Scott Myers

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

There’s No Right Way To Write: Part 3

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

Watch Three Short Film Prequels to ‘Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’

Via /film: Three things. First, this is a terrific idea by the studio, out-of-the box thinking that lends even more narrative credibility as well as buzz for what promises to be the big franchise movie of the summer. Second, screenwriter and friend of the blog Brian Duffield was

In Memoriam: Paul Mazursky (1930–2014)

From the New York Times: Paul Mazursky, an innovative director and screenwriter who both satirized and sympathized with America’s panorama of social upheavals in the late 1960s and ’70s in films that included “Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice,” “Blume in Love” and “An Unmarried Woman,” died on

Movie Trailer: “Beneath”

Beneath (2014) Trailer / Embed PlayerEdit descriptionwww.metacafe.com Written by Patrick Doody, Chris Valenziano A crew of coal miners becomes trapped 600 feet below ground after a disastrous collapse. As the air grows more toxic and time runs out, they slowly descend into madness and begin to turn on one

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 2

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

Script To Screen: “Lincoln”

A memorable scene from the 2012 movie Lincoln, written by Tony Kushner. Plot Summary: As the Civil War continues to rage, America’s president struggles with continuing carnage on the battlefield and as he fights with many inside his own cabinet on the decision to emancipate the slaves. INT. ODD

Daily Dialogue — July 2, 2014

“As far as I’m concerned, me and God is even, and I do want I damn well please. God damn it, if I want to shoot up, I’ll shoot up. Move.” — Ray (2004), screenplay by James L. White, story by Taylor Hackford and James L. White http://static.

Scene-Writing Exercises [2014]

Here are 20 scene-writing prompts. At a fundamental level, screenwriting is scene-writing. Here are prompts for the 2nd annual series GITS Scene-Writing Challenge. Use these to improve your scene-writing chops. A character disobeys an order A character has to say goodbye to a good friend without

There’s No Right Way To Write: Part 2

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

Video: Steven Spielberg on Dyslexia, “The Goonies” and how movies saved him

Via Indiewire. Here is a 55-minute video tribute to Spielberg: Also via Indiewire. Comment Archive

“Two Forces” by Steve Almond

Lisa Mecham, a writer who participated in one of my Quest writing workshops, was kind enough to send me a terrific book: “This Won’t Take But A Minute Honey” by Steve Almond. One half of the book is writing wisdom. The other half short stories. Here is the first

Movie Trailer: “A Walk Among the Tombstones”

Written by Scott Frank Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife. IMDB Release Date: 19 September 2014 (USA)  Comment Archive

2014 Scene-Writing Challenge: Day 1

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

Screenwriting 101: Aaron Guzikowski

“I think learning the craft is how you break into Hollywood. You just need to do it everyday and love it and be passionate about it and write things you care about and that you want to see made into movies. That’s the best way to do it and

Daily Dialogue — July 1, 2014

Tom: The beauty of quitting is… now that I’ve quit, I can have one… ‘coz I’ve quit. [puts cigarette in mouth] I mean, my jewelery… I don’t even inhale. [motions to pack of cigarettes] You wanna join me in one? Iggy: Well, yeah, since I quit.  Tom: