Scott Myers

Crowd Sourcing: Character Questionnaires

The subject of character questionnaires arose in one of my recent online classes. I posted some I have sourced and/or generated myself over the years, but it got me thinking: Why not ask the Go Into The Story community to see what questionnaires you may use to develop your

The Black List partners with the Writers Guild of Great Britain

From the Black List: The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain (WGGB) today announces that they have entered into partnership with The Black List to increase the prominence of UK-based writers in the worldwide film industry. The Black List began as a survey. In 2005, Franklin Leonard surveyed almost 100

Interview: Stephanie Shannon (2013 Nicholl Winner, 2013 Black List) — Part 5

Stephanie Shannon not only is one of five recipients of the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, she did it with her very first full-length screenplay: “Queen of Hearts.” Beyond that, the script landed on the 2013 Black List. Therefore I was pleased to have the opportunity to talk

Spec Script Sale: “A Better Place”

Twentieth Century Fox acquires thriller spec script “A Better Place” written by Brad Ingelsby. From Deadline: A Better Place is an elevated gritty thriller in the vein of A Simple Plan, and Scott Free and Fox will look to set a director quickly. Deal is for a reported mid-against-

Spec Script Sale: “Vacation Friends”

Twentieth Century Fox acquires comedy spec script “Vacation Friends” written by siblings Tim Mullen and Tom Mullen, Chris Pratt and Anna Faris attached to star. From Deadline: Pratt and Faris, who are married off screen, will play a crazy wild couple that bonds with a straight laced couple on vacation

Movie Trailer: “Into the Storm”

Written by John Swetnam A group of high school students document the events and aftermath of a devastating tornado. IMDB Release Date: 8 August 2014 (USA)  Comment Archive

Movies You Made: “Born & Raised”

March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers. Today: Born & Raised. Production notes from writer-actor-producer Nick Loritsch: I wrote, starred-in and produced the feature film, BORN & RAISED, with my fellow film-making co-

Great Character: Hit Girl (“Kick-Ass”)

This month’s theme: Sidekick. Today: Guest poster Jason Cuthbert looks at Hit Girl from the 2010 movie Kick-Ass, screenplay by Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn, comic book by Mark Millar & John Romita Jr. Not every comic book super hero is a byproduct of the lucrative illustrative history

Daily Dialogue — March 28, 2014

The Shoveller: What are we gonna publicise, Roy? The fact that we get our butts kicked, a lot? Mr. Furious: Well, maybe if you didn’t smack me in the face with a shovel every time we went out, we’d have a few more victories to brag about. The

“The History of the Movie Trailer”

Another good history lesson video from FilmmakerIQ, this one titled: The History of the Movie Trailer. It covers the emergence of the first trailers in 1913, the four decades in which the National Screen Service dominated the movie trailer business, and the parallels between the creative dynamics in filmmaking with

Interview: Stephanie Shannon (2013 Nicholl Winner, 2013 Black List) — Part 4

Stephanie Shannon not only is one of five recipients of the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, she did it with her very first full-length screenplay: “Queen of Hearts.” Beyond that, the script landed on the 2013 Black List. Therefore I was pleased to have the opportunity to talk

Movie Trailer: “Rio 2”

Story by Don Rhymer and Carlos Saldanha, characters by Carlos Saldanha   It’s a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids after they’re hurtled Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the

Movies You Made: “Lonely Boy”

March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers. Today: Lonely Boy. Production notes from writer-actor Alev Aydin: The feature film is Lonely Boy. I wrote/produced/starred in it. I also paid for half of it. And

Writing and the Creative Life: The Curse of Shiny Object Syndrome

“It’s not quite ADD/ADHD. It’s more that a new idea captures your imagination and attention in such a way that you get distracted from the bigger picture and go off in tangents instead of remaining focused on the goal.” Ever had this happen? You discover a great

Daily Dialogue — March 27, 2014

Osgood: l called Mama. She was so happy, she cried. She wants you to have her wedding gown. It’s white lace. Jerry: Osgood, l can’t get married in your mother’s dress. She and l, we are not built the same way. Osgood: We can have it altered.

Reader Question: Handling of money after first sale?

Reader Question: Do you have advice on handling money after first script sale? That first deal is a breakthrough, not a career, so it pays to be money-wise. Two questions from Robert McBride: SCOTT, WHEN A WRITER GETS HIS/HER CHECK, do they then pay the agent and or

“From First Draft to Feature”

From our good friends at the Writers Guild Foundation and the Austin Film Festival, this exciting event: Sat, April 12, 2014 10:00 AM — 6:15 PM Remember last year, when you got all those emails from us about how we were going to the Austin Film Festival? And you

Interview: Stephanie Shannon (2013 Nicholl Winner, 2013 Black List) — Part 3

Stephanie Shannon not only is one of five recipients of the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, she did it with her very first full-length screenplay: “Queen of Hearts.” Beyond that, the script landed on the 2013 Black List. Therefore I was pleased to have the opportunity to talk

Movie Trailer: “The Giver”

Lois Lowry (novel), Michael Mitnick (screenplay) In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the “real” world. IMDB Release Date: 15 August 2014 (USA) Comment Archive

Movies You Made: “Little Miss Jihad”

March is Movies You Made month at Go Into The Story where we feature the work of some independent filmmakers. Today: Little Miss Jihad. Production notes from writer-director Stephanie Law: I’m writing to you to submit my darkly comedic short film, “Little Miss Jihad,” for Movies You Made

Script To Screen: “Moonrise Kingdom”

A memorable scene from the 2012 movie Moonrise Kingdom, written and directed by Wes Anderson. Plot Summary: A pair of young lovers flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out and find them. Sam and Suzy standing on the beach listening to the French

Daily Dialogue — March 26, 2014

Charley Malloy: Look, kid, I — how much you weigh, son? When you weighed one hundred and sixty-eight pounds you were beautiful. You coulda been another Billy Conn, and that skunk we got you for a manager, he brought you along too fast. Terry Malloy: It wasn’t him, Charley,

Character Development Keys

If there’s one question I get asked about screenwriting theory more than any other it’s what’s my deal with character archetypes? Here’s your chance to find out what that deal is with the Screenwriting Master Class course: Character Development Keys. It’s a 1-week online

Interview: Stephanie Shannon (2013 Nicholl Winner, 2013 Black List) — Part 2

Stephanie Shannon not only is one of five recipients of the 2013 Academy Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting, she did it with her very first full-length screenplay: “Queen of Hearts.” Beyond that, the script landed on the 2013 Black List. Therefore I was pleased to have the opportunity to talk

Spec Script Sale: “Hopelessly Devoted”

Pantelion Films acquires romantic comedy script “Hopelessly Devoted” written by Jill Mazursky and Jamee Decio. From Variety: The story centers on a notorious Major League Baseball player and a nun, who has been experiencing doubts about her vocation. It is an option deal. Mazursky and Decio are repped by Untitled