Scott Myers

Writing Question: What are the best jobs that leave your days free for writing?

I generally loathe listicles, but this headline caught my attention: 7 Easy Jobs That Leave Your Days Free for Writing. Since many, if not most of you have some sort of gig to pay the bills while knocking out spec scripts, I figured this might be of some relevance, if

5 Screenwriting Skills: #1 — Talent

[Originally posted March 18, 2013] During the nearly 5 years I’ve run this blog, I have been privileged to do one-on-one interviews with a number of screenwriters, especially this year as I set a goal to post a Q&A per week for 2013. Over the

Movie Trailer: “Mommy”

Written by Xavier Dolan A widowed single mother, raising her violent son alone, finds new hope when a mysterious neighbor inserts herself into their household. IMDB Release Date: 8 October 2014 (France) Comment Archive

Free Screenwriting Resource: Script Reading & Analysis

On a semi-regular basis, we will take up a movie script and spend a week breaking it down at several levels of analysis: General Background, Structure, Characters, Theme, and Dialogue. Sometimes we even watch the movie simultaneously around the world, then tweet about it live, what we have come

On Writing

“A character is never a whole person, but just those parts of him that fit the story or the piece of writing. So the act of selection is the writer’s first step in delineating character. From what does he select? From a whole mass of what Bernard DeVoto used

Daily Dialogue — August 18, 2014

“It looks to me like the best part of you ran down the crack of your momma’s ass and ended up as a brown stain on the mattress!” — Full Metal Jacket (1987), screenplay by Stanley Kubrick & Michael Herr & Gustav Hasford, novel by Gustav Hasford The Daily Dialogue

Go Into The Story Week In Review: August 11-August 17, 2014

Links to the week’s most notable posts: 5 Screenwriting Traits: #1 — Passion 5 Screenwriting Traits: #2 — Courage 5 Screenwriting Traits: #3 — Consistency 5 Screenwriting Traits: #4 — Flexibility 5 Screenwriting Traits: #5 — Persistence “Conversations With Wilder”: Part 8 Daily Dialogue Theme for Next Week: Smack Talk David Simon writes about

“Conversations With Wilder”: Part 8

Billy Wilder is my all-time favorite filmmaker. Consider just some of his movies: Double Indemnity (1944), Sunset Blvd. (1950), 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 filmmaking career that went from

Interview: Frank DeJohn and David Hedges [2013 Nicholl Winners]

Frank DeJohn and David Hedges are one of five recipients of the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting for their historical drama screenplay “Legion”. It’s a terrific story set in the latter days of the Roman Empire and garnered a lot of attention for the duo including being hired

Screenwriting News (August 11-August 17, 2014)

Stephanie Allain and Lenore Kletter adapting memoir for untitled Misty Copeland project for New Line Cinema. Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec writing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 for Paramount. Will Beall and Kurt Johnstad writing separate “Aquaman” scripts for Warner Bros. Pamela Gray adapting drama novel “The Husband’s Secret”

Free Screenwriting Resource: Great Scenes

When you break it down, screenwriting is scene-writing. Scripts generally have anywhere between 60–100 scenes, so it’s imperative we know the ins and outs of how to write a solid scene. But more than that: A solid entertaining scene. How to do that? One thing you can

Interview [Video]: Peter Tolan

An excellent resource for screenwriting interviews The Dialogue Series. It’s now available online for free. Here is an interview with Peter Tolan whose screenwriting credits include Analyze This (1999), Bedazzled (2000) and Stealing Harvard (2002). For the other videos in the series, go here. HT to Cinephilia & Beyond

Daily Dialogue — August 17, 2014

LOW ANGLE CELL BLOCK CORRIDOR As Hi is escorted away from the camera toward his cell. At the far end of the corridor a huge con is sluggishly mopping the floor. VOICE OVER: I was in for writing hot checks which, when businessmen do it, is called an overdraft. I’

Daily Dialogue — August 17, 2014

Notes from Barbara Thomas: This spoof of/love letter to noir combines archival footage from classic noir films (including Double Indemnity!) with an original storyline, shot in black and white. Steve Martin is Rigby Reardon, the only private dick who can out-Marlowe Marlowe. Just don’t say the words

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Smack Talk

The Daily Dialogue theme next week: Smack Talk. “Why don’t we take all these bricks and build a shelter for the homeless, so maybe your mother will have a place to stay.” Don’t know what talking smack is? Here is how it’s listed in the Oxford Dictionary:

Celebrities warn against the dangers of binge-watching TV

Fun stuff from Entertainment Weekly. See if you can identify all the writer-showrunners: Comment Archive

Interview [Part 6]: Frank DeJohn and David Hedges [2013 Nicholl Winners]

Frank DeJohn and David Hedges are one of five recipients of the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting for their historical drama screenplay “Legion”. It’s a terrific story set in the latter days of the Roman Empire and garnered a lot of attention for the duo including being hired

How to Write a Rom-Com That’s True to Life (and Love): Tips from the Screenwriter of ‘What If’

A first-person column in Indiewire from screenwriter Elan Mastai who wrote the recently released romantic comedy What If. I wrote “What If” because I love romantic comedies. When done well, they’re basically my favorite genre. “His Girl Friday,” “The Apartment,” “Annie Hall,” When Harry Met Sally,” “Before Sunrise”

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 147th installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The We Remember Robin Williams Edition. Robin Williams: 150 of his greatest jokes. Robin Williams: Left 4 unreleased movies. Robin Williams: All 5 of his HBO comedy specials on YouTube. Robin Williams: His underrated acting legacy. Robin Williams: His death

Free Screenwriting Resource: 1, 2, 7, 14

It’s amazing to me how popular this approach to the craft has become. Every time I tweet it, it gets a strong reaction. I describe it this way: “A simple formula to be a more productive and better screenwriter.” And that’s precisely what it is. 1: Read 1

Interview [Written]: Chris Sparling

Kim Garland, one of the contributing columnists at Script Magazine, did a recent interview with screenwriter Chris Sparling, whose writing credits include Buried (2010), ATM (2012), and the upcoming Sea of Trees (2015). Kim: Buried was your first screenplay sale, right? Chris: Right. Kim: How did that sale come about?

Daily Dialogue — August 16, 2014

“Michael. Dear Michael. Of course it’s you, who else could they send, who else could be trusted? I… I know it’s a long way and you’re ready to go to work… all I’m saying is wait, just wait, just-just-just… please hear me out because

Declare Your Independents — Vol. 25

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 Films of Danny Boyle, Ranked Worst to Best 5 Reasons Why Genre Films Are Better Than Ever Remembering Robin Williams Lauren

Interview [Part 5]: Frank DeJohn and David Hedges [2013 Nicholl Winners]

Frank DeJohn and David Hedges are one of five recipients of the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting for their historical drama screenplay “Legion”. It’s a terrific story set in the latter days of the Roman Empire and garnered a lot of attention for the duo including being hired

“For Would-Be Screenwriter, Enough False Starts To Fill A Book”

This story ran on NPR yesterday: There’s a running joke in Los Angeles that everybody — from your dog walker to your dry cleaner — is writing a screenplay. Curt Neill is one of those aspiring screenwriters — a sketch comedian who has tried to write screenplays, but never finished one. “I’