Scott Myers

Spec Script Sale: Untitled Joe Gazzam Project

Relativity Media acquires untitled science fiction spec script written by Joe Gazzam. From Deadline: The log line is being kept under wraps but project is described as a Man On Fire-type story of a father and son, with a science fiction element. This is an option deal. Gazzam is

Interview [Part 6]: Mickey Fisher, writer, “Extant” (CBS Series)

A little over a year ago in May, I wrote about this: Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Hollywood development world — movies and TV — nothing shifts the tectonic plates of The Biz more than a spec script that gets people salivating over it. It’s also a time when

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 142nd installment of Saturday Hot Links! Today: The 50s Refreshing Snack Commercials Edition. The 2014 Emmy nominations in all their glory here. Related: TheWrap with the Emmy’s 16 biggest snubs and surprises. Related: Tim Goodman hacked off over Academy’s “atrocious snubs”. 22 movies we’ll

Scene-Writing Challenge: Days 1–9

As noted in this post from 3 weeks back: 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

Interview [Written]: Chris Carter

A Mental Floss interview with TV writer-producer and screenwriter Chris Carter, whose biggest claim to fame is “The X-Files”. Created by Chris Carter, The X-Files debuted in September 1993 and quickly became a touchstone for an entire generation of skeptics, sci-fi enthusiasts, conspiracy theorists, and audiences

Interview [Written]: Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver

From THR an interview with Rise of the Planet of the Apes and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes screenwriters Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver. You already had written the 2011 reboot, Rise of the Planet of the Apes. What were your biggest challenges this time around? Amanda Silver:

Daily Dialogue — July 12, 2014

“What do we do now?” — The Candidate (1972), written by Jeremy Larner The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Victory, suggested by NB. Trivia: Robert Redford (I) and Michael Ritchie had recently worked together on Downhill Racer (1969), when they approached Jeremy Larner together wanting to make a movie about

Declare Your Independents: Volume 20

GITS development assistant Wendy Cohen here, and welcome to the return of Declare Your Independents, our series highlighting the latest developments in the world of independent film! This week… The 2014 Emmy nominations were announced The Making of Boyhood: Richard Linklater’s 12-Year Journey to Create An American Masterpiece

Interview [Part 5]: Mickey Fisher, writer, “Extant” (CBS Series)

A little over a year ago in May, I wrote about this: Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Hollywood development world — movies and TV — nothing shifts the tectonic plates of The Biz more than a spec script that gets people salivating over it. It’s also a time when

“100 Famous Directors’ Rules of Filmmaking”

From Flavorwire: Artistic expression is an assertion of individuality, and all artists compose their work differently. In the case of filmmaking, there are numerous approaches to translating a story to celluloid. Inspired by director Wim Wenders’ recent advertising short, “Wim Wenders’ Rules for Cinema Perfection,” we’ve collected the golden

Richard Linklater and “Boyhood”

Movie fans in NYC and LA, do me a favor. Go ahead and see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes on Friday night when it opens. But after you’ve given yourself Saturday to cleanse your mental palette, go to one of the 5 theaters that is screening Boyhood

Movie Trailer: “What We Did On Our Holiday”

Written by Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin IMDB Release Date: 26 September 2014 (UK)  Comment Archive

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 9

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?

Great Character: Jack Walsh (“Midnight Run”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Action Comedy. Today: Jack Walsh from the movie Midnight Run. After directing Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop, the most lucrative theatrical blockbuster of 1984, Martin Brest returned in 1988 with another classic action comedy: Midnight Run. Moving from megastar Eddie Murphy to

Daily Dialogue — July 11, 2014

“Rudy! Rudy! Rudy!” — Rudy (1993), written by Angelo Pizzo The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Victory, suggested by NB. Trivia: According to Rudy, he has no brother named Frank in real life. The character of Frank is all the people who told Rudy he couldn’t do it, rolled

“The Secret of Effective Motivation”

A guest post from my colleague and friend Tom Benedek: In approaching character development and story, we are always dividing things between the internal and external motivations of our characters. The protagonist deals with an external conflict AND an internal conflict. Generally, plot elements are in front. In constructing a

Interview [Part 4]: Mickey Fisher, writer, “Extant” (CBS Series)

A little over a year ago in May, I wrote about this: Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Hollywood development world — movies and TV — nothing shifts the tectonic plates of The Biz more than a spec script that gets people salivating over it. It’s also a time when

‘Transformers’: The Anatomy of a Cross-Platform Money Maker

This Variety article is a few weeks old, but now that Transformers: Age of Extinction has generated a whopping $597M in box office revenues worldwide in just 11 days and in the process become the highest-grossing movie ever in China, let’s take a gander at this particular cinematic

Movie Trailer: “Life of Crime”

https://screen.yahoo.com/video/life-crime-trailer-190605337.html?format=embed Elmore Leonard (novel), Daniel Schechter (screenplay) The wealthy husband of a kidnapped wife doesn’t want to pay her ransom. IMDB Release Date: 29 August 2014 (USA)  Comment Archive

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 8

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: Is the key to creativity “unlearning”?

What if everything we have learned in our lives has actually diminished our creativity? What if we are inherently creative as children, then over time lose much of that capability? That possibility is what I discovered when I stumbled across this blog post at Creativity at Work. In 1968, George

Daily Dialogue — July 10, 2014

EXT. CENTER OF PLAYING FIELD — NIGHT We’re now just a few inches in front of his peaceful, sleeping face. They are all. YELLING, trying to pull him out. SHOTS OF NATIONAL TELEVISION AUDIENCES 1) A full sports bar in Arizona silently watches Monday Night Football. 2) Generic living room

Christopher Nolan: Films of the Future Will Still Draw People to Theaters

Christopher Nolan wrote a Wall Street Journal column published this week, focusing on the impact of technological changes, specifically the shift from film to digital: Hungry for savings, studios are ditching film prints (under $600 each), while already bridling at the mere $80 per screen for digital drives. They want

Interview [Part 3]: Mickey Fisher, writer, “Extant” (CBS Series)

A little over a year ago in May, I wrote about this: Amidst the hustle and bustle of the Hollywood development world — movies and TV — nothing shifts the tectonic plates of The Biz more than a spec script that gets people salivating over it. It’s also a time when

Los Angeles Times feature: Screenwriter-Director Scott Derrickson

The supernatural horror movie Deliver Us From Evil opened this last weekend and today the LAT ran a feature on its co-writer and director Scott Derrickson: Filmmaker Scott Derrickson was first introduced some 10 years ago to a New York cop who had undertaken what he calls “the Work”