Scott Myers

Movie Trailer: “About Alex”

Written by Jesse Zwick ‘About Alex’ is the story of seven college friends who reunite over a three-day weekend, after one of them attempts suicide. When the friends get together to keep an eye on Alex, the weekend that ensues will renew old crushes and resentments, shine light on

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 13

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: “Creativity-In-Action”

What exactly is creativity and how do we foster it? This is not only a question of interest to people involved in the arts. There is a lot of energy being dedicated toward its study in business and science. Recently I discovered an interesting overview of these efforts in this

Daily Dialogue — July 17, 2014

INT. ROCKY CAVERN KIRK: Khan, you have Genesis, but you don’t have me. You were going to kill me, Khan. You’re going to have to come down. You’re going to have to come here! INT. RELIANT BRIDGE KHAN: I’ve done far worse than kill you. I’

Reader Question: What about the Protagonist and the inciting incident?

“Something. Happens. In my view, that is the essence of an inciting incident.” Question from @SB_Boxing: hi Scott. Should a protagonist always initiate the inciting incident or can they be reactive to it? Let me approach this question with two considerations in mind. First, with a few caveats [see

Screenwriting Lessons: “The Social Network” — Part 3: Theme

[Note: This was originally posted February 16, 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 to analyze The King’s Speech and The Social Network, the most likely winners of this year’

Interview [Video]: Aline Brosh McKenna

The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has started a documentary series called Academy Originals. Here is an interview with screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna (The Devil Wears Prada, Annie): The Academy Originals YouTube page here. Comment Archive

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month: Success!

Every April for 5 years, I have run a monthly series: A Story Idea Each Day for a Month. Over the course of 12 months, I’ll flag 30 story ideas I find in my daily trek through all of my news sources and write posts about them. And here’

Movie Trailer: “Paddington”

Michael Bond (story), Paul King (screenplay) A young Peruvian bear with a passion for all things British travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he begins to realize that city life is not all he had imagined — until he meets the

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 12

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 Cider House Rules”

The ending sequence from the 1999 movie The Cider House Rules, screenplay by John Irving based on his novel. Plot Summary: A compassionate young man (Homer), raised in an orphanage and trained to be a doctor there, decides to leave to see the world. Here that young man returns to

Daily Dialogue — July 16, 2014

Rayburn: She showed him it was OK to live again. Rayburn: He’ll deliver more justice than 10 years of your courts and tribunals. ~~~~~ Elderly Man: In the church they say to forgive. Creasy: Forgiveness is between them and God. It’s my job to arrange the meeting. ~~~~~ Mariana: He’

Reader Question: How do you decide between managers?

Question from Eric Harris: How do you decide between managers?–owner of a medium firm vs. manager working for a bigger firm (who might jump to a different firm since they are not the owner)? What is life like working with one and what should you expect to make the

Screenwriting Lessons: “The Social Network” — Part 2: Narrative Framework

[Note: This was originally posted February 15, 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 to analyze The King’s Speech and The Social Network, the most likely winners of this year’

“What I Wish I Knew About Distribution”

This is for all you folks trafficking in the indie film world. Ron Najor is a producer of two movies: I Am Not A Hipster and Short Term 12, both written and directed by Destin Daniel Cretton (you can read my interview with Cretton here). There was a recent article

Movie Trailer: “Birdman”

Screenplay by Alejandro González Iñárritu and Nicolás Giacobone and Alexander Dinelaris and Armando Bo A washed-up actor who once played an iconic superhero must overcome his ego and family trouble as he mounts a Broadway play in a bid to reclaim his past glory. IMDB Release Date: 7 October

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 11

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?

Screenwriting 101: Jill Soloway

“The people who I believe in the most create work about people who are real. I’m also looking for truth, and I think that when people see truth in art, it resonates. Rootable women or likable women is a kind of trope that I was asked to be part

Daily Dialogue — July 15, 2014

“They’re going to laugh at you.” — Carrie (1976), screenplay by Lawrence D. Cohen, novel by Stephen King The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Revenge. Trivia: Stephen King was paid $2,500 for the film rights. Dialogue On Dialogue: The words of Carrie’s mother echo in her mind

Concept = Hook

Whatever degree of importance you attribute to your script’s story concept… it’s probably not enough. Here’s how I begin Lecture 1 of my Core II: Concept class: The foundation of any movie is the screenplay. The foundation of any screenplay is the concept. Therefore it stands to

Screenwriting Lessons: “The Social Network” — Part 1: Compelling Protagonist

[Note: This was originally posted February 14, 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

Showrunner Rules from Jeffrey Lieber: Numbers 211–220

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

Movie Trailer: “The Interview”

Written by Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen, Dan Sterling Talk-show host Dave Skylark and his producer, Aaron Rapoport, score an interview with Kim Jong-Un, dictator of North Korea. But when the CIA asks them to kill Kim,they become the least qualified men to ever assassinate. IMDB Release Date:

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 10

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?

On Writing

“There are a million ideas in a world of stories. Humans are storytelling animals. Everything’s a story, everyone’s got stories, we’re perceiving stories, we’re interested in stories. So to me, the big nut to crack is to how to tell a story, what’s the right