Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — April 15, 2014

Peter Gibbons: The thing is, Bob, it’s not that I’m lazy, it’s that I just don’t care. Bob Porter: Don’t… don’t care? Peter Gibbons: It’s a problem of motivation, all right? Now if I work my ass off and Initech ships a few

WGAW Releases Latest Findings of 2014 Hollywood Writers Report

Released today: Research Shows Small Gains for Minority, Women, & Older TV Writers, Film Employment for Minority and Women Writers Declines Los Angeles — The Writers Guild of America, West has issued the Executive Summary of its 2014 Hollywood Writers Report, the WGAW’s analysis of the state of diversity in

Spec Script Sale: “Yellowstone Falls”

QED acquires action drama spec script “Yellowstone Falls” written by Daniel Kunka. From Deadline: This script is unusual in that it was 52 pages, with few human characters and essentially no dialogue. The action begins after an apocalyptic event that saps the humanity from most of the mutated humans that

Interview: Elijah Bynum (2013 Black List) — Part 1

The Black List is a pretty exclusive club, especially so for those writers who manage to land two scripts on the List in a single year. That’s what Elijah Bynum did in 2013 when two of his original screenplays — “Mississippi Mud” and “Hot Summer Nights”. I sought out Elijah

Best Black List movies?

This made the rounds at the end of last week from the Playlist (Indiewire): 20 Best & Worst Films Made From Black List Scripts: Tomorrow sees the release of Ivan Reitman’s “Draft Day,” a sports drama starring Kevin Costner and Jennifer Garner. There aren’t many reasons that it’

Movie Trailer: “Shaun the Sheep”

Screenplay by Mark Burton, Richard Starzack When Shaun decides to take the day off and have some fun, he gets a little more action than he bargained for. A mix up with the Farmer, a caravan and a very steep hill lead them all to the Big City and it’

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 14

This is the fifth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.

On Writing

“It’s very difficult to do comedy because if they don’t laugh when they should laugh you are there with egg on your face, and that’s sad. In a serious pictures you don’t hear them being bored, but in a comedy you can hear them not laughing.

Daily Dialogue — April 14, 2014

Chris Gardner: So the truth is, I was arrested for failure to pay parking tickets. Jay Twistle [incredulous]: Parking tickets? Chris: I ran all the way here from Polk Station, the police station. Martin Frohm: What were you doing before you were arrested? Chris: I was… uh… painting my apartment.

Go Into The Story Week In Review: April 7-April 13, 2014

Links to the week’s most notable posts: 127 behind the scene photos: 2001: A Space Oddysey [plus lots of Kubrick links] A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 7: 18 Radically Successful People Who Lived With Their Parents A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day

Interview: Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman

Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman wrote the script Draft Day which landed at the top of the 2012 Black List. Subsequently Lionsgate produced the movie starring Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner and Dennis Leary, and directed by Ivan Reitman. Rajiv Joseph, Scott Rothman In March, 2013, I interviewed Rajiv and Scott

127 Behind The Scenes photos: “2001: A Space Odyssey”

Via Larry Wright (@refocusedmedia), some incredible photos of the legendary 2001: A Space Odyssey shoot. Major props, Larry. And while we’re at it, here are some links to previous posts I’ve done featuring this classic film. Script To Screen: 2001: A Space Odyssey Great Scene: 2001: A Space

Screenwriting News (April 7-April 13, 2014)

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss adapting “Dirty White Boys” for Twentieth Century Fox. Steve Conrad writing “Match Maker” for Chernin Entertainment, Will Ferrell attached to star. Adam Cooper and Bill Collage rewriting “Assassins Creed” for New Regency. Gary Graham sells drama spec script “The Garden at the End of

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 13

This is the fifth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.

Interview [Video]: Tony Gilroy

The BAFTA Lecture Series is one of the best resources available to hear screenwriters talk directly about the craft. Another example released this week: Writer-director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) in a 30 minute presentation. Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — April 13, 2014

Indiana: There’s a big snake in the plane, Jock! Jock: Oh, that’s just my pet snake Reggie. Indiana: I hate snakes, Jock! I hate ‘em! Jock: Come on! Show a little backbone, will ya! — Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), screenplay by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas, story

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Job Interview

We move from this week’s theme (Fear) suggested by Gordon. Next week: Job interview, suggested by blueneumann. 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

Interview: Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman (“Draft Day”) — Part 6

Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman wrote the script Draft Day which landed at the top of the 2012 Black List. Subsequently Lionsgate produced the movie starring Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner and Dennis Leary, and directed by Ivan Reitman. In March, 2013, I interviewed Rajiv and Scott while they were in

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 129th installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The “If You Haven’t Discovered Rhett and Link, Now’s The Time” edition. “The Simpsons” pay tribute to David Letterman [video]. Related: Grantland on the departure of David Letterman. Related: CBS hires Stephen Colbert to be Letterman’s replacement.

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 12

This is the fith year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Last week I provided a daily explanation about why you should make it a habit to be generating story ideas. This week, I’ll give you some tips on how to come up with stories.

Interview [Written]: Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely

Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, who wrote the screenplay for Captain America: The Winter Soldier, go into some detail explaining some of the movie’s big twists in this Vulture interview. SPOILER ALERT!!! ONLY CLICK MORE IF YOU ARE READY TO LEARN ABOUT KEY PLOT TWISTS!!! An excerpt from the

Daily Dialogue — April 12, 2014

“HAL: I’m afraid. I’m afraid, Dave. Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I’m a… fraid.” — 2001: A Space

Weekend Writers

Here in the United States, today is Friday. Everyone pretty much looks forward to today because it signifies the beginning of the weekend, a time to relax and play, have fun and recharge. Except for a special breed… weekend writers. A weekend writer is: * Someone who has a regular job

Interview: Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman (“Draft Day”) — Part 5

Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman wrote the script Draft Day which landed at the top of the 2012 Black List. Subsequently Lionsgate produced the movie starring Kevin Costner, Jennifer Garner and Dennis Leary, and directed by Ivan Reitman. In March, 2013, I interviewed Rajiv and Scott while they were in

The Evolution of Movies in 3 Minutes (Video)

Via /film. Comment Archive