Scott Myers

Screenwriters Roundtable: Chris Borrelli, F.

2013 Screenwriters Roundtable My conversation with Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, and John Swetnam. Between them, they have sold more than a dozen spec scripts and have multiple original screenplays on the Black List. Here is the 2013 conversation featuring Chris Borrelli, F. Scott

Screenwriting News (September 15-September 21, 2014)

Banipal Ablakhad and Benhur Ablakhad sell crime thriller spec script “North of Reno” to New Line Cinema. Simon Barrett and Adam Wingard writing-directing remake of I Saw the Devil for Snoot Entertainment. Max Borenstein writing Godzilla 2 for Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures. Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard writing

Classic 70s Movie: “The Getaway”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Steve Huerta. Movie Title: The Getaway Year: 1972 Writer: Walter Hill (screenplay), Jim Thompson (novel) Lead Actors: Steve McQueen, Ali MacGraw, Ben Johnson and Al Lettieri Director: Sam Peckinpah Plot Summary: Doc McCoy has been granted parole after

Interview [Video]: Jenji Kohan (“Weeds,” “Orange is the New Black”)

Sponsored by the Writers Guild Foundation, Robin Schiff and Winnie Holzman interview Jenji Kohan, writer-producer who created the series “Weeds” and “Orange is the New Black”. Who likes “Orange is the New Black”? What do you like about the series? For the Writers Guild Foundation YouTube channel, go here.

Daily Dialogue — September 21, 2014

“I was hoping you could give me a bath. I’m very, very dirty.” — American Beauty (1999), written by Alan Ball The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Adultery. Trivia: Angela’s surname is Hayes, another reference to Lolita Haze from Vladimir Nabokov’s novel, Lolita. Dialogue On Dialogue: Lester

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Vengeance

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Vengeance, suggested by Jon Raymond. “Call him a mad vigilante. Call him a hero.  Either way… he’s always on target.”  — Death Wish The usual drill: * Copy/paste dialogue from IMDB Quotes or some other transcript source. * Copy/paste the URL of an

Spec Script Sale: “Scarecrow”

Screen Gems acquires horror thriller spec script “Scarecrow” written by Mike Scannell. From Variety: Scannell’s spec script, set at a remote lake house, revolves around a mother and her two young daughters who must fight for survival after falling into a terrifying and bizarre nightmare conceived by a psychopath.

Spec Script Sale: “Road to Oz”

New Line Cinema acquires drama spec script “Road to Oz” written by Josh Golden. From THR: New Line Cinema has preemptively scooped up spec script Road to Oz, written by hot rising talent Josh Golden. Beau Flynn will produce via his New Line-based FlynnPictureCo. This is how hot Golden

Spec Script Sale: “North of Reno”

New Line Cinema acquires crime thriller spec script “North of Reno” written by Banipal Ablakhad and Benhur Ablakhad. From Deadline: The original story is said to be a “twisty, crime thriller centered around the pursuit of a hidden fortune.” The writers are repped by Resolution. By my count, this is

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 152nd installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The Who’s Ready For Some Kick-Ass Bluegrass Edition! Study shows primetime TV still mostly a boys club. 10 experimental novels that are worth the effort. The Fault in Our Stars crosses $300M box office worldwide. 9 strange and

Classic 70s Movie: “Murder By Death”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Karla McNeese. Movie Title: Murder by Death Year: 1976 Writer: Neil Simon Lead Actors: Eileen Brennan, Truman Capote, James Coco, Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Elsa Lanchester, David Niven, Peter Sellers, Maggie Smith Director: Robert Moore IMDB Plot Summary:

Interview [Written]: Scott Frank (“A Walk Among the Tombstones”)

An Indiewire interview with Scott Frank whose writing credits include Malice, Get Shorty, and Minority Report. His latest movie is A Walk Among the Tombstones, which he directed and adapted from a Lawrence Block novel. You’ve done a few of these high-profile mystery novel adaptations. What are the

Daily Dialogue — September 20, 2014

Jerry: The fact is I can’t understand why she felt it necessary… after all these years… to tell you so suddenly. Last night? Robert: [surprised] Last night? Jerry: Without consulting me.. without warning me, after all, you and me…  Robert: She didn’t tell me last night. Jerry: What

Declare Your Independents — Vol. 30

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… The Imitation Game Wins Top Honors at TIFF Will the iPhone 6 Revolutionize Filmmaking? The Films Of Terry Gilliam, Ranked THR Announces

Spec Script Sale: “In The Deep”

Sony Pictures Entertainment acquires drama thriller spec script “In The Deep” written by Tony Jaswinski. From Deadline: Tonally, the spec is described as a cross between 127 Hours meets Jaws, with a touch of Gravity thrown in for good measure. A young woman who is dealing with the recent death

An Argument Against Screenplay Formulas (Part 5): Times have changed and so have expectations for a…

An Argument Against Screenplay Formulas (Part 5): Times have changed and so have expectations for a screenplay “Almost all of the most influential screenwriting gurus developed their screenplay formulas in the 1980s. While they may have tweaked their ideas, the core of what they promulgate has it roots in movies

Twitter Rant: Eric Heisserer on Loglines

Tweetstorm: Eric Heisserer on Loglines If you are an aspiring screenwriter, Twitter is an amazing resource. Eric Heisserer (Arrival, Lights Out, Hours, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Final Destination 5, The Thing) is probably the Hollywood screenwriter most willing to go online and provide a tweetstorm on a specific subject

Classic 70s Movie: “The Parallax View”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Mark Twain. Movie Title: The Parallax View Year: 1974 Writers: Lorenzo Semple Jr. with David Giler and an uncredited Robert Towne adapted Loren Singer’s 1970 novel of the same name. Lead Actors: Warren Beatty Paula Prentiss Hume

Great Character: Lux Lisbon (“The Virgin Suicides”)

The Great Character theme for the month: High School Characters. Today: Lux Lisbon from the 1999 movie The Virgin Suicides, screenplay by Sofia Coppola, novel by Jeffrey Eugenides. The Lisbon sisters initially appear as typical Midwestern Michigan teenaged girls, each a year older and blonder than the last: Cecilia 13,

Daily Dialogue — September 19, 2014

Ennis Del Mar: This is a one-shot thing we got goin’ on here. Jack Twist: It’s nobody’s business but ours. Ennis Del Mar: You know I ain’t queer. Jack Twist: Me neither. — Brokeback Mountain (2005), screenplay by Larry McMurtry & Diana Ossana, short story by Annie

Bookworm data hack lets you map every word in 100,000 screenplays

Hat tip to longtime reader Daniel Cossu for sending along this Guardian article: If you’ve ever wanted to find out that Steven Soderbergh never put the word ‘sex’ in his films in the late 90s, or that ‘fuck’ has overtaken ‘shit’ as South Park’s curse of choice, you’

An Argument Against Screenplay Formulas (Part 4): They make the job of a screenwriter more difficult

Script notes. From studios. From producers. Sometimes the notes are good. Sometimes not so good. Sometimes awful. Script notes are a fact of a screenwriter’s life and you learn to just deal with them. Hopefully you are working with smart people. Those who understand Story. Maybe not as much

Tweetstorm: Eric Heisserer on Pitching

Eric Heisserer (A Nightmare on Elm Street, Final Destination 5, The Thing, Hours, Lights Out, Arrival) is probably the Hollywood screenwriter most willing to go online and provide a tweetstorm on a specific subject related to the craft. Here is a March 2014 tweetstorm Eric did on pitching. All right,

Movie Trailer: “Housebound”

Written by Gerard Johnstone Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. However, when she too becomes privy to unsettling whispers & strange bumps in the night, she begins to wonder whether she’s inherited her overactive

Classic 70s Movie: “What’s Up, Doc?”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Weston Turner. Movie Title: What’s Up, Doc? Year: 1972 Writers: Story by Peter Bogdanovich, Screenplay by Buck Henry and David Newman & Robert Benton Lead Actors: Barbra Streisand, Ryan O’Neal, Madeline Kahn Director: Peter Bogdanovich IMDB