Scott Myers

Interview [Written]: Eric Singer (“American Hustle”)

An interview with Eric Singer, who co-wrote American Hustle with writer-director David O. Russell. Question (Q): You co-wrote the script for the new crime drama, ‘American Hustle.’ Where did you come up with the inspiration for telling the story? What was your overall writing process like on

Daily Dialogue — January 4, 2014

Will (V.O.): On New Year’s Eve, I met Rachel. She was interesting and smart and attractive, and for about five minutes, I had her convinced that I was, too. Rachel: Are you in television? Will: Am I in television? No. No, everyone else is in television. I watch

Reader Question: What is the difference between an homage and plagiarism?

Question from @MattHarrisn: Do you know any resources which discuss the line between what is plagiarism as opposed to merely influence in screenplays? Perhaps we should ask Shia LaBeouf. Okay, cheap shot, I know. Let’s start with a definition. Per our good friends at Wikipedia: “Homage is a show

The Winner: The Official 2013 GITS Spec Script Sales Prognostication Contest!

Every January, we do something fun where I invite readers to predict how many spec script sales will happen in the upcoming year. We’ll do that again for 2014, but first I want to announce the winner of the 2013 contest. About a year ago, I posted the final

6 Box-Office Takeaways From a Record Year of Hits and Flops

It’s that time of year where various entertainment trade papers and journalistic outfits assess the previous 12 months in film. For example, TheWrap with “six essential take-aways”: HALLOWEEN ISN’T THE ONLY TIME FOR HORROR Horror films were among the year’s most consistent box office performers, as

Everything You Wanted to Know About Specs (20 Part Series)

One of the more popular series I ran last year was a 20 part Business of Screenwriting series called “Everything You Wanted to Know About Specs.” Here are links to each post: In Part 1, we look at the genesis of the spec script in Hollywood from 1900–1942. In

Great Character: Andie Walsh (“Pretty in Pink”)

With teens going back to school after winter break, guest poster Jason Cuthbert figured it would be appropriate to examine John Hughes Teenagers during the month of January. Today: Andie Walsh from he movie Pretty in Pink. Back in the neon, big hair MTV era of the 1980s, many of

Daily Dialogue — January 3, 2014

“Happy New Year, Lieutenant Dan!” — Forrest Gump (1994), screenplay by Eric Roth, novel by Winston Groom The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is New Year’s Eve. Trivia: Inspired by Lieutenant Dan Taylor, the military veteran character he played in this movie, actor Gary Sinise co-founded a rock

78 free, legal movie script PDF downloads

Faithful readers know we have been tracking the various FYC (For Your Consideration) websites to access as many of the 2013 movie scripts as studios and production companies make them available. The total at last count was 38 as this post demonstrates. Over the holidays, Franklin had a great suggestion:

What happens when a repped writer uploads his script to the Black List

Bob Sáenz is in the enertainmen business. Check out his IMDB page here. Several acting credits. Some writing credits. Been working in Hollywood for over a decade. As a writer, he’s managed by John McGalliard of Chaotik Management. Bottom line: Bob is someone inside the system. And yet, he

Filmography 2013

Edited by Gen Ip (@genrocks): “Words are life,” says Max in 2013’s “The Book Thief”, and indeed they hold us together and to help us share that transcendent phenomenon that is life. This video takes 300 of this year’s films and distills it into a 7-minute exploration

80s Movies and Story Concept: Part 2

I want to thank each of the members of the GITS community who contributed a guest post to the Classic 80s Movies series (you can find links to all of the entries here). I was inspired to run the Classic 80s Movies series because that decade, perhaps more than any

Daily Dialogue — January 2, 2014

“You see? That is just like you, Harry. You say things like that, and you make it impossible for me to hate you, and I hate you, Harry. I really hate you. I hate you.” — When Harry Met Sally (1989), written by Nora Ephron The Daily Dialogue theme for the

My wishes for you in 2014

This blog exists for many reasons and a primary one is to try to elevate the quality of the scripts that funnel into Hollywood and other filmmaking centers worldwide. We deserve better movies. And that starts with a screenplay. In that spirit, here are some wishes I have for each

Go Into The Story: Interviews

One of my goals in 2013 was to interview as many professional screenwriters as I could. Reasons: * The lack of press coverage of screenwriters is a longstanding issue in Hollywood. It’s particularly galling when movies come out and the media focus is on the actors, directors, sometimes even the

Top 13: Go Into The Story and The Black Board

Franklin Leonard did something cool yesterday: Tweeting the Top 13 items posted at this blog and The Black Board in 2013 in terms of site traffic. Here they are: Go Into The Story #13: Keys to Low Budget Filmmaking #12: Spec Script Sales Analysis 2013: The First Timers #11: Everything

Classic 80s Movie: “Back to the Future”

Today’s Classic 80s Movie guest post comes from Mary Pocrnic. Movie Title: Back To The Future Year: 1985 Writers: Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale Lead Actors: Michael J Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Crispin Glover Director: Robert Zemeckis Plot Summary: A teenager is accidentally sent 30 years into the past

Daily Dialogue — January 1, 2014

FLOYD GONDOLLI: So let’s talk about the future. Let’s talk about what it really means to this industry, and let’s talk about how all of us, not one of us, how all of us are going to profit. Now, I’ve been doing theater in San Francisco,

Favorite writing mantras

Recently I posted two of my favorite writing mantras: The only way out is through. Trust the process. Then I invited people on Twitter to tweet their favorites. There were some good ones. I’ve included the lot of them here: “Get it done now, get it right later.”  — @amandarin

How Your New Year’s Eve Will Happen According to RomCom Lore

Thanks to Andrew Joanis and his web comic series, this is what all of you romantically inclined folks have to look forward to tonight. Here’s a taste: And then what happens? You can find out by going here. HT to @AmosPosner for the link. Best of luck tonight to

More Movies Like This, Please: 2013 List

I started something in 2012. Whenever I saw a new movie I liked, I would jump onto Twitter, identify the movie, then simply tweet this: “More movies like this, please.” Then I thought, Why don’t I do an annual More Movies Like This, Please list? I did my inaugural

Classic 80s Movie: “Coming to America”

Today’s Classic 80s Movie guest post comes from Chris Neumann. Movie Title: Coming To America Year: 1988 Writers: Eddie Murphy (story), David Sheffield, Barry W. Blaustein (screenplay) Lead Actors: Eddie Murphy, Arsenio Hall Director: John Landis Plot Summary: An African prince goes to Queens, New York City to find

Classic 80s Movie: “Teen Wolf”

Today’s Classic 80s Movie guest post comes from Daryl Powell. Movie Title: Teen Wolf Year: 1985 Writers: Jeph Loeb, Matthew Weisman Lead Actors: Michael J. Fox, James Hampton Director: Rod Daniel Plot Summary: A high schooler discovers that he is a werewolf. Why I Think This Is A Classic

Screenwriting 101: Elgin James

“That’s such a thing where people just sell themselves short anyway and be like ‘What is my shortcut?’ As opposed to trying to tell something interesting and figuring out who you are through writing — and that’s really what it is — we have all this horrible or beautiful wreckage

Daily Dialogue — December 31, 2013

“Ring out the New Year, ring in the new, ring-a-ding-ding.” — The Apartment (1960), written by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is New Year’s Eve. Trivia: The “C.C.” in C.C. Baxter is short for Calvin Clifford.