Scott Myers

Classic 70s Movie: “Young Frankenstein”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Barbara Thomas. Movie Title: Young Frankenstein Year: 1974 Writers: Gene Wilder & Mel Brooks, based on the novel Frankenstein by Mary Shelley Lead Actors: Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Peter Boyle, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr, Chloris Leachman, Gene Hackman

Screenwriting 101: Scott Rothman

“One of the big lessons I learned, when I wrote that script that got me into NYU. It wasn’t this great script, but it was definitely better than anything I had done prior. I had made a terrible movie with one of my really good friends in San Francisco

Daily Dialogue — September 16, 2014

“I tried so hard to make it go away. I thought that I could do it for you and for the kids. I can’t… I just… I can’t.” — Far From Heaven (2002), written by Todd Haynes The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Adultery. Trivia: This was the

Reader Question: Given the odds against success, how do you keep motivated?

Question from 14shari: The road from unpaid screenwriter to paid screenwriter is long, winding and unpredictable. It’s not certain that you’ll ever be one. How can one keep yourself motivated? Shari, what you say is true. The odds against success as a screenwriter or TV writer are long.

An Argument Against Screenplay Formulas (Part 1): They are selling you a lie

When I first broke into the business in 1987, there were just a handful of books about screenwriting. Now it’s become this “thing”. You can’t walk into a Barnes & Noble in some remote outpost like Minot, North Dakota and avoid slamming into a whole section of titles

Tweetstorm: Eric Heisserer on Minimalist Screenwriting Style

“Find the most powerful word and use it.” Back when Twitter was fun, screenwriters would sometimes string together a series of tweets - what came to be known as "tweetstorms." Advice, personal anecdotes, reflections on the craft. It was pretty awesome. The only problem: Once the tweetstorm came ... it

Movie Trailer: “Young Ones”

Written by Jake Paltrow Set in the future when water is hard to find a teenage boy sets out to protect his family and survive. IMDB Release Date: 17 October 2014 (USA)

Classic 70s Movie: “All the President’s Men”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Arnaud Talaia. Title: All the President’s Men Year: 1976 Writers: Carl Bernstein & Bob Woodward ( authors of the book) / William Goldman (screenwriter) Lead Actors: Robert Redford & Dustin Hoffman Director: Alan J. Pakula IMDB Plot Summary: Reporters

On Writing

“I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.” — Flannery O’Connor

Daily Dialogue — September 15, 2014

“Well, what am I supposed to do? You won’t answer my calls, you change your number. I mean, I’m not going to be ignored, Dan!” — Fatal Attraction (1987), written by James Dearden The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Adultery. Trivia: When Glenn Close finally secured the part

Go Into The Story Week In Review: September 8-September 14, 2014

Links to the week’s most notable posts: 7 states to set your movie in 2013 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 1 2013 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 2 2013 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 3 2013 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 4 2013 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 5 2013 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 6 Classic 70s Movie: Chinatown Classic

Screenwriters Roundtable, Part 6: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam

A special treat this week as I will be posting excerpts from a screenwriter’s roundtable I did with a group of talented Hollywood screenwriters: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, and John Swetnam. How good are they? Between them, they have sold more than

Screenwriting News (September 8-September 14, 2014)

Daniel Adams and William Barber scripted action thriller “Panama” going forward with Tulchin Entertainment, Adams to direct. Josh Boone adapting drama novel “All We Had” for Tribeca Productions. Max Borenstein adapting Minority Report as a TV series for Fox. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert scripted dark comedy “Swiss Army Man”

Classic 70s Movie: “Colossus: The Forbin Project”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Will King. Movie Title: Colossus: The Forbin Project Year: 1970 Writer: Screenplay by James Bridges, based on the novel by D.F. Jones Lead Actors: Eric Braeden, Susan Clark, Gordon Pinsent, William Schallert Director: Joseph Sargent IMDB Plot

Interview [Video]: Billy Wilder

This gem courtesy of the Writers Guild Foundation: Over an hour-long conversation with writer-director Billy Wilder. For the Writers Guild Foundation YouTube site, go here. For my series Conversations With Wilder, go here.

Daily Dialogue — September 14, 2014

JACK CRABB: You mean you’re blind? OLD LODGE SKINS: Oh no. My eyes still see. But my heart no longer receives it. JACK CRABB: How did it happen? OLD LODGE SKINS: White man. JACK CRABB: Where’s Buffalo Wallow Woman? OLD LODGE SKINS: Rubbed out. And White Elk Woman

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Adultery

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Adultery. Think about it: Some of the most notable movies of all time feature couples being unfaithful to each other. Here are some titles that immediately sprang to mind: The Shawshank Redemption, American Beauty, Citizen Kane, Fatal Attraction, and of course this famous

Screenwriters Roundtable, Part 5: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam

A special treat this week as I will be posting excerpts from a screenwriter’s roundtable I did with a group of talented Hollywood screenwriters: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, and John Swetnam. How good are they? Between them, they have sold more than

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 151st installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The I Thought Of Douglas Adams The Other Day So Here Are Some Videos I Found Edition. Playlist: 2014 TIFF movie reviews. Indiewire: 2014 TIFF coverage. 2014 TIFF: Indiewire critics Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn podcast discussing fest’s hits,

Classic 70s Movie: “Smokey and the Bandit”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from John Henderson. Movie Title: Smokey and the Bandit Year: 1977 Writers: Hal Needham & Robert L. Levy (story), James Lee Barrett and Charles Shyer & Alan Mandel (screenplay) Lead Actors: Burt Reynolds, Sally Field, Jerry Reed, Jackie Gleason

Interview [Written]: Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, and Craig Johnson (“The Skeleton Twins”)

Huffington Post interview with The Skeleton Twins actors Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, and co-writer/director Craig Johnson: Did you ever feel it a challenge to tonally keep it in check, just because the subject matter can be pretty touchy at times? Bill: We were all over the place,

Interview [Written]: Dennis Lehane (“The Drop”)

Interview at WGA.org with writer Dennis Lehane: Dennis Lehane’s new film The Drop takes the acclaimed author-screenwriter back to the underworld of bleak, blue-collar criminals. Unlike Southy-based Mystic River and Gone Baby Gone, which were adapted from Lehane novels by other scripters, The Drop is

Daily Dialogue — September 13, 2014

Wyatt Earp: What makes a man like Ringo, Doc? What makes him do the things he does? Doc Holliday: A man like Ringo has got a great big hole, right in the middle of him. He can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill

Declare Your Independents — Vol. 29

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… 2015 Oscar Predictions: Best Adapted Screenplay Stephen Hawking vs. Alan Turing: Who’s Winning The Battle of the British Genius Biopics? TIFF

Screenwriters Roundtable, Part 4: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam

A special treat this week as I will be posting excerpts from a screenwriter’s roundtable I did with a group of talented Hollywood screenwriters: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, and John Swetnam. How good are they? Between them, they have sold more than