Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — April 1, 2015

Ken: Coming up? Ray: What’s up there? Ken: The view. Ray: The view of what? The view of down here? I can see that down here. Ken: Ray, you are about the worst tourist in the whole world. Ray: Ken, I grew up in Dublin. I love Dublin. If

So-Called Screenwriting ‘Rules’ (15 part series)

Since the Bitter Script Reader blogged about it today — “We’re SERIOUSLY still fighting about this “Screenwriting Rules” s***?!?!?!” — I figured it would be a good time to re-post the 15 part series I did back in March 2014. A comprehensive series on the most significant of the supposed

Interview (Part 2): Destin Daniel Cretton

This week, we are reading and analyzing the script Short Term 12, so I thought it would be a good idea to reprise my October 2013 interview writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton. One of my favorite movies of 2013 is Short Term 12, so I was understandably excited when its

Movies You Made: Finale

We had so many entrants in this year’s Movies You Made series, I’m using this last day of March to feature several of them. Operation: Get Rid of Pinky — Chet Johnson (co-writer, co-producer) The Late, Late News — Chris Hadley (writer, co-producer) Brothers — Hank Thompson (writer,

Movie Trailer: “Masterminds”

Screenplay by Chris Bowman, Jody Hill, Danny McBride, Hubbel Palmer, Emily Spivey A night guard at an armored car company in the Southern U.S. organizes one of the biggest bank heists in American history. IMDb Release Date: 7 August 2015 (USA)

Script Analysis: “Short Term 12” — Part 2: Major Plot Points

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: Major Plot

Screenwriting 101: Justin Zackham

“For me, screenwriting is all about setting characters in motion and as a writer just chasing them. They should tell you what they’ll do in any scene you put them in.” — Justin Zackham

Daily Dialogue — March 31, 2015

Ambassador Swanbeck: On behalf of the United States of America, the signing of this treaty will usher in an era of unprecedented prosperity and cooperation between our two great nations. Omura: On behalf of the Emperor, we are pleased to have successfully concluded this… Messenger enters with urgent message. Omura:

Interview (Part 1): Destin Daniel Cretton

This week, we are reading and analyzing the script Short Term 12, so I thought it would be a good idea to reprise my October 2013 interview writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton. One of my favorite movies of 2013 is Short Term 12, so I was understandably excited when its

“News Companies See Movies as Opportunity for Growth”

As much chatter as there is going around about the supposed decline of movies as a viable narrative form in today’s binge-watching-short-attention-span culture, there’s this: In a surprising turn, some of the most aggressive contemporary purveyors of information, journalistic and otherwise, are seeking future

Movies You Made: “Come Fly With Me”

March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of independent filmmakers. Today: Come Fly With Me. Some background on the movie from its writer-director Christine Boylen: What can I say about it? Took us two days (and a bit) to shoot,

Movie Trailer: “Spectre”

Screenplay by John Logan, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, characters by Ian Fleming A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the

Script Analysis: “Short Term 12” — Part 1: Scene By Scene Breakdown

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: Scene-By-

On Writing

“The wastepaper basket is the writer’s best friend.” — Isaac Bashevis Singer

Daily Dialogue — March 30, 2015

“We heard Manhattan before we ever saw it, a thousand strange voices coming from everywhere. And you’re not going to believe this, but we had to go under the water to get to the city. And we lost contact with everything; it was like we were on another planet.

Go Into The Story Week In Review: March 23-March 29, 2015

Links to this week’s most notable posts: Character Development Keys Daily Dialogue Theme for Next Week: Foreigner Go Into The Story Interview: Sallie West (2014 Nicholl winner) Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: Short Term 12 Great Character: Ren (Footloose) Happy Birthday, Joseph Campbell! How to Generate

Interview: Sallie West (2014 Nicholl Winner)

Recently I interviewed Sally West who wrote the original screenplay “Moonflower” which won the 2014 Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting. Here is Sallie with her Nicholl Fellowship acceptance speech: Here are links to the six installments of the entire interview: Part 1: “I never thought I had a talent for screenwriting.

Screenwriting News (March 23-March 29, 2015)

Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski adapting untitled Patty Hearst book for Fox 2000. Nick Antosca rewriting reboot of Friday the 13th for Paramount Pictures. Elijah Bynum sets up “Hot Summer Nights” with Imperative Entertainment, Bynum to direct. Matthew Ian Cirulnick sets up romantic thriller pitch “Paris Call Girl” RatPac Entertainment

Interview [Video]: Pete Docter (“Inside Out”)

Pete Docter is a writer-director (Monsters, Inc., Up) and member of Pixar’s famed Braintrust. This week, he was interviewed on the Canadian based radio show “Q” to talk about the new Pixar movie Inside Out. Via Q on CBC. Comment Archive

Interview [Audio]: Joss Whedon

A half-hour interview with writer-director Joss Whedon: [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/169141230" params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450" iframe=”true” /] Via Impossible

Daily Dialogue — March 29, 2015

“Hello, Danny. Come play with us. Come play with us, Danny. Forever. And ever. And ever.” — The Shining (1980), screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Diane Johnson, novel by Stephen King The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Ghost. Trivia: The script was constantly changing on set, sometimes several times a

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Foreigner

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Foreigner. “That’s a knife.” Crocodile Dundee (1986) Could be a foreigner here in North America. Or an American in an international setting. Hell, how about an alien from another planet. That would certainly qualify as a ‘foreigner’. Take part in the grand

Spec Script Deal: “Temple”

Erebus Pictures acquires action horror spec script “Temple” written by Matt Savelloni. From THR: Temple was written by Matt Savelloni and will follow a team of highly trained operatives who get trapped inside an isolated military compound after its artificial intelligence is shut down. The team begins to experience strange

Interview (Part 6): Sallie West (2014 Nicholl Winner)

Sallie West wrote the original screenplay “Moonflower” which won the 2014 Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting. I had a great conversation with Sallie about her background, the writing of her award-winning screenplay, and how she approaches the writing craft. This week: That interview in 6 parts. Today in Part 6,

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 179th installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The Classic 1950’s Science Fiction Serials Edition! Deadline’s Too-Much-Diversity Article: Journalists Weigh In On Why It Hit a Nerve. Related: The 13 Most Ignorant Quotes From That Awful Deadline Article. VICE and HBO Enter Major Deal