Scott Myers

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

Daily Dialogue — November 19, 2014

George: Guys like us that work on ranches are the loneliest guys in the world. They ain’t got no family and they don’t belong no place. They got nothin’ to look ahead to… Lennie: But not us, George. Tell about us. George: …well, we ain’t like that.

Q&A (Part 2): The Bitter Script Reader on “Michael F-Ing Bay: The Unheralded Genius in Michael Bay’s Films”

The Bitter Script Reader has hosted a screenwriting blog almost as long as I have, his first post going live on January 1, 2009. Over the years, we’ve crossed virtual paths countless times and I’ve come to know Bitter as one of the good guys in the online

Update: Award season screenplay downloads (NEW: Belle, Boyhood, Calvary, Grand Budapest Hotel, Wild)

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

Spec Script Sale: “Boston Strong”

Twentieth Century Fox acquires drama spec script “Boston Strong” written by Eric Johnson and Paul Tamasy. From Variety: …based on the book by Casey Sherman and former Boston Herald reporter Dave Wedge. “Boston Strong” follows the massive manhunt to apprehend the two men believed to be responsible for the bombings,

Interview (Part 2): 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: Drag Me to Hell

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: Drag Me to Hell (2009) Written by Sam Raimi,

Movie Trailer: “Minions”

Screenplay by Brian Lynch, characters created by Ken Daurio and Cinco Paul Gru is recruited by an organization to stop Scarlet Overkill, a super-villain who, alongside her inventor husband Herb, hatches a plot to take over the world. IMDb Release Date: 10 July 2015 (USA)

Script Analysis: “American Hustle” — 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: Ron Bass

“If you read my novels, you’d see a lot of sentence fragments. And there are some punchy phrases that are meant to light the mind. I’ve always felt that writing was communication — not showing off how articulate you are, or showing off your vocabulary. It’s about making

Daily Dialogue — November 18, 2014

Renault: It might be a good idea for you to disappear from Casablanca for a while. There’s a Free French garrison over at Brazzaville. I could be induced to arrange a passage. Rick: My letter of transit? I could use a trip. But it doesn’t change our bet.

Update: Award season screenplay downloads (NEW: Kill the Messenger)

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

Q&A (Part 1): The Bitter Script Reader on “Michael F-Ing Bay: The Unheralded Genius in Michael Bay’s Films”

The Bitter Script Reader has hosted a screenwriting blog almost as long as I have, his first post going live on January 1, 2009. Over the years, we’ve crossed virtual paths countless times and I’ve come to know Bitter as one of the good guys in the online

Interview (Part 1): 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