Scott Myers

Go Into The Story Week In Review: September 1-September 7, 2014

Links to the week’s most notable posts: 2012 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 1 2012 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 2 2012 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 3 2012 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 4 2012 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 5 2012 Screenwriters Roundtable: Part 6 Audio: Rod Serling (5/17/91) at UCLA Black List news: First

Black List news: First Martin Katz/TIFF Canadian Independent Screenwriting Fellow Chosen

The latest from the Black List: TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA — As the 2014 Toronto Independent Film Festival kicked off featuring twelve films previously featured on the annual Black List, the festival, producer Martin Katz, and the screenwriting institution announced that York University MFA student Kyle Francis will attend this year’s

“Conversations With Wilder”: Part 11

Billy Wilder is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Consider just some of his movies: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), Ace in the Hole (1951), Stalag 17 (1953), Witness for the Prosecution (1957), Some Like It Hot (1959), The Apartment (1960), an oeuvre that demonstrates an incredible range in a

Screenwriting News (September 1-September 7, 2014)

Duane Adler directing “Heart Beats 3D” from his own screenplay for Das Films. Ned Benson rewriting drama “How Starbucks Saved My Life” for The Weinstein Company. Chadwick Boseman and Logan Coles sell untitled thriller pitch to Universal Pictures. Carlo Hintermann and Marco Saura scripted “The Book of Vision”, Gabriel Byrne

Classic 70s Movie: “The Friends of Eddie Coyle”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Rob Bell. Movie Title: The Friends of Eddie Coyle Year: 1973 Writers: Screenplay by Paul Monash, based on the novel by George V. Higgins Lead Actors: Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, Alex Rocco, Steven Keats Director: Peter

Feature: Scott Frank (“A Walk Among the Tombstones”)

L.A. Times interview with top Hollywood screenwriter Scott Frank (Out of Sight, Get Shorty, Minority Report) who wrote and directed the upcoming movie A Walk Among the Tombstones). “I wanted to make something akin to the Don Siegel or Alan Pakula films from the 1970s that I loved so

Interview [Video]: Lorene Scafaria

The fine folks at the Writers Guild Foundation run a fantastic series called Writers On Writing. In this installment, a 90-minute conversation with screenwriter Lorene Scafaria whose credits include Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist (2008) and Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012) which she

Daily Dialogue — September 7, 2014

Detective Loki: Alex Jones, unfortunately has the I.Q. of a 10 year-old. There’s no way someone with the I.Q. of a 10 year-old could abduct 2 girls in broad daylight and then… somehow disappear. Keller Dover: Well, maybe he wasn’t on his own. How

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Wisdom

The Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Wisdom. If you think about it, virtually every movie has a character or characters who provide insight to the Protagonist. Conduits of truth and knowledge, these Mentor figures take on all shapes, sizes and demeanors. From kindly to abrasive, aged to youthful, wisdom

2012 Screenwriters Roundtable, Part 6: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam

As something of an elder member of the screenwriting community, one of the wonderful experiences I have had since I started the blog is to get to know dozens of writers who I think would be fair to describe as ‘Young Turks’. Not necessarily young in terms of their age,

Starz TV series “The Chair” premieres tonight at 11PM

Dan Schoffer is an actor, writer (WGA) and one of the stars of the new Starz documentary series “The Chair” which debuts tonight at 11PM (Eastern). I’ll be doing a Q&A with Dan, but wanted to let folks know about the show because it’s relevant to

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 150th installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The Why Is “Homicide: Life On The Streets” So Underappreciated Edition. Telluride: Anne Thompson and Eric Kohn talk the Festival [audio]. Telluride: Francis Ford Coppola spills Apocalypse Now secrets. Read a previously unpublished chapter of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”

Classic 70s Movie: “Logan’s Run”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Eric Rodriguez. Movie Title: Logan’s Run Year: 1976 Writers: Screenplay by David Zelag Goodman, Novel by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson Lead Actors: Michael York, Jenny Agutter, and Richard Jordan Director: Michael Anderson Plot Summary

Interview [Written]: Martha Stephens (“Land Ho!”)

Indiewire interview with co-writer and co-director of the indie feature Land Ho! W&H: How would you describe what the movie is about? MS: Two ex-brothers-in-law take a holiday in Iceland in an attempt to forget their troubles, and also to connect with one

Feature: Julia Hart (“The Keeping Room”)

Nice feature on screenwriter Julia Hart in the L.A. Times, whose new movie The Keeping Room premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday. The movie’s plot summary: Left without men in the dying days of the American Civil War, three Southern women — two sisters and one

Daily Dialogue — September 6, 2014

“This next part is very important. They’re going to take you. Kim, stay focused, baby. You will have five, maybe ten seconds, very important seconds. Leave the phone on the floor. Concentrate. Everything you see about them. Hair color, eye color, tall, short, scars. Anything you see, understand. [hears

Declare Your Independents — Vol. 28

GITS development assistant Wendy Cohen here, and welcome back to Declare Your Independents, our series highlighting the latest developments in the world of independent film! This week… TIFF: The 12 Films With The Most Oscar Potential at This Year’s Festival Telluride Wrap: The Little Festival That Could Box Office:

2012 Screenwriters Roundtable, Part 5: Chris Borrelli, F. Scott Frazier, Chris McCoy, Justin Rhodes, Greg Russo, John Swetnam

As something of an elder member of the screenwriting community, one of the wonderful experiences I have had since I started the blog is to get to know dozens of writers who I think would be fair to describe as ‘Young Turks’. Not necessarily young in terms of their age,

Audio: Rod Serling (5/17/91) at UCLA

The man was a genius. Via FilmmakerIQ and No Film School. Here is an American Masters documentary on Serling: Even though many of the video clips are missing from online, check out my 2010 series: Rod Serling on writing. Comment Archive

My “1, 2, 7, 14” post… in Croatian!

It’s one of the most popular posts I’ve ever written: 1, 2, 7, 14. Simply put, each week: Read 1 script; Watch 2 movies; Write 7 pages; Prep story for 14 hours. It’s a simple formula to be a more productive and better screenwriter. So in some

Movie Trailer: “Kelly & Cal”

Written by Amy Lowe Starbin When Kelly, a ‘riot girl’ turned suburban mom learns her teenage neighbor has been spying on her, they strike up an unlikely friendship that sparks them both back to life. IMDB Release Date: 5 September 2014 Comment Archive

Classic 70s Movie: “Harold and Maude”

September is Classic 70s Movie month. Today’s guest post comes from Thomas Wüstemann. Movie Title: Harold and Maude Year: 1971 Writer: Colin Higgins Lead Actors: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort Director: Hal Ashby IMDB Plot Summary: Young, rich, and obsessed with death, Harold finds himself changed forever when he meets

Great Character: Sutter Keely (“The Spectacular Now”)

The Great Character theme for the month: High School Characters. Today: Sutter Keely from the 2013 movie The Spectacular Now, written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber, novel by Tim Tharp. If the confident charisma of Vince Vaughn merged with the everyman charm of Tom Hanks and was finally

Daily Dialogue — September 5, 2014

THE WHITE OF WHAT SEEMS LIKE A HOSPITAL. Everything is bled of color. It’s all vague — — we are looking at this from Paul’s blurred vision. And throughout this next sequence, there are these SOUNDS, words really, but they make no sense. Annie: …no… worry… be… fine… good care…

Quest Writing Workshop: Chapel Hill, October 16–19, 2014

In October 2013, ten writers from across the United States and Canada converged at The Writers Junction in Santa Monica for a 4-Day Quest Writing Workshop with me as their host and teacher. It was a remarkable weekend, so much so I held another workshop in Santa Monica in