Scott Myers

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: The Imitation Game

Starting Monday, we begin our next installment of the Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis series: The Imitation Game, nominated for 8 Academy Awards, winner for Best Adapted Screenplay written by Graham Moore. You may download the script here. The schedule for the week’s discussion: Monday: Scene-

Classic 50s Movie: “Some Like It Hot”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Will King. Movie Title: Some Like It Hot Year: 1959 Writers: Screenplay by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond, suggested by a story by Robert Thoeren and Michael Logan Lead Actors: Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, Marilyn Monroe,

Interview (Audio): Beau Willimon on “The Moment” with Brian Koppelman

An excellent interview by Brian Koppelman of “House of Cards” creator and show runner Beau Willimon. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/202349811" params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%

Daily Dialogue — May 22, 2015

Colonel Sandurz: Try here. Stop. Dark Helmet: What the hell am I looking at? When does this happen in the movie? Colonel Sandurz: Now. You’re looking at now, sir. Everything that happens now, is happening now. Dark Helmet: What happened to then? Colonel Sandurz: We passed then. Dark Helmet:

Reader Question: Is a character’s transformation dictated by events or reactions to them?

“Change is not just what goes on inside a character, nor just what happens in the plot. It’s both. They are inextricably linked.” Reader question from @filmwritr4 from a #scriptchat session: I’ve wondered about character transformation in movies. Is their change dictated by events or reactions to them?

New GITS Initiative: FADE IN to FADE OUT in 1 Month

Over the weekend, Go Into The Story turned 7 years old. As that birthday approached, I thought it was a good time to step back and reflect about the blog. As part of that process, I invited your feedback here and here. The response has been great via the blog,

Pixar’s “Inside Out”: Animated Emotions

Every article I read about the upcoming Pixar movie Inside Out makes me want to see the movie NOW! This yearning goes beyond my obsession with Pixar arguably the most successful movie studio of all time. I mean look at this release slate! Year Title Worldwide Gross Rotten Tomatoes IMDB1995

Classic 50s Movie: “The Night of the Hunter”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from W. H. Morris. Movie Title: The Night of the Hunter Year: 1955 Writer: James Agee adapted a novel by Davis Grubbs Starring: Robert Mitchum Shelly Winters Lillian Gish Director: Charles Laughton Plot Summary: Imprisoned with thief Ben Harper

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 8]

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 — May 21, 2015

George and Harold are leaning on a tree branch while dreamily watching Princess Lala as she swims. The branch breaks away but the two men remain suspended in mid-air above the water. George: How come we don’t fall? Harold: Paramount wouldn’t dare. At your age? George: Shall

Reader Question: If you could teach one scene, from paper to film, commenting on the art of collaboration, which would it be?

Reader question from @timplaehn from my recent #scriptchat session: If you could teach one scene, from paper to film, commenting on the art of collaboration, which would it be? Tim, I had a lot of thoughts on this one. For example, the derivation of the line “Round up the usual

New GITS Initiative: More Writing Challenges

Over the weekend, Go Into The Story turned 7 years old. As that birthday approached, I thought it was a good time to step back and reflect about the blog. As part of that process, I invited your feedback here and here. The response has been great via the blog,

Great Character: Ralph (“Wreck-It Ralph”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Disney characters. Today: Ralph from 2012 movie Wreck-It Ralph. Here is Jason Cuthbert’s recurring guest post. The Walt Disney storytelling empire has had wonderful success merging their own in-house properties with popular outside licensed characters. What the 1988 animated film

Classic 50s Movie: “The Bridge on the River Kwai”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Tom Peterson. Movie Title: The Bridge on the River Kwai Year: 1957 Writers: Screenplay by Carl Foreman and Michael Wilson, Story by Pierre Boulle (Novel “Le Pont De La Riviere Kwai”) Lead Actors: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack

Screenwriting Lessons from George Miller and “Mad Max: Fury Road”

If you haven’t seen Mad Max: Fury Road, you absolutely must. Even if you’re not that big of an action movie fan, this is one of those rare cinematic events — and it is that — where everything works. Most importantly for me, the spectacle is grounded in character, so

Daily Dialogue — May 20, 2015

“That one’s for free.” — The Truman Show (1998), written by Andrew Niccol The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Breaking the 4th Wall. Today’s suggestion by Michael Waters. Trivia: The Trumania bit, where Jim Carrey draws on the mirror with soap and acts strange, was completely improvised by

Scene Description Spotlight: Express Your Voice

I have a brand new class debuting on May 25. It’s called Scene Description Spotlight which sounds super practical. And in a way, it is because at one level, it’s an immersion into the nuts and bolts of the writing craft. However what it’s really about is

New GITS Initiative: Monthly Screenplay Workshop

Over the weekend, Go Into The Story turned 7 years old. As that birthday approached, I thought it was a good time to step back and reflect about the blog. As part of that process, I invited your feedback here and here. The response has been great via the blog,

Spec Script Deal: “Command & Control”

Film House Germany and Vandal Entertainment acquire thriller spec script “Command & Control” written by Byron Willinger and Phil De Blasi. From Deadline: The producers are out to select directors on the project, which follows a NSA employee as he takes over the most secure room in the nation — U.

Classic 50s Movie: “Sunset Blvd.”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Lisa Byrd. Movie Title: Sunset Blvd. Year: 1950 Writers: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr. Director: Billy Wilder Actors: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson IMDb Plot Summary: The story, set in ’50s

Screenwriting 101: Dan Gilroy

“Anytime you step outside the conventional formulaic bounds of the screenwriting style, it becomes a little scary. We’re already vaguely afraid of what the reaction to the script is going to be anyway. If you try to use style, in some ways you’re throwing caution to the wind.

Daily Dialogue — May 19, 2015

Buddy’s Singers: [singing] Throw up your hands / Stick out your tush / Hands on your hips / Give ’em a push / You’ll be surprised, you’re doing the French Mistake / Voila! Buddy Bizarre: Alright, CUT. [yells into the ear of a dancer] WRONG! [hits the dancer on the head] Ok,

Reader Question: Should antagonists think they are the protagonists of their own stories?

Reader Question: Should Antagonists think they are the Protagonists of their own stories? Hey, even Bad Guys have mothers! Reader question from @farrtom via my recent #scriptchat appearance : Should the antagonist think he’s the protagonist of his own story, or does that make him too relatable? I provided a

New GITS Initiative: Movie Analysis

Over the weekend, Go Into The Story turned 7 years old. As that birthday approached, I thought it was a good time to step back and reflect about the blog. As part of that process, I invited your feedback here and here. The response has been great via the blog,

7 Character Development Keys

Start with character. End with character. Find the story in between. Yesterday I was a guest of the weekly #scriptchat conversation (if you don’t follow #scriptchat, you should). The topic: Character Development Keys. Here is an abridged version of my tweets: Welcome all! I’ve been a #scriptchat supporter