Scott Myers

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 184th installment of Saturday Hot Links! Today: The We Remember Ben E. King’s “Stand By Me” Edition. The Writers Lab for Women Over 40 — Applications Available Now. Related: How Hollywood Keeps Out Women. Related: Why Female Directors Almost Never Get Blockbuster Gigs. Critics Pick the Best

Classic 50’s Movie: “Kiss Me Deadly”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from John Henderson. Movie Title: Kiss Me Deadly Year: 1955 Writers: Screenplay by A.I. Bezzerides, based on the novel by Mickey Spillane Lead Actors: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Maxine Cooper Director: Robert Aldrich IMDb Plot Summary: A doomed

Interview (Written): Patrick Somerville (“The Leftovers”)

A TriQuarterly interview with novelist and short story writer Patrick Somerville on the transition to writing for television: TQ: You’ve had quite a bit of success with short stories and novels. Did you ever think you’d find yourself writing for television? Somerville: Not at all. Up until a

Daily Dialogue — May 2, 2015

“Hello? Hello, Dimitri? Listen, I can’t hear too well, do you suppose you could turn the music down just a little? Oh, that’s much better. Yes. Fine, I can hear you now, Dimitri. Clear and plain and coming through fine. I’m coming through fine too, eh? Good,

Reader Question: What is your favorite book about screenwriting?

A question via Twitter from Damien Straker: https://twitter.com/DStraker90/status/593614695422005248 My response: .@DStraker90 My favorite screenwriting book? I have 4. Only 1 is about screenwriting: “Adventures in the Screen Trade.” I’ll blog other 3. Here are my four favorite books about screenwriting: “Adventures in the Screen

Interview (Part 5): 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,

Script Analysis: “Lincoln” — Part 5: Takeaways

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Sequences Thursday: Psychological Journey Friday: Takeaways Today: Takeaways. This

Movie Trailer: “Irrational Man”

Written by Woody Allen On a small town college campus, a philosophy professor in existential crisis gives his life new purpose when he enters into a relationship with his student. IMDb Release Date: 24 July 2015 (USA)

50s Movies

I asked Go Into The Story readers to post about a favorite movie from the 50s with two goals: To provide background and analysis on movies from this decade, and to inspire you to watch movies which is critical to learning the craft of screenwriting. 12 Angry Men A Place

Classic 50’s Movie: “On the Waterfront”

May is Classic 50s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Bilbo Poynter. Movie Title: On the Waterfront Year: 1954 Writer: Bud Schulberg (based on a series of articles by Malcolm Johnson) Lead Actors: Marlon Brando, Lee Cobb, Rod Steiger, Karl Malden, Eva Marie Saint Director: Elia Kazan IMDb

Great Character: Mavis Gary (“Young Adult”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Women Written by Women. Today: Mavis Gary from the 2011 movie Young Adult, written by Diablo Cody. Here is GITS contributor Jason Cuthbert’s post on this Great Character: Director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody proved to be quite the combination for

Daily Dialogue — May 1, 2015

Allison: I’m in the midst of doing my thesis. Alvy Singer: On what? Allison: Political commitment in twentieth century literature. Alvy Singer: You-you-you’re like New York, Jewish… y’know… left-wing, liberal, intellectual, Central Park West, Brandeis University, the-the-the socialist summer camps and the-

Twitter Rant: Jeff Willis on 15 Things You Should Know Starting Out as a Writer

A few days ago, Jeff Willis, VP of Business Affairs and Production Administration at The Weinstein Company, responded to the question below. His tweets offer some excellent advice for any writer attempting to break into the entertainment industry. Reprinted by permission. https://twitter.com/jwillis81/status/591736057743450112 Here are 15

Interview (Part 4): 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,

Script Analysis: “Lincoln” — Part 4: Psychological Journey

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Sequences Thursday: Psychological Journey Friday: Takeaways Today: Psychological Journey.

Movie Trailer: “The Last Witch Hunter”

Screenplay by Cory Goodman, Matt Sazama, Burk Sharpless The last remaining witch hunter battles against an uprising of witches in modern day New York. IMDb Release Date: 23 October 2015 (USA)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month: Day 30

This is the sixth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today’s story: Teen saves life of woman who saved him. Call it a simple twist of fate — times two: A teenager in western New York state has saved the life of the same woman

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 6]

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 — April 30, 2015

Charles: Ehm, look. Sorry, sorry. I just, ehm, well, this is a very stupid question and… , particularly in view of our recent shopping excursion, but I just wondered, by any chance, ehm, eh, I mean obviously not because I’m just some git who’s only slept with 9 people,

Guest Post: Tom Benedek on one secret of Joss Whedon’s writing

A guest post from Tom Benedek, screenwriter (Cocoon) and teacher: It’s the little things we grab onto about the characters we love. What we choose to consider important about their lives is what makes them live in the minds of our readers or audience. We all have a few

Interview (Part 3): 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,

Script Analysis: “Lincoln” — Part 3: Sequences

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Sequences Thursday: Psychological Journey Friday: Takeaways Today: Sequences. A

Movie Trailer: “Every Secret Thing”

Nicole Holofcener (screenplay), Laura Lippman (novel) A detective looks to unravel a mystery surrounding missing children and the prime suspects: two young women who, seven years ago, were put away for an infant’s death. IMDb Release Date: 15 May 2015 (USA)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 29

This is the sixth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Today’s story: Man Wakes Up from Coma Convinced That He’s Matthew McConaughey. After six days in a coma, a 25-year-old from Birmingham, England woke up speaking fluent French and thinking that

Twitter Rant: Eric Heisserer on Finding the Joy in Your Writing

Tweetstorm: Eric Heisserer on Finding the Joy in Your Writing If you are an aspiring screenwriter, Twitter is an amazing resource. Eric Heisserer (Arrival, Lights Out, Hours, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Final Destination 5, The Thing) is probably the Hollywood screenwriter most willing to go online and provide a