Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — February 28, 2014

“Miss Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s passin’.” — To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), screenplay by Horton Foote, novel by Harper Lee The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is agony, suggested by Illimani. Trivia: Despite the novel winning the Pulitzer Prize, the studios were not interested in buying up

Screenwriting Lessons: Michael Arndt [Part 4]

Over the years, I have featured screenwriter Michael Arndt numerous times. Two reasons. First, he is a terrific writer witness two films he wrote: Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and Toy Story 3 (2010). Second, evidently he has spent a good deal of time reflecting about the craft of screenwriting witness

2014 WGAW Feature Access Project Honorees Announced

From the WGAW: Los Angeles — The Writers Guild of America, West has announced its 2014 Feature Access Project honorees, recognizing nine WGAW members who competed in the Guild’s diversity screenwriting program. This year’s FAP honorees and their screenplays are: Radha Bharadwaj — Final Boarding Soo-Hyun Chung — Faith Q.

Movie Trailer: “Svengali”

Written by Jonny Owen Svengali tells the story of Dixie (Jonny Owen), a postman from South Wales, and a music fanatic. All his life he’s dreamed of discovering a great band and then one day, trawling through YouTube, he finds them… ‘The Premature Congratulations’. He hunts them down and

Character Type: Rebel

Tradition. Ordinary. The Way Things Are. Enter… The Rebel. Those of you who have followed my blog for some time or taken courses with me through Screenwriting Master Class know how fascinated I am with character archetypes, specifically how there are five — Protagonist, Nemesis, Attractor, Mentor, Trickster — which recur in

Writing and the Creative Life: “The hard is what makes it great”

Wisdom about writing and creativity from the movie ‘A League of Their Own’. Jimmy Dugan: Taking a little day trip? Dottie Hinson: No, Bob and I are driving home. To Oregon. Jimmy Dugan: [long pause] You know, I really thought you were a ballplayer. Dottie Hinson: Well, you were wrong.

Daily Dialogue — February 27, 2014

Andrew Beckett: What do you call a thousand lawyers chained together at the bottom of the ocean? Joe Miller: I don’t know. Andrew Beckett: A good start. (beat) Excellent work, counselor. Thank you. Joe Miller: It was great working with you. (beat) I better go. See you later Andrew

The Periodic Table of Storytelling

From AVClub: Graphic designer James Harris has taken the periodic table of the elements, which catalogs the basic building blocks necessary for all life in the universe, and done something useful with it. Harris’ Periodic Table Of Storytelling takes several of the film, television, and video game clichés assembled so

Screenwriting Lessons: Michael Arndt [Part 3]

Over the years, I have featured screenwriter Michael Arndt numerous times. Two reasons. First, he is a terrific writer witness two films he wrote: Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and Toy Story 3 (2010). Second, evidently he has spent a good deal of time reflecting about the craft of screenwriting witness

Stephen Fry’s 2014 BAFTA Awards final comments

For a fleeting moment in time, there was a video on YouTube with the entirety of this year’s BAFTA Awards ceremony. But alas, the YouTube gods yanked it away. So we will have to make do with this: And a transcript of Fry’s closing comments: That’s all

Movie Trailer: “Godzilla”

Max Borenstein (screenplay), Dave Callaham (story) A giant radioactive monster called Godzilla appears to wreak destruction on mankind. IMDB Release Date: 16 May 2014 (USA)  Comment Archive

Character Type: Healer

“Educated and intelligent, combined with their calling to make people well, the Healer is generally a character others put their trust in. Oftentimes this is a key to the patient’s ultimate well-being… or their downfall if they put their faith in a false Healer.” Those of you who

Script To Screen: “The Artist”

A cute scene that turns into a significant plot point from the 2011 silent movie The Artist, written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius. Plot Summary: A silent movie star meets a young dancer, but the arrival of talking pictures sends their careers in opposite directions. Here is the scene from

Daily Dialogue — February 26, 2014

WITH THE STAMPEDE Mortally wounded, Mufasa makes a valiant leap up a steep incline. He climbs up loose rock that gives way. He struggles up the incline and climbs just beneath a rocky overhang. He digs his claws in and dangles. ANGLE — SCAR Looking down at his brother, who clings

Where do you find inspiration for your writing?

It’s a lonely thing… writing. Even if we take our gear to the local coffee joint, surrounded by the buzz of caffeine fueled activity, the existential act of writing is a one-on-one thing: The Writer and the Story. Sometimes the words flow like a fine wine. Often,

Screenwriting Lessons: Michael Arndt [Part 2]

Over the years, I have featured screenwriter Michael Arndt numerous times. Two reasons. First, he is a terrific writer witness two films he wrote: Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and Toy Story 3 (2010). Second, evidently he has spent a good deal of time reflecting about the craft of screenwriting witness

Billy Wilder on writing with his partner I.A.L. Diamond [Video]

One of the most absolute wonders of a site online for movie lovers is this one: Cinephilia and Beyond. I have promoted the site before and have cause to do so again because its host @LaFamiliaFilm has unearthed an absolute gem of a video clip featuring my favorite filmmaker Billy

Movie Trailer: “In The Blood”

Written by James Robert Johnston, Bennett Yellin When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible. IMDB Release Date: 4 April 2014 (USA)  Comment Archive

Character Type: Warrior

“The keys to Warrior characters is to determine who they fight… how they fight… and why they fight.” Those of you who have followed my blog for some time or taken courses with me through Screenwriting Master Class know how fascinated I am with character archetypes, specifically how there are

Screenwriting 101: Leigh Brackett

“I sort of went off into corners and wept a few times at things that made me very unhappy. I think the hardest thing about adapting to working with other people was that. Because I was a fiction writer primarily, and I was used to writing in a little room

Daily Dialogue — February 25, 2014

Elliot: Don’t do this to me, Bev. Beverly: But I’m only doing it to me, Elli. Don’t you have a will of your own? Why don’t you just go on with your very own life? Elliot: Do you remember the original Siamese twins? Beverly: Chang and

In Memoriam: Harold Ramis (1944–2014)

Writer, director and actor Harold Ramis has died at the age of 69. As fate would have it, I watched Groundhog Day last night with my son Luke. There is a 47 year age differences between the two of us, yet we both were laughing at the same jokes and

Screenwriting Lessons: Michael Arndt [Part 1]

Over the years, I have featured screenwriter Michael Arndt numerous times. Two reasons. First, he is a terrific writer witness two films he wrote: Little Miss Sunshine (2006) and Toy Story 3 (2010). Second, evidently he has spent a good deal of time reflecting about the craft of screenwriting witness

“The Gap” by Ira Glass

Back in 2010, I featured an interview with Ira Glass of “This American Life” (NPR) fame. It was a series of four videos, one of which was particularly inspirational for those involved in creative work. In fact, I transcribed that key part of Glass’ message in the post: “The thing

Movie Trailer: “The Single Moms Club”

Written by Tyler Perry Brought together by a vandalism incident at their children’s school, a group of single mothers from different walks of life bond, and create a support group that helps them find comedy in the obstacles of life. IMDB Release Date: 14 March 2014 (USA)  Comment Archive