Scott Myers

Declare Your Independents: Volume 23

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… 11 Actors in Need of an Indie Intervention What Happened to Original Movies Aimed at Adults? What’s New on Netflix Streaming:

Showrunner Rules from Jeffrey Lieber: Numbers 221–230

Jeff Lieber is a screenwriter and TV writer. His movie credits include Tuck Everlasting and he is currently an executive producer of the CBS series “NCIS: New Orleans”. On Twitter (@JeffLieber), he has run a series of tweets called Showrunner Rules. For background on Jeff and this Twitter series, go

Parody: “Potterhood”

If Richard Linklater could traverse 12 years in the life of a boy in Boyhood, why not Harry Potter? That’s what Slate did with this mashup. Via /film. Comment Archive

Screenwriting Lessons: “The King’s Speech” — Part 5: Moments

[Note: This was originally posted February 11, 2011.] As I watched The King’s Speech recently, I was struck by how many screenwriting lessons could be gleaned from the movie. So I decided this week and next to analyze The King’s Speech and The Social Network, the most likely

Movie Trailer: “Kill the Messenger”

Screenplay by Peter Landesman, book by Nick Schou and Gary Webb A reporter becomes the target of a vicious smear campaign that drives him to the point of suicide after he exposes the CIA’s role in arming Contra rebels in Nicaragua and importing cocaine into California. Based on the

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Final Thoughts

I’m on the road, so I haven’t finalized the numbers yet, but at this point I know that over 60 writers hit the 10 scene threshold and contacted me to receive their free Core class. I’m guessing there are more to come, plus other writers who posted

Great Character: Lucy (“Lucy”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Action Heroines. Today: Lucy from the 2014 movie Lucy, written by Luc Besson. SPOILER ALERT: For those who don’t want to know key plot elements, beware as there are some below! Screenwriter and director Luc Besson had quite an ambitious stylistic intention

Daily Dialogue — August 1, 2014

“Hey, dude, you proud of me? First one here. [motions to the word “calculus” on chalkboard] What’s Cal-CUE-lus?” — Stand and Deliver (1988), written by Ramón Menéndez & Tom Musca The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Teaching. Trivia: Selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in

Q&A (Part 2): Chicks Who Script (Emily Blake, Maggie F. Levin, Lauren Schacher)

Here is a terrific, new resource for the online writing community: A weekly podcast called Chicks Who Script, featuring a trio of ‘chicks’: Emily Blake, Maggie F. Levin, and Lauren Schacher. You may check out their website here. I asked Emily if they would be willing to do a Q&

Reader Question: Is it possible to have a Protagonist who doesn’t have a backstory?

Question via email from Faizan (Mumbai, India): Is it possible for a protagonist not to have a back story? The first thing that comes to mind is the so-called “Dollars Trilogy” of ‘spaghetti Westerns’: A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the

Featurette: “All the President’s Men”

A 10-minute featurette about the making of All the President’s Men: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw1Rz9Y69s4 Via The Playlist. Comment Archive

Screenwriting Lessons: “The King’s Speech” — Part 4: Shadow

[Note: This was originally posted February 10, 2011.] As I watched The King’s Speech recently, I was struck by how many screenwriting lessons could be gleaned from the movie. So I decided this week and next to analyze The King’s Speech and The Social Network, the most likely

Movie Trailer: “Mr. Turner”

Written by Mike Leigh A look at the life of British artist J.M.W Turner. IMDB Release Date: 31 October 2014 (UK)  Comment Archive

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Last day!

As noted in this recent post: In May, it was 90s movies. In June, it has been 30 Days of Screenplays. What is that but the first two of three from that essential screenwriting mantra: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. Can you see where I’m going for July?

Writing and the Creative Life: “Get a mentor”

Writing and the Creative Life: Get a Mentor A mentor can help you manage the ups and downs of learning the craft and a writing career. I interviewed Jason Mark Hellerman, a young screenwriter who had a major breakthrough when his original screenplay “Shovel Buddies” placed high on the 2013

Daily Dialogue — July 31, 2014

Yoda: Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say? You must unlearn what you have learned. Luke: Awright, I’ll give it a try. Yoda: No. Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try. — Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Q&A (Part 1): Chicks Who Script (Emily Blake, Maggie F. Levin, Lauren Schacher)

Here is a terrific, new resource for the online writing community: A weekly podcast called Chicks Who Script, featuring a trio of ‘chicks’: Emily Blake, Maggie F. Levin, and Lauren Schacher. You may check out their website here. I asked Emily if they would be willing to do a Q&

Reader Question: For great films, should I watch them or read script first?

Question via Twitter from @JoshHoltCity Scott, if I’m fortunate/unfortunate enough to have never seen a number of great films, should I read or watch first? First off, you are both fortunate and unfortunate not to have seen a “number of great films.” Unfortunate because you do not have

Fight Club Q&A @ Comic-Con 2014 by Jeff Goldsmith

Go here to listen to Jeff’s Q&A with David Fincher and Chuck Palahniuk. Via Rope of Silicon. Twitter: @yogoldsmith, @Backstory_Mag. Comment Archive

Screenwriting Lessons: “The King’s Speech” — Part 3: Talismans

[Note: This was originally posted February 9, 2011.] As I watched The King’s Speech recently, I was struck by how many screenwriting lessons could be gleaned from the movie. So I decided this week and next to analyze The King’s Speech and The Social Network, the most likely

Movie Trailer: “The Last of Robin Hood”

Written by Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland The last days in the life of legendary Hollywood actor Errol Flynn. IMDB Release Date: 29 August 2014 (USA) Comment Archive

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: 2 days left!

As noted in this recent post: In May, it was 90s movies. In June, it has been 30 Days of Screenplays. What is that but the first two of three from that essential screenwriting mantra: Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. Can you see where I’m going for July?

Script To Screen: “The Way Way Back”

A scene from the 2013 movie The Way Way Back, written by Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. Plot Summary: Shy 14-year-old Duncan goes on summer vacation with his mother, her overbearing boyfriend, and her boyfriend’s daughter. Having a rough time fitting in, Duncan finds an unexpected friend

Daily Dialogue — July 30, 2014

“See, Mr. Turner, that rocket fell for about fourteen seconds. Which means it flew to an altitude of three thousand feet. According to the equation ‘S equals one-half A, T squared.’ Where S is the altitude, A is the gravity constant of thirty-two, and T is for the

Cassian Elwes independent screenwriting fellowship enters 2nd year with Black List

From the Black List: LOS ANGELES, CA (July 27, 2014) — This morning, producer Cassian Elwes and Black List founder Franklin Leonard launched the second year of the Cassian Elwes Independent Screenwriting Fellowship, wherein one unrepresented writer with lifetime writing earnings not exceeding $5,000 with a screenplay of indie sensibility