Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — July 6, 2014

Sissy Sullivan: I’m trying, I’m trying to help you. Brandon Sullivan: How are you helping me, huh? How are you helping me? How are you helping me? Huh? Look at me. You come in here and you’re a weight on me. Do you understand me? You’re

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Victory

The Daily Dialogue theme next week: Victory, suggested by NB. The usual drill: * Copy/paste dialogue from IMDB Quotes or some other transcript source. * Copy/paste the URL of an accompanying video from YouTube or some other video source. I’d also ask you to think about why the dialogue

Scene-Writing Challenge: Days 1–4

As noted in this post from 2 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

Great Scene: “Independence Day”

The President makes a memorable speech from Independence Day, written by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. HANGAR DOORS — PRE-DAWN Slowly spread apart revealing the myriad of different planes  that have been gathered. Pilots, flights crews and refugees  prepare for the battle. EXT. AREA 51 — TARMAC — PRE-DAWN Walking out

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 141st installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The Pixar Animation Studios Short Film Edition. David Duchovny on the end of “Californication”. Related: Heather Graham’s reflections on her stint in “Californication”. Related: The 35 worst sex acts that happened on “Californication”. One series ends, another begins: Scene

Interview [Written]: Joss Whedon on his uncredited work on “Speed”

The Huffington Post recently ran an interview with Joss Whedon on the 20th anniversary of the release of the movie Speed. Whedon worked on that script, but received no credit. Here for the first time, he discusses his experiences with that project: Thanks for taking the time to talk to

Daily Dialogue — July 5, 2014

Craig: You know what the addict’s least favorite word is? No. Ask me if you can use my phone, Daryl. Daryl: Say, Craig, may I use the phone? Craig: No. — Clean and Sober (1988), written by Tod Carroll The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Addiction. Today’s suggestion

90 Words for “looks”

Movies are primarily a visual medium. Therefore as screenwriters, we need to think visually… and write visually. Take the verb “looks”: He looks at the body. She looks at the rainbow. How about these instead: ogles, gapes, stares, gawks, squints, spies, inspects, surveys, peeks, peers. On and on and on,

115 Words for “walks”

Movies are primarily a visual medium. Therefore as screenwriters, we need to think visually… and write visually. Take the verb “walks”: He walks into the room. She walks away from him. How about these instead: amble, shuffle, staggers, paces, speeds, lurches, leaps, skips, bounds, sprints, stumbles. On and on and

There’s No Right Way To Write: Part 5

There is no right way to write. No one way. No single approach, paradigm, theory or magic formula. No easy path. There is only the writer. Their creativity. Their stories. And lots of hard work.This week I’ve been featuring the words of four screenwriters each day to demonstrate

Highlights: Aaron Sorkin interview

Via Indiewire: Aaron Sorkin has a lot going on these days: In addition to feverishly writing the final season of his HBO drama “The Newsroom,” he’s collaborating with director Danny Boyle on a Steve Jobs biopic and considering another project based on Michael Lewis’ bestseller “Flash Boys.” But none

90 Words for “looks”

Movies are primarily a visual medium. Therefore as screenwriters, we need to think visually… and write visually. Take the verb “looks”. Why not ogles, gapes, stares, gawks, squints, spies, inspects, surveys, peeks, peers. On and on and on, there are so many better, more active and visual verbs than “looks.

115 Words for “Walks”

Movies are primarily a visual medium. Therefore as screenwriters, we need to think visually… and write visually. Take the verb “walks”. He walks through the crowded office. She walks up the aisle. Why not amble, shuffle, staggers, paces, speeds, lurches, leaps, skips, bounds, sprints, stumbles. On and on and on,

Movie Trailer: “The Anomaly”

Written by Simon Lewis A former soldier is taken captive and awakens in the back of a van where he learns that he only has a few moments to figure out how he got there. IMDB Release Date: 4 July 2014 (U.K.) Comment Archive

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 4

As noted in this post from 2 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

Great Character: Axel Foley (“Beverly Hills Cop”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Action Comedy. Today: Axel Foley from the movie Beverly Hills Cop. Lets go back thirty years, when 1984 shaped up to become a bonafide box office bonanza, being the first calendar to crack the $4 billion mark. To put that number in proper

Daily Dialogue — July 4, 2014

“Choose Life. Choose a job. Choose a career. Choose a family. Choose a fucking big television, choose washing machines, cars, compact disc players and electrical tin openers. Choose good health, low cholesterol, and dental insurance. Choose fixed interest mortgage repayments. Choose a starter home. Choose your friends. Choose leisurewear and

There’s No Right Way To Write: Part 4

There is no right way to write. No one way. No single approach, paradigm, theory or magic formula. No easy path. There is only the writer. Their creativity. Their stories. And lots of hard work.This week I’ve decided to feature the words of four screenwriters each day to

Hollywood’s 100 Favorite Films

Movie lists. They’re everywhere. We’ve got the IMDB Top 250. American Film Institute’s Top 100. Writers Guild of America’s Top 101 screenplays. Spike Lee’s list of must-see movies. Martin Scorcese’s 85 must-see movies. And Steven Spielberg’s ‘curriculum’ of films [which turned

Showrunner Rules from Jeffrey Lieber: Numbers 201–210

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: “If I Stay”

Shauna Cross (screenplay), Gayle Forman (novel) Life changes in an instant for young Mia Hall after a car accident puts her in a coma. During an out-of-body experience, she must decide whether to wake up and live a life far different than she had imagined. IMDB Release Date:

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 3

As noted in this post from 2 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

Writing and the Creative Life: Think Psychologically

What makes a story resonate emotionally with a reader or viewer? This post is a tale of two online articles. One is a serious piece of journalism from the New York Times. The other is a seemingly frothy listicle from Buzzfeed. First the serious stuff. The New York Times article,

Daily Dialogue — July 3, 2014

“I don’t know if I’m an alcoholic. I just drink. I drink a lot. I’ve always drank a lot, everyone I know drinks a lot. So I never really thought it was a problem. But lately, it kinda seems like it is. I mean, I just want

Hey, TV writers in L.A.!

I’ve got 20 free tickets to give away to this upcoming event: The Writers Guild Foundation is hosting an awesome all-day television writing event and WGA Archive exhibit devoted to television writing from 9am to 6:15pm on Saturday July 12th at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly