Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — November 22, 2014

“Remember George, no man is a failure who has friends.” — It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), screenplay by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett and Frank Capra, story by Philip Van Doren Stern The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Friendship. Trivia: Frank Capra filmed a number of sequences that were

Declare Your Independents — Vol. 38

GITS development assistant Wendy Cohen here, and welcome back to Declare Your Independents, our new series highlighting the latest developments in the world of independent film! This week… Where The Race Stands Post-AFI Fest, Pre-Thanksgiving Mike Nichols’ Best Films Could Selma Finally Be Our Oscar Frontrunner? Neil deGrasse

Spec Script Sale: “Dig”

Vegas, Baby Productions acquires action thriller spec script “Dig” written by Adam Taylor Barker. From Deadline: The action-thriller set in the Appalachian Mountains tracks Sol, a tough-as-nails grave digger out for revenge after his father-in-law kidnaps his daughters. Writer is repped by ICM Partners and

Interview (Part 5): Joshua Golden

Joshua Golden wrote the spec script “Road to Oz” which was not only a finalist in the 2014 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition, it sold in September to New Line. From THR: New Line Cinema has preemptively scooped up spec script Road to Oz, written by hot rising talent Josh

Poem: “Adirondack Moosehead” by Jeffrey Harrison

Adirondack Moosehead by Jeffrey Harrison The moose that once presided over games of Monopoly and crazy eights, that loomed above us, goofy and majestic, into whose antlers we threw paper planes, still hangs over the great stone fireplace like the figurehead of a ship. All these years he hasn’t

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: Gladiator

We’ve had a successful relaunch of the GITS Script Reading & Analysis series. I say relaunch because we have done this type of thing before. For the next month, I will be spotlighting previous movie scripts we have studied. Today: Gladiator (2000) Screenplay by David Franzoni and John Logan

Movie Trailer: “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay — Part 1”

Screenplay by Danny Strong and Peter Craig, novel by Suzanne Collins After Katniss Everdeen shattered the games forever, Katniss must fight against all odds and save a nation moved by her courage. IMDb Release Date: 21 November 2014 (USA)

Script Analysis: “American Hustle” — 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

Great Character: Dr. Peter Venkman (“Ghostbusters”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Bill Murray. Today: Dr. Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters, written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. On Friday June 8th 1984, North American movie theaters exploded with one of the most colossal summer blockbuster opening day face-offs of the decade: the release of

Daily Dialogue — November 21, 2014

“Wow, my own giant robot! I am now the luckiest kid in America! This must be the biggest discovery since, I don’t know, television or something!” — The Iron Giant (1999), screenplay by Tim McCanlies, screen story by Brad Bird, book by Ted Hughes The Daily Dialogue theme for the

The Value of Cliffhangers in Screenwriting (cont’d)

In our weekly Script Reading and Analysis series, one of the dynamics we have been paying attention to is cliffhangers. You can go here to read a post about the presence of cliffhangers in the script for Argo in a great sequence breakdown by Paul Graunke, and some historical perspective

The Brit List (2014)

Via ScreenDaily: The list is compiled by a combination of UK producers, agents, distributors and sales companies. There were 140 entries with 34 scripts making the grade. In order to qualify scripts must receive three or more votes, be unproduced (not shooting) at the time of the list’s circulation,

Interview (Part 4): Joshua Golden

Joshua Golden wrote the spec script “Road to Oz” which was not only a finalist in the 2014 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition, it sold in September to New Line. From THR: New Line Cinema has preemptively scooped up spec script Road to Oz, written by hot rising talent Josh

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: Galaxy Quest

We’ve had a successful relaunch of the GITS Script Reading & Analysis series. I say relaunch because we have done this type of thing before. For the next month, I will be spotlighting previous movie scripts we have studied. Today: Galaxy Quest (1999) Screenplay by David Howard and Robert

Movie Trailer: “A Most Violent Year”

Written by J.C. Chandor In New York City 1981, an ambitious immigrant fights to protect his business and family during the most dangerous year in the city’s history. IMDb Release Date: 31 December 2014 (USA)

Script Analysis: “American Hustle” — 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.

Writing and the Creative Life: Why Your Brain Loves Good Storytelling (Part 3)

“Every storytelling exercise should begin by asking: Who is my audience and what is the message I want to share with them? Each decision about your story should flow from those questions.” In Part 1, we considered a Harvard Business Review article about the influence of stories on the brain,

Daily Dialogue — November 20, 2014

“I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” — Stand By Me (1986), screenplay by Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans, novella by Stephen King The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Friendship. Trivia: The movie is based on a

Tweetstorm: Justin Marks on Exposition

A series of tweets on the best way to handle exposition: Seduction! Screenwriter Justin Marks has been described as the “most gainfully employed professional fanboy on the planet right now.” Understandably so given the fact Justin has written such projects The Raven, Super Max, Suicide Squad, Shadow of the Colossus,

Interview (Part 3): Joshua Golden

Joshua Golden wrote the spec script “Road to Oz” which was not only a finalist in the 2014 Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition, it sold in September to New Line. From THR: New Line Cinema has preemptively scooped up spec script Road to Oz, written by hot rising talent Josh

Update: Award season screenplay downloads (NEW: Birdman)

It’s that time of year again when studios make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season. As in years past, we will be tracking them and posting links as they become available. If you want to get these scripts first, come here. No one posts them faster than

Go Into The Story Script Reading & Analysis: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

We’ve had a successful relaunch of the GITS Script Reading & Analysis series. I say relaunch because we have done this type of thing before. For the next month, I will be spotlighting previous movie scripts we have studied. Today: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Screenplay by

Movie Trailer: “McFarland, USA”

Written by Christopher Cleveland, Bettina Gilois, and Grant Thompson A cross country coach in a small California town transforms a team of athletes into championship contenders. IMDb Release Date: 20 February 2015 (USA)

Script Analysis: “American Hustle” — 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

Script To Screen: “Bull Durham”

One of the funnier scenes from the 1988 movie Bull Durham, written by Ron Shelton. IMDb plot summary: A fan who has an affair with one minor-league baseball player each season meets an up-and-coming pitcher and the experienced catcher assigned to him. EXT. DURHAM STADIUM -- LATER -- NIGHT