Scott Myers

Great Character: Ren (“Footloose”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Rebel. Today: Ren from the 1984 movie Footloose, written by Dean Pitchford. Popular American movies in the decade of the 1980s had many successful reoccurring attributes such as action heroes, science fiction elements and funny Saturday Night Live alumni. But Footloose had a

Interview (Written): Noah Baumbach (“While We’re Young”)

An Indiewire interview with writer-director Noah Baumbach (The Squid and the Whale, Frances Ha) whose newest movie While We’re Young debuts in North American this weekend. Since “Frances Ha,” you’ve directed two features. Back in the day, we’d have to wait two to three years for

Daily Dialogue — March 28, 2015

“You must make your own life amongst the living and, whether you meet fair winds or foul, find your own way to harbor in the end.” — The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947), screenplay by Philip Dunne, novel by R.A. Dick The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Ghost. Trivia:

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: Short Term 12

Starting Monday, we begin our next installment of the Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis series: Short Term 12, the wonderful 2013 movie written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and starring Brie Larson. It currently has a 99% critics rating on Rotten Tomatoes. If you haven’t

Spec Script Deal: “The Leviathan”

Twentieth Century Fox acquires science fiction spec script “The Leviathan” written by Jim Uhls. From Deadline: Set in the 22nd century, mankind has colonized many worlds and traveling faster than the speed of light has been made possible by the harvesting of exotic matter from the eggs of the largest

Interview (Part 5): 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 5,

Great news for a pair of Black List writers!

I enjoy interfacing with all types of screenwriters, but I am particularly fond of getting to know talented up-and-comers. Oftentimes uninhibited by conventional wisdom and so-called screenwriting ‘rules’, they bring a fresh perspective to the craft and to the world of storytelling. So I was thrilled this

Movie Trailer: “Entourage”

Doug Ellin (screenplay), Rob Weiss (story) Film star Vince Chase and his cronies take on Hollywood. IMDb Release Date: 5 June 2015 (USA)

Movies You Made: “Dark Origins”

March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of independent filmmakers. Today: Dark Origins. Some background on the movie from its writer-director Evan Randall Green: DARK ORIGINS is an award winning short horror film about a psychologist who discovers that the

Daily Dialogue — March 27, 2015

“They’re here.” — Poltergeist (1982), screenplay by Steven Spielberg & Michael Grais & Mark Victor, story by Steven Spielberg The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Ghost. Trivia: Steven Spielberg’s premise for ‘Poltergeist’ was based on the history of Cheeseman Park in Denver, Colorado. The park was originally a

Happy Birthday, Joseph Campbell!

Joseph Campbell’s birthday is today. If he were alive, he would 101 years old. His physical body died in 1987, but his ideas live on. He was a fascinating guy. I first studied Campbell’s work as an undergraduate at UVA, so originally I thought of him strictly in

Interview (Part 4): 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 4,

Movie Trailer: “Maggie”

Written by John Scott 3 A teenage girl in the Midwest becomes infected by an outbreak of a disease that slowly turns the infected into cannibalistic zombies. During her transformation, her loving father stays by her side. IMDb Release Date: 8 May 2015

Movies You Made: “Service”

March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of independent filmmakers. Today: Service. Cast and Crew Starring: Denna Lynn Thomsen, James Babson, Rylie Martinez and Grady Miller Writer/Director: Jerry Pyle Producer: Tim Hyten DP: Matt Garrett Production Design: Amit Sidi Makeup:

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 1]

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 — March 26, 2015

Ghost of Christmas Present: [kicks him in the groin] Hello Frank, I’m the ghost of Christmas present. Frank Cross: I had a funny feeling. Why did you do that? Ghost of Christmas Present: Sometimes you have to *slap* them in the face just to get their attention! Frank Cross:

Reader Question: What are some suggestions for doing character ‘interviews’?

A reader question from Alex_kelaru in comments to a recent blog post in which I closed with this takeaway: Do some interactive writing exercises with your story’s key characters where you zero in on what they believe, why they believe it, and how they see the world. Whether

Interview (Part 3): 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 3,

Video: “The Beast Within: The Making of Alien”

A comprehensive 2 1/2 hour documentary on the making of one of the great science fiction horror films of all time: Alien. Interviews with many of the principal players involved including screenwriters Dan O’Bannon, Ron Shusett, David Giler, director Ridley Scott, actor Sigourney Weaver and others. Tomorrow: Something

Movie Trailer: “Max”

Written by Sheldon Lettich, Boaz Yakin A dog that helped US Marines in Afghanistan returns to the U.S. and is adopted by his handler’s family after suffering a traumatic experience. IMDb Release Date: 26 June 2015 (USA)

Movies You Made: “Windscreenwiperman”

March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of independent filmmakers. Today: Windscreenwiperman. Some background on the project from co-writer/director Sam Baron: My co-writer Raphael (who also plays the lead role) actually uses online chat-rooms to meet new

Script To Screen: “Kill Bill: Vol. 1”

An action scene from early in the 2003 movie Kill Bill: Vol. 1, written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. IMDb plot summary: The Bride wakens from a four-year coma. The child she carried in her womb is gone. Now she must wreak vengeance on the team of assassins who

Daily Dialogue — March 25, 2015

VOLDEMORT: Pick up your wand Potter. I said pick it up. Get up. Get up! You’ve been taught how to duel, I presume, yes? First we bow to each other. Come on now, Harry, the niceties must be observed. Dumbledore would not want you to forget your manners, now

Twitter Rant: Jeff Willis on Should You Pay for a Script Consultant

Tweetstorm: Jeff Willis on Should You Pay for a Script Consultant If you are an aspiring screenwriter, Twitter is an amazing resource. For example, a few days ago Jeff Willis, VP of Business Affairs and Production Administration at The Weinstein Company, took on the cottage industry which is screenplay consulting.

Interview (Part 2): 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 5 parts. Today in Part 2,