Scott Myers

Twitter Rant: Katherine Fugate on What is “Perfectly Okay” for a Screenwriter to Write

Screenwriter Katherine Fugate (Valentine’s Day, New Year’s Eve) offered up a recent Twitter rant on what is “perfectly okay” for a Hollywood writer to do. Reprinted here by permission: https://twitter.com/katherinefugate/status/519977163991154688 It’s perfectly okay to write a movie where a woman is not

Video: Watch the final shot from every Best Picture Oscar Winner

As writers, we spend a lot of time thinking about a script’s very first image. What about the final image? What can we write that sums up where we want a script reader to end up emotionally? For inspiration, here is a terrific video compilation: The final shot from

Interview: Allan Durand (2012 Nicholl Winner)

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 announcement on Friday of the 2014 Nicholl Fellowship winners, I thought it would be a good idea to reprint all of the

Move [Teaser] Trailer: “Tomorrowland”

Screenplay by Brad Bird, Jeff Jensen, Damon Lindelof Bound by a shared destiny, a teen bursting with scientific curiosity and a former boy-genius inventor embark on a mission to unearth the secrets of a place somewhere in time and space that exists in their collective memory. IMDB Release Date:

Great Scene: “It Happened One Night”

A classic scene from the 1934 comedy which is one of three movies to win all the Big Five Oscars: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Screenplay. The 1934 movie It Happened One Night, screen play by Robert Riskin. IMDb plot summary: A spoiled heiress, running away

Great Character: Cole Sear (“The Sixth Sense”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Supernatural. Today: Cole Sear from the movie The Sixth Sense written by M. Night Shyamalan. The “ThrillerDelphia” native screenwriter and director M. Night Shyamalan raised his profile 100-fold on feature film number two with Bruce Willis, Steven Spielberg’s go-to married

Daily Dialogue — October 10, 2014

“A man becomes preeminent, he’s expected to have enthusiasms. Enthusiasms, enthusiasms… What are mine? What draws my admiration? What is that which gives me joy? Baseball! A man stands alone at the plate. This is the time for what? For individual achievement. There he stands alone. But in the

Who’s going to the 2014 Austin Film Festival?

If you are into screenwriting, there may be no more important annual networking and learning opportunity than the Austin Film Festival. To my knowledge, it is the only festival of its type in the U.S. that focuses on the writing craft, both movies and TV, where dozens of Hollywood

Spec Script Sale: “Partners”

New Line acquires action-comedy spec script “Partners” written by Evan Turner. From THR: New Line sparked to a buddy-cop action comedy with a fresh twist: unlike most buddy cop movies featuring a male team, a female team (think The Heat), or even a male-canine team, this one

Interview: James DiLapo (2012 Nicholl Winner, 2012 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 announcement on Friday of the 2014 Nicholl Fellowship winners, I thought it would be a good idea to reprint all of the

Movie Trailer: “Mommy”

Written by Xavier Dolan IMDB Comment Archive

Great Scene: “The Big Lebowski”

The Dude watches as Walter bids a fond farewell to Donnie and his ashes. 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

Writing and the Creative Life: “That pure part of you”

I’ve been a professional writer for over 25 years. In that time through interviews and profiles, I’ve studied the work habits of hundreds of writers. One of the most interesting approaches I have run across comes from two time Oscar winning screenwriter Alvin Sargent (Julia, Ordinary People, Paper

Daily Dialogue — October 9, 2014

Richard Vernon: Well, well. Here we are. I want to congratulate you all for being on time. Claire Standish: Excuse me, sir. I think there’s been a mistake. I know we’re in detention but I don’t think I belong here. Vernon ignores her, carrying on with his

Time for another Word Cloud Logline Challenge!

Those of you who have followed Go Into The Story for at least a couple of years probably know about the occasional Word Cloud Logline Challenges I run, but for anyone unfamiliar with this fun bit of business, check this out. Since the four Nicholl Fellowship winners were announced last

Interview [Written]: Franklin Leonard

I have read, seen or heard many interviews with Franklin Leonard, both before I had met him, then throughout the several years I have known him as part of the Black List team. And I must say, this most recent interview in “Origins,” a new journal featuring writers and creatives

Video: 25 years of “The Simpsons” couch gags at once

The audio reminds me of that part in The Beatles’ “Day in the Life” where all the of orchestral instruments go up the scale by half-notes [listen here]. Simpsons link via Toybox.

Interview: Sean Robert Daniels (2012 Nicholl Winner)

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 announcement on Friday of the 2014 Nicholl Fellowship winners, I thought it would be a good idea to reprint all of the

Movie Trailer: “Stretch”

Screenplay by Joe Carnahan, story by Jerry Corley & Rob Rose and Joe Carnahan IMDB Release Date: 14 October 2014 (USA)

Great Scene: “Thief”

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

Script To Screen: “The Birds”

A scene from the 1963 Alfred Hitchcock thriller The Birds, screenplay by Evan Hunter, short story by Daphne Du Maurier. IMDB Plot Summary: A wealthy San Francisco socialite pursues a potential boyfriend to a small Northern California town that slowly takes a turn for the bizarre when birds of all

Daily Dialogue — October 8, 2014

“Y’all wanna see somethin’?” — Django Unchained (2012), written by Quentin Tarantino Daily Dialogue theme for this week: Punishment. Trivia: According to critic Alex Ross, the alliance between Django and Dr. Schultz is “not as absurd” as audiences might believe, because in the 1840s many German revolutionaries and progressives left

Twitter Rant: F. Scott Frazier on Writing Action Set-Pieces

Tweetstorm: F. Scott Frazier on Writing Action Set-Pieces A series of tweets delving into what goes into crafting action scenarios. Screenwriter F. Scott Frazier (The Numbers Station, Collide, xXx: Return of Xander Cage) has pretty much disappeared from Twitter, but some years ago, he did a tweetstorm on writing

Richard Kelly reviews “Gone Girl”

Writer-director Richard Kelly (Donnie Darko, Southland Tales, The Box) reviewed Gone Girl on his Tumblr account. Did he like it? How about this quote: Fincher’s 10th feature film is riveting, exquisitely crafted and spectacularly entertaining. It walks a tightrope above the trappings of various genres, rising above them

Interview [Written]: David Fincher

A recent Little White Lies interview with director David Fincher (Se7en, The Social Network, Zodiac) about his newest movie Gone Girl, screenplay by Gillian Flynn who adapted her own novel. LWLies: It’s hard to think of films in which the focus is equally divided between two characters. Was this