Scott Myers

Question: Is there a better term to use than “aspiring screenwriter”?

The most common term I see used to describe someone who is working to become a professional Hollywood writer is “aspiring screenwriter.” Yet there are some folks I have run across in the online writing community who take umbrage at that description. I’m not sure precisely why that is

Interview (Part 2): Ava DuVernay

It is criminal that Ava DuVernay was not nominated for a Best Director Oscar for her work on the remarkable movie Selma. I am running an interview I conducted with Ava eighteen months ago just as she was about to take on the Selma project. In addition to making history

Video: “Malick Motifs”

From Rachel Glassman: Regardless of whether you laud him or ridicule him, it’s no doubt that Terrence Malick is truly a visionary filmmaker. Here are some of his many motifs, shot types, themes and imagery that he tends to use in his films. Here is the video: Movies are

Set Pieces, Part 2: Emotional Meaning

A series this week on set pieces: A scene or set of scenes with a big idea, feel and/or scope to them, oftentimes associated with major plot points, and always about entertainment. Part 2: Emotional Meaning. Set pieces can be all sorts of fun and involve major visuals such

Movie Trailer: “She’s Funny That Way”

Peter Bogdanovich (screenplay), Louise Stratten (screenplay) A married Broadway director falls for a prostitute-turned-actress and works to help her advance her career. IMDb Release Date: 10 April 2015 (USA)

Classic 60s Movie: Bonnie and Clyde

January is Classic 60s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Ipsita Barik. Movie Title: Bonnie and Clyde Year: 1967 Writers: David Newman, Robert Benton & Robert Towne Lead Actors: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman Director: Arthur Penn IMDB Plot Summary: A somewhat romanticized account

Screenwriting 101: Carl Foreman

“I rewrite and rewrite and rewrite. I know in advance that my so-called first draft will be in fact my tenth draft.” — Carl Foreman Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — January 27, 2015

Noah Vosen: [in car, on cell phone] Perhaps we can arrange a meet. Jason Bourne: Where are you now? Noah Vosen: I’m sitting in my office. Jason Bourne: I doubt that. Noah Vosen: Why would you doubt that? Jason Bourne: If you were in your office right now we’

Story Summaries: From Loglines to Beat Sheets

From elevator pitches to development meetings to conference calls with talent, a screenwriter’s ability to share stories in a variety of narrative forms is both a valuable and necessary skillset. In the upcoming 1-week Screenwriting Master Class online course “Story Summaries: From Loglines to Beat Sheets” [February 2–

Interview (Part 1): Ava DuVernay

It is criminal that Ava DuVernay was not nominated for a Best Director Oscar for her work on the remarkable movie Selma. I am running an interview I conducted with Ava eighteen months ago just as she was about to take on the Selma project. In addition to making history

Set-Pieces, Part 1: Spin the Plot

One of the most valuable pieces of brainstorming a screenwriter can do with regard to a story is conjure up some good set pieces. What’s a set piece, you ask? Believe it or not, I posted this about the subject all the way back in July 2008. Here is

Twitter Rant: Eric Heisserer on When a Writer Should Walk Away From a Project

Tweetstorm: Eric Heisserer on When a Writer Should Walk Away From a Project A series of tweets on a tricky topic for writers. Twitter can be a gold mine for writers. Case in point, when pro writers decide to go on a rant about the craft, such as Eric Heisserer,

Movie Trailer: “Anarchy”

Screenplay by Michael Almereyda, play by William Shakespeare A gritty story of a take-no-prisoners war between dirty cops and an outlaw biker gang. A drug kingpin is driven to desperate measures. IMDb Release Date: 13 March 2015 (USA)

Classic 60s Movie: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb

January is Classic 60s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Rick Dyke. Movie Title: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb Year: Released in U.S. — January 29, 1964 Writers: Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, Peter George (screenplay), based on the novel Red

On Writing

“The writer should never be ashamed of staring. There is nothing that does not require his attention.” — Flannery O’Connor

Daily Dialogue — January 26, 2015

FERRADAY: It wasn’t sealing wax. It wasn’t chewing gum. It was epoxy glue. All of a sudden, you know a whole damn lot about submarines. JONES: I know how to wreck them, and I know how to lie, steal, kidnap, counterfeit, suborn, and kill. That’s my job.

Go Into The Story Week In Review: January 19-January 25, 2015

Links to last week’s most notable posts: 2015 Dialogue-Writing Challenge Audio: Flannery O’Connor reading “A Good Man is Hard to Find” Classic 60s Movie: Easy Rider Classic 60s Movie: Fail Safe Classic 60s Movie: If…. Classic 60s Movie: Jules et Jim Classic 60s Movie: Planet of the

Interview: Alisha Brophy & Scott Miles (2014 Nicholl Winners)

Recently I interviewed Alisha Brophy and Scott Miles wrote the original screenplay “The United States of Fuckin’ Awesome” which won the duo a 2014 Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting. Here are links to the six installments of the entire interview: Part 1: “I needed the gunpowder to build the bomb to

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: The Artist

This week, we read and analyzed the script for the movie The Artist, written by Michel Hazanavicius. IMDb plot summary: A silent movie star meets a young dancer, but the arrival of talking pictures sends their careers in opposite directions. Links to the entire series: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Major

Screenwriting News (January 19-January 25, 2015)

Gerard Barrett writing-directing drama “Brain on Fire” for Foundation Features. Stuart Beattie writing untitled Blackwater drama for Voltage Productions. Andrea Berloff adapting drama/crime memoir “Dangerous Odds” for Film 360. Robert Eggers sells untitled fantasy pitch to Studio 8. Liz W. Garcia and Josh Harto writing drama “Lonely Hearts

Classic 60s Movie: Jules et Jim

January is Classic 60s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Markham Cook. Movie Title: Jules et Jim Year: 1962 Writers: (screenwriters and any authors whose books were used as the basis for adaptation) Jean Gruault and Francois Truffaut, adapted from ‘Jules et Jim’ by Henri Pierre Roché Lead

Interview (Video): Xavier Dolan (“Mommy”)

The movie Mommy won the Jury Prize at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and is just now being released in select theaters in the United States. Plot summary: “A widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household.” Its

Daily Dialogue — January 25, 2015

“I’m giving you a choice. Either put on your glasses, or start eating that trash can.” — They Live (1986), screenplay by John Carpenter, short story by Ray Nelson The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Threat. Trivia: Writer-director John Carpenter has said of this movie that it was

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Espionage

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Espionage. “FBI, CIA, ONI… we’re all in the same alphabet soup.” The usual drill: * Copy/paste dialogue from IMDb Quotes or some other transcript source. * Copy/paste the URL of an accompanying video from YouTube or some other video source. I’d

Interview (Part 6): Alisha Brophy & Scott Miles (2014 Nicholl Winners)

Alisha Brophy and Scott Miles wrote the original screenplay “The United States of Fuckin’ Awesome” which won the duo a 2014 Nicholl Fellowship in screenwriting. Alisha, Scott and I had a great interview which I will be rolling out in 6 installments this week. Today in Part 6, Alisha and