Scott Myers

Classic 50s Movie: “A Star Is Born”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Melinda Mahaffey Icden. Movie Title: A Star Is Born Year: 1954 Writers: 1954 screenplay by Moss Hart, based on the 1937 film’s screenplay by Dorothy Parker, Alan Campbell, and Robert Carson with story by William A. Wellman

Daily Dialogue — May 7, 2015

PRINCIPAL: Thank you. Thank you, Joe. And now it’s time. I just can’t introduce this person without saying: History, Oceanography, Creative Writing, Biochemistry. I think you know who I’m talking about. We’re going to remember this student who said, “Hey world, check me out.” Giving a

Beau Willimon asks, “What does your Protagonist need?”

This past weekend, I was in NYC as one of the mentors for a Black List screenwriter mini-lab. Five talented writers who had posted scripts on the Black List site had been selected to participate: Arla Bowers, Hunter Burker, Joel Dorland, Ian McWethy, and Yvonne Paulin. The other mentors:

Interview (Written): Brad Bird and Damon Lindelof (“Tomorrowland”)

An excellent interview in Wired with Tomorrowland co-writer and director Brad Bird and co-writer Damon Lindelof. WIRED: So how did Tomorrowland come to be? Lindelof: Well, I was obviously familiar with Brad’s history at Disney as an animator and his love for Walt, just having listened to

Report from NYC Black List screenwriter panel

Last week, the Black List hit New York for a series of events one of which was a screenwriter panel. From Indiewire: The panelists — Chris Sparling (Cannes 2015 entry “Sea of Trees,” directed by Gus Van Sant), Shari Springer Berman (“American Splendor,” “The Nanny Diaries,” “Ten Thousand Saints”), Michael Zam

Classic 50s Movie: “Seven Samurai”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Paul Graunke. Movie Title: Seven Samurai Year: 1954 Writers: Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni Lead Actors: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima Director: Akira Kurosawa Plot Summary: In era of chaos and civil war, a desperate village

Spec Script Deal: “The Infinite Horizon”

Warner Bros. acquires spec script “The Infinite Horizon” written by Ryan Condal, an adaptation of a comic book mini-series. From THR: The six-issue miniseries takes its cues from Homer’s The Odyssey to tell a military story set in the near future about a soldier who leads a

Daily Dialogue — May 6, 2015

Mr. Braddock: Ben, what are you doing? Benjamin: Well, I would say that I’m just drifting. Here in the pool. Mr. Braddock: Why? Benjamin: Well, it’s very comfortable just to drift here. Mr. Braddock: Have you thought about graduate school? Benjamin: No. Mr. Braddock: Would you mind telling

Reader Question: What is the most creative way you’ve seen for someone to get their script read?

Reader question via Twitter: By “get their screenplay read,” I assume, @scifi2611, you mean “by someone who can cut me a million dollar check to buy said script”, or at least an individual in the Hollywood food chain who can lead to that fat payday. Since I’ve been at

Twitter Rant: Daniel Kunka on Being a Productive Writer

Tweetstorm: Daniel Kunka on Being a Productive Writer An informative series of tweets about the craft of writing. Yesterday screenwriter Daniel Kunka (@unikunka) crafted a litany of tweets which laid out a challenge to all of us to be more productive in our writing. Reprinted here by permission. A few

Interview (Video): David Magee

Another in an excellent Creative Spark series of videos from Academy Originals, this one with David Magee whose screenwriting credits include Finding Neverland and Life of Pi. Lots of good insights here: * David uses color post-it notes on a white board to help him plot a story. “Because I’

Classic 50s Movie: “Night of the Demon”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from David Hutchison. Movie Title: Night of the Demon Year: 1957 Writers: Screenplay by Charles Bennett, Hal E.Chester. Short story “The Casting of the Runes” by M.R. James Lead Actors: Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins, Niall MacGinnis Director:

Screenwriting 101: Peter Straughan

“Like a lot of male writers, I naturally gravitate toward male characters. I tend to think a main character’s going to be a man. So it was fantastic to realize you can just say: ‘No, it’s not; it’s a woman.’ Nothing else changes, but it becomes more

Daily Dialogue — May 5, 2015

Foley: Congratulations, Ensign Mayo. Mayo: I won’t ever forget you, Sergeant. Foley: I know. Mayo: Wouldn’t have made this if it weren’t for you. Foley: Get the hell out of here. Mayo: Thank you, Sergeant. — An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), written by Douglas Day Stewart The

Write a Worthy Nemesis

If the Protagonist is most often your story’s most important character, the Nemesis is not far behind. Indeed some of the greatest characters in film history have been Nemeses including Darth Vader (Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope), the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wizard of Oz)

Wanted: Your input about the blog (cont’d)

For those of you who care about this tiny corner of the online screenwriting universe, please go here for something I posted two weeks ago. Upshot: I am using the upcoming 7th anniversary of the blog’s launch to step back and take what I hope is a thoughtful look

Classic 50s Movie: “Rear Window”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Roy Gordon. Movie Title: Rear Window Year: 1954 Writers: John Michael Hayes, based on a “It Had To Be Murder”, a short story by Cornell Woolrich Lead Actors: James Stewart, Grace Kelly Director: Alfred Hitchcock IMDb Plot Summary:

On Writing

“I can’t stand half the stuff I write, but I have to write it to get to the other half.” — John Patrick Shanley Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — May 4, 2015

“On our very first day at Harvard, a very wise Professor quoted Aristotle: “The law is reason free from passion.” Well, no offense to Aristotle, but in my three years at Harvard I have come to find that passion is a key ingredient to the study and practice of law

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: Lincoln

This week, we have been reading, analyzing, and discussing the script and movie Lincoln, screenplay by Tony Kushner, book by Doris Kearns Goodwin. IMDb plot summary: As the Civil War continues to rage, America’s president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield as he fights with many inside his

Interview: Mynette Louie

This week, we are fortunate to have as our interview guest Mynettte Louie, a New York-based independent film producer. Her film credits include Children of Invention, California Solo and Stones in the Sun. Most recently, Louie produced Tze Chun’s crime thriller Cold Comes the Night starring Alice Eve,

Classic 50s Movie: “All About Eve”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Ricardo Bravo. Movie Title: All About Eve Year: 1950 Writers: Joseph L. Mankiewicz (Oscar winner) (written for the screen by) based on “The Wisdom of Eve” by Mary Orr. Lead Actors: Bette Davis (Nominated for an Oscar), Anne

Daily Dialogue — May 3, 2015

“T…t…t…tuh…two households, both alike, in dignity.  In fair Verona, where we lay our scene. From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.” — Shakespeare in Love (1998), written by Marc Norman, Tom Stoppard The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Stammer.

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Graduation

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Graduation. “I thank you and I forgive you.” Broadcast News (1987) It’s that time of year when students all around the globe graduate from high school and college. These moments have been commemorated in movies for decades. Writing a commencement address or

Interview (Part 6): Mynette Louie

In September 2013, I interviewed New York-based independent movie producer Mynette Louie. Shortly thereafter, Mynette was named president of Gamechanger Films. Their mission statement: Gamechanger provides equity financing to narrative feature films directed by women. We support the unique artistic voices of talented directors who happen to be women,