Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — May 10, 2015

“And they wonder why those of us in our twenties refuse to work an 80-hour week just so we can afford to buy their BMWs, why we aren’t interested in the counterculture that they invented as if we did not see them disembowel their revolution for a pair

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Famous Last Words

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Famous Last Words. “Gettin’ the shakes now. Last call for drinks. Bar’s closin’ down. Sun’s out. Where we goin’ for breakfast? Don’t wanna go far… Rough night. Tired, baby… Tired…” Carlito’s Way (1992) I’m reprising this one because

Saturday Hot Links

The 185th installment of Saturday Hot Links. Critics’ Choice TV Awards: ‘Justified’, ‘Olive Kitteridge’, HBO Lead The Field. Sundance Picks 13 Directors and Screenwriters Labs Projects. Broadcast TV Scorecard: Complete Guide to What’s New, Renewed and Canceled. 13 Summer Comedies Starring Women, Made by Women, Aimed at Women. Lucasfilm

Classic 50s Movie: “The File on Thelma Jordon”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from David Joyner. Movie Title: The File on Thelma Jordon Year: 1950 Writers: Screenplay by Ketti Frings, story by Marty Holland Lead Actors: Barbara Stanwyck, Wendell Corey Director: Robert Siodmak Plot Summary: Thelma Jordon late one night shows up

‘Stockholm, Pennsylvania’ and Our National Obsession with Abducted Women

Nikole Beckwith wwrote and directed the movie Stockholm, Pennsylvania which premieres tonight on the Lifetime channel at 8PM Eastern. The screenplay won the 2012 Nicholl Fellowship, made the 2012 Black List, and was selected for 2013 Sundance Labs. The movie, which stars Saoirse Ronan, Jason Isaacs, and Cynthia Nixon, was

Daily Dialogue — May 9, 2015

John Winger: Why’d the chicken cross the road? Soldiers: To get from the left to the right. John Winger: He stepped out of rank, got hit by a tank. Soldiers: He ain’t no chicken no more. — Stripes (1981), written by Len Blum & Daniel Goldberg and Harold Ramis

Two approaches to loglines

The other day I responded to a reader question: What makes a stellar logline? In comments, bookworm676 said this: I see a lot of conflicting advice about loglines… I guess I remain confused as to which advice to follow. I hear this a great deal, especially in a Craft class

What’s going on with mid-budget movies in Hollywood?

Terry Huang is part of the Black List crew and one of his specialties is analytics. For example back in April, he took on the idea that has floated around Hollywood for several years — the highest budgeted movies are the ones which translate into the most reliable profits — and broke

Great Character: Roger Rabbit (“Who Framed Roger Rabbit”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Disney characters. Today: Roger Rabbit from the 1988 movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit, screenplay by Jeffrey Price & Peter S. Seaman, novel by Gary K. Wolf. After directing the biggest blockbuster of 1985 in the form of the time-traveling dazzling film Back

Classic 50s Movie: “Harvey”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Felicity Flesher. Movie Title: Harvey Year: 1950 Writers: Mary Chase (and based on her Pulitzer Prize play) & Oscar Brodney Lead Actors: James Stewart, Josephine Hull, Harvey as himself Director: Henry Koster IMDb Plot Summary: Due to his

Daily Dialogue — May 8, 2015

“Well, what can I say. I graduated. It’s over. I did it. I know most of you are saying, ‘Hey, any idiot could do that.’ Well, it was tough for me, so… [screams]… BACK OFF!” — Billy Madison (1995), written by Tim Herlihy, Adam Sandler The Daily Dialogue theme for

Reader Question: What makes a stellar logline?

Two words: Conceit. Concise. Reader question via Twitter: Kindra, you are asking the $64,000… $640,000… $6.4M… $64M question. Believe it or not, a logline can be worth hundreds of millions of dollars to a movie studio as it provides the foundation of everything that comes after it:

Name a song that perfectly conveys a movie’s theme

Songs have been a presence in movies since the advent of sound technology. Indeed the first ‘talkie’ is the 1927 film The Jazz Singer featuring Al Jolson. Here he is singing “Toot, Toot, Tootsie” from that movie: There are non-musicals where a song plays a key part such as

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: