Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue themes: Your suggestions wanted!

We need a new batch of Daily Dialogue themes. Here are a few suggested last week: The Job Interview Pillow Talk Inspirational Speech [All three by blueneumann] Nemesis Mentor Attractor Trickster [Suggested by Alejandro] What suggestions do you have? Remember the following: * The theme has to be able to sustain

Interview: Stephany Folsom (2013 Black List) — Part 5

I’m a big Stanley Kubrick fan and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is my favorite satire of all time. So when I saw this script make the 2013 Black List — “1969: A Space Odyssey or: How Kubrick Learned to Stop Worrying

Can you tell which loglines are real?

From Studio System News: …since it’s April Fools’ Day, we took it upon ourselves to take some log lines of real, existing projects that are currently in development and mix them up with a few that came out of our own imagination. Can you tell the difference? Which ones

Movie Trailer: “Transcendence”

Written by Jack Paglen A terminally ill scientist downloads his mind into a computer. This grants him power beyond his wildest dreams, and soon he becomes unstoppable. IMDB Release Date: 17 April 2014 (USA)  Comment Archive

Spec Script Sale: Untitled Wright & Woods Project

Centropolis acquires an untitled action thriller spec script written by Nicholas Wright and James A. Woods. From Deadline: The film is set on a diving ship in the Arctic. Writers are repped by WME, McKeon-Myones Management (Wright), and Thruline Entertainment (Woods). By my count, this is the 20th spec

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 4

This is the fifth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one: You can evolve into being a writer-producer. Let’

Great Character: Chas Tenenbaum (“The Royal Tenenbaums”)

This month’s theme: Wes Anderson characters. Today: Chas Tenenbaum from the 2001 movie The Royal Tenenbaums, written by Wes Anderson and Owen Wilson. The delectably detail-orientated director and screenwriter Wes Anderson shared his first of three Academy Award nominations with actor/screenwriter Owen Wilson (Best Writing, Screenplay Written

Daily Dialogue — April 4, 2014

“Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it, sowed it, and harvest it. We cook the harvest. It wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t be eating it if we hadn’t done it all ourselves. We worked dog-bone hard for every crumb and morsel, but we thank

Toronto Screenwriting Conference (2014)

A terrific event happening in the land of our neighbors to the North: The 2014 Toronto Screenwriting Conference this weekend April 5–6: The Toronto Screenwriting Conference (TSC) is a two-day weekend event that brings together screen-based industry professionals and offers them advanced level of education and skills

Interview: Stephany Folsom (2013 Black List) — Part 4

I’m a big Stanley Kubrick fan and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is my favorite satire of all time. So when I saw this script make the 2013 Black List — “1969: A Space Odyssey or: How Kubrick Learned to Stop Worrying

Different opening to “Gravity”

In case you haven’t seen it already, this shocking new intro to Gravity completely redefines the rest of the plot! Via FirstShowing. Comment Archive

Movie Trailer: “Only Lovers Left Alive”

Written by Jim Jarmusch A story centered on two vampires who have been in love for centuries. IMDB Release Date: 11 April 2014 (USA)  Comment Archive

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 3

This is the fifth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one: Being able to generate original story ideas sets you

Writing and the Creative Life: The Mundane and the Marvelous

“Creativity is piercing the mundane to find the marvelous.” There is truth to this simple statement. On multiple levels. There is the mundane act of writing itself. Sitting. Staring. Typing. Deleting. Typing some more. Staring some more. Swearing. Muttering. Silence. Lots of silence. Typing… This goes on for hours. Days.

Daily Dialogue — April 3, 2014

“Tomorrow we goes into battle, so Lordy, let me fight with the rifle in one hand, and the Good Book in the other. So that if I may die at the muzzle of the rifle… die on water, or on land, I may know that you blessed Jesus almighty are

31 Movies You Made: 2014 Edition

Every day in March, I posted a trailer, short film or feature length film submitted to be part of the Movies You Made series I run annually. This year was a particularly good one, so I thought I would aggregate links to all of the films to allow readers to

Interview: Stephany Folsom (2013 Black List) — Part 3

I’m a big Stanley Kubrick fan and Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is my favorite satire of all time. So when I saw this script make the 2013 Black List — “1969: A Space Odyssey or: How Kubrick Learned to Stop Worrying

The Motion Picture Camera: Past, Present and Future [Video]

A wonderful four minutes of cinema history with a focus on the development of the camera: Via Open Culture. Comment Archive

Movie Trailer: “Afflicted”

Written by Derek Lee, Clif Prowse Two best friends see their trip of a lifetime take a dark turn when one of them is struck by a mysterious affliction. Now, in a foreign land, they race to uncover the source before it consumes him completely. IMDB Release Date: 4 April

Spec Script Sale: “Terrestrial”

Lionsgate acquires science fiction spec script “Terrestrial” from writer Peter Gaffney. From TheWrap: The studio, which did not respond to a request for comment, paid low six figures for the project. Gaffney is a first-time writer. He is repped by UTA and Energy Entertainment. By my count, this is

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 2

This is the fifth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one: The only way to find a great story idea

Script To Screen: “Saving Mr. Banks”

A fun scene from the 2013 movie Saving Mr. Banks, written by Kelly Marcel and Sue Smith. Plot Summary: Author P.L. Travers reflects on her childhood after reluctantly meeting with Walt Disney, who seeks to adapt her Mary Poppins books for the big screen. Here Pamela is in a

Daily Dialogue — April 2, 2014

Luke: Anybody here? Hey, Old Man. You home tonight? Can You spare a minute. It’s about time we had a little talk. I know I’m a pretty evil fellow… killed people in the war and got drunk… and chewed up municipal property and the like. I know I

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2014)

An annual series I run every April: 30 story ideas I collect from news sources over the course of the year. These ideas are free for you to use, but more importantly, the series is a reminder about how important the story’s central concept is to the success of

Saying It Out Loud

A guest post from Tom Benedek: Before there were pens, paper, words, letters, campfires, there were stories. Using the tools of the trade, writers can refine their stories, tell them better perhaps, replicate them, distribute them eternally. But the well told story was first transmitted speaker to listener. So even