Scott Myers

Go Into The Story Week In Review: October 13-October 19, 2014

Links to the week’s most notable posts: 9 Interviews with Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship Winners Black List Live! presents Brian Duffield’s “Your Bridesmaid Is a Bitch” Daily Dialogue Theme for Next Week: Dying Words Declare Your Independents: Volume 34 GITS Interview: Damien Chazzelle (Whiplash) Great Character: Rosemary Woodhouse (Rosemary’

Video: “The Silence of the Lambs” — Who wins the scene

Deft analysis by Tony Zhou of a key scene from The Silence of the Lambs. The positioning of the camera is interesting, but that’s something over which screenwriters have little control. Sure, we can write “Clarice sits down” which can create an image in the mind of the reader

Screenwriting News (October 13-October 19, 2014)

Matthew Altman and David Matalon sells spec script “The Feud” to Vandal Entertainment. Andrew Barrer and Gabe Ferrari sell thriller spec script “Low Tide” to Twentieth Century Fox. Jeffrey Hatcher writing World War I drama “Megiddo” for Warner Bros. Pictures. Rob McElhenney sells family action adventure pitch “Figment” to Legendary

Great Scene: “Back to the Future”

Where Marty meets his father for the first time… in the past! October is Great Scene month at Go Into The Story whereby we put a spotlight on notable movie scenes, then analyze and discuss them. Their structure, themes, character dynamics. Why do they work? What are their narrative elements

Interview [Video]: David Ayer

Interview with David Ayer whose writing credits include U-571, The Fast and the Furious, Training Day, End of Watch, and Fury Fury Interview - David Ayer - Trailer AddictEdit descriptionv.traileraddict.com Via Trailer Addict.

Daily Dialogue — October 19, 2014

“With this hand I will lift your sorrows. Your cup will never be empty, for I will be your wine. With this candle, I will light your way into darkness. With this ring, I ask you to be mine.” — Corpse Bride (2005), screenplay by John August and Caroline Thompson and

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Dying Words

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Dying Words. “Clever girl.” 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 also ask you to think about why the

Spec Script Sale: “The Feud”

Vandal Entertainment options thriller spec script “The Feud” written by Matthew Altman and David Matalon. From Deadline: Described as The Raid meets Winter’s Bone, the story follows a mysterious man who returns to his home in Iowa for his brother’s funeral when he finds himself head to head

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 156th installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The Classic World Series Games Edition. Neil Patrick Harris to host the 2015 Academy Awards. The Gimp unleashed: Pulp Fiction’s creepy bondage slave tells all. Related: 12 movies to see after you watch Pulp Fiction. Related: The Academy of

Great Scene: “Full Metal Jacket”

Private Pyle declares “I am in a world of shit” and his subsequent actions prove the point. The 1987 movie Full Metal Jacket, screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Michael Herr & Gustav Hasford. IMDB plot summary: A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War

Interview: Damien Chazelle

Damien Chazelle is the talented young writer/director of Whiplash, the intensely rhythmic story of a young drummer (Miles Teller) and a — let’s call him “harsh” — music teacher (J.K. Simmons). We caught up with Damien at the New York Film Festival earlier this month to ask him about

Daily Dialogue — October 18, 2014

Minister: David, do you take Mariel to be your wife? Do you promise to be good to her in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health, to love and honor her all the days of your life? A long awkward silence. The Best Man elbows David. David:

Declare Your Independents — Vol. 34

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… Why Alejandro Iñárritu Calls Hollywood’s Superhero Obsession “Cultural Genocide” AFI Fest Announces New Auteurs, American Indie and Shorts Lineups Neil Patrick

9 Interviews with Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship Winners

In honor of the recently announced winners of the 2014 Nicholl Screenwriting Fellowship, here are links to interviews I’ve done during the last two years with 9 previous Nicholl Fellows, several of them Black List writers as well. Nicole Beckwith (2012 Nicholl Winner, 2012 Black List) Destin Daniel Cretton

Movie Trailer: “Listen Up Philip”

Written by Alex Ross Perry Anger rages in Philip as he awaits the publication of his second novel. He feels pushed out of his adopted home city by the constant crowds and noise, a deteriorating relationship with his photographer girlfriend Ashley, and his own indifference to promoting the novel. When

Great Scene: “Apocalypse Now”

October is Great Scene month at Go Into The Story whereby we put a spotlight on notable movie scenes, then analyze and discuss them. Their structure, themes, character dynamics. Why do they work? What are their narrative elements that elevate them to greatness? Let’s face it: In a fundamental

Great Character: Rosemary Woodhouse (“Rosemary’s Baby”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Supernatural. Today: Rosemary Woodhouse from Rosemary’s Baby, screenplay by Roman Polanski, novel by Ira Levin. The 1967 horror novel by Ira Levin (The Stepford Wives, The Boys of Brazil) was not just an explosive bestseller, but also the top selling horror novel

Daily Dialogue — October 17, 2014

Father O’Neil: As you know, Craig and Christina are quite the sailing enthusiasts. In that light, they have elected to exchange vows which they themselves have written. Craig: I, Craig, take you, Christina, to be my wife, my best friend and my first mate. Through sickness and health, clear

Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Challenge in November?

In November, I’m thinking it’s about time we got back to reading and analyzing some scripts together. After all, it’s one of the three cornerstones of the mantra I coined several years ago: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. We’ve done 30 Days of Screenplays, both

Spec Script Sale: “Low Tide”

Twentieth Century Fox acquires thriller spec script “Low Tide” written by Andrew Barrer and Gabe Ferrari. From Deadline: The scribes made the 2010 Black List for their script Die In A Gunfight and they are the on set writers right now for Marvel’s Ant-Man. Script is an elevated

Documentary [12 minutes]: “Mysteries of Love: Origins of ‘Blue Velvet’”

Interesting the genesis of the movie. The song “Blue Velvet”. Lynch having an image of himself secretly watching a woman from a closet, picking up some sort of clue. An image of an ear. Reminds me of what Lynch said about his creative process in an interview I read years

Interview: Barbara Stepansky (2013 Nicholl Winner, 2013 Black List)

The Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting competition is the most prestigious of its kind and holds a primary place of importance in Hollywood movie development circles. With the recent announcement of the 2014 Nicholl Fellowship winners, I thought it would be a good idea to reprint all of the interviews

Movie Trailer: “Camp X-Ray”

Screenplay by Peter Sattler A soldier assigned to Guantanamo Bay befriends a man who has been imprisoned there for eight years. IMDB Release Date: 17 October 2014 (USA)

Great Scene: “As Good As It Gets”

October is Great Scene month at Go Into The Story whereby we put a spotlight on notable movie scenes, then analyze and discuss them. Their structure, themes, character dynamics. Why do they work? What are their narrative elements that elevate them to greatness? Let’s face it: In a fundamental

Writing and the Creative Life: Seeing… Hearing…

One day a while ago, I was out with my family for a walk in the neighborhood. As we returned home, I noticed a speed limit sign in the parkway in front of our house. “Did they just install that sign?” My family looked at me, bemused, thinking I was