 1): Minhal Baig

I first met filmmaker Minhal Baig at the 2013 Black List Screenwriters Lab in Las Vegas. She struck me as a bright, ambitious, and talented storyteller. Since that time, I have followed Minnie’s progress with great interest. This week she is launching a Kickstarter campaign for a short film