Scott Myers

Interview (Part 3): Kelly Marcel

London-based writer Kelly Marcel wrote the 2011 Black List screenplay Saving Mr. Banks which was produced starring Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, and Paul Giamatti. She is involved writing several other high profile movie projects including The Little Mermaid and Fifty Shades of Grey. Kelly and I engaged

2013 Movie Trailer Mashup

Via TheWeek: It takes a lot of tight editing to fit hundreds of feature-length movies into a video that’s less than seven minutes long, and many of the clips are so brief that it would be impossible for even the most ardent filmgoer to identify the films they’

“Surfacing talismans”

Recalling the definition of a story talisman — “A physical object that takes on symbolic or emotional significance” — the first order of business in trying to surface them is simply be aware of the items that emerge in your brainstorming and story crafting process. Let’s say you are writing a

Movie Trailer: “Hercules: The Legend Begins”

Written by Daniel Giat, Renny Harlin, Sean Hood, Giulio Steve When prince Hercules learns of his real identity, he must choose to flee with his true love — Hebe, Princess of Crete — or to fulfill his destiny by overthrowing the tyrannical rule of the king and restoring peace to a land

Classic 80s Movie: “Back to School”

Today’s Classic 80s Movie guest post comes from John Henderson. Movie Title: Back To School Year: 1986 Writers: Story by Rodney Dangerfield & Greg Fields & Dennis Snee. Screenplay by Steven Kampmann & Will Porter and Peter Torokvei & Harold Ramis Lead Actors: Rodney Dangerfield, Sally Kellerman, Keith Gordon

Script To Screen: “Pi”

An unforgettable scene from the 1998 movie Pi, written and directed by Darren Aronofsky, story by Darren Aronofsky & Sean Gullette & Eric Watson. Plot summary: A paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature. Here is the scene in the movie:

Daily Dialogue — December 4, 2013

Tracy: I’ll be back in six months. Isaac Davis: Six months are you kidding? Six months you’re gonna go for? Tracy: We’ve gone this long, well what’s six months if we still love each other? Isaac Davis: Hey, don’t be so mature, okay? I mean,

2014 Writer’s Calendar

I was talking last week with Shaula Evans, Moderator Par Excellence of The Black Board (the official free online community for the Black List and Go Into The Story), and we stumbled onto what I think is a great idea: Why don’t we put together a writer’s calendar

Interview (Part 2): Kelly Marcel

London-based writer Kelly Marcel wrote the 2011 Black List screenplay Saving Mr. Banks which was produced starring Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, and Paul Giamatti. She is involved writing several other high profile movie projects including The Little Mermaid and Fifty Shades of Grey. Kelly and I engaged

“Zero in on themes”

Here’s a tip on how to zero in on themes. Just as you can generally surface a story’s central theme by following the Protagonist, you can do a similar thing by spending time with each primary character and considering what thematic dynamics they bring to the narrative table.

Movie Trailer: “Devil’s Due”

Written by Lindsay Devlin An unexpected pregnancy takes a terrifying turn for newlyweds Zach and Samantha McCall. IMDB Release Date: 17 January 2014 (USA) Comment Archive

Classic 80s Movie: “Real Genius”

Today’s Classic 80s Movie guest post comes from Jacob Moreno. Movie Title: Real Genius Year: 1985 Writers: Neal Israel, Pat Proft, Peter Torokvei Lead Actors: Val Kilmer, Gabriel Jarret, William Atherton Director: Martha Coolidge Plot Summary: Teenage geniuses deal with their abilities while developing a chemical laser. Why I

Screenwriting 101: Nick Palmer

“We read a lot of scripts and the majority of them don’t work. Usually that’s because the conflict isn’t coming from the characters, but instead, from some kind of external, contrived situation, which makes the drama broad and hard to connect with. Another principle I really believe

Daily Dialogue — December 3, 2013

Gordie: TRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIN!  Vern: Oh shit.  Gordie: Go man, go man! Get up, Vern! Dammit! Get up! Go man! Shit, Vern,   you! Get up!  Vern: But I’m gonna fall!  Gordie: Dammit! Goddammit get up! Go! Go! — Stand By Me (1986), screenplay by Raynold Gideon & Bruce A. Evans The Daily

30 Things About Screenwriting

I recently wrapped up a month-long series of posts: 30 Things About Screenwriting. I described them this way: Reflections on and basic tenets about the craft. They represent my take. If any of them resonate with you, great. If not, feel free to ignore them. Bottom line: You need

Interview (Part 1): Kelly Marcel

London-based writer Kelly Marcel wrote the 2011 Black List screenplay Saving Mr. Banks which was produced starring Emma Thompson, Tom Hanks, Colin Farrell, and Paul Giamatti. She is involved writing several other high profile movie projects including The Little Mermaid and Fifty Shades of Grey. Kelly and I engaged

“Your story’s emotional life”

I have nothing against intellect. I love to think. I sometimes joke I like the concept of people better than people! Intellect is a critical aspect to everything we do including the story-crafting process. However I am convinced that what is most at work when a moviegoer makes a

Movie Trailer: “The Wind Rises”

Written by Hayao Miyazaki A look at the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed Japanese fighter planes during World War II. IMDB Release Date: 21 February 2014 (USA)  Comment Archive

Classic 80s movie: “Say Anything”

Today’s Classic 80s Movie guest post comes from Dean. Movie Title: Say Anything… Year: 1989 Writer: Cameron Crowe Director: Cameron Crowe Lead Actors: John Cusack, Ione Skye, John Mahoney Plot Summary: A noble underachiever and a beautiful valedictorian fall in love the summer before she goes off to college.

On Writing

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it!” — Roald Dahl Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — December 2, 2013

HAL: Look Dave, I can see you’re really upset about this. I honestly think you ought to sit down calmly, take a stress pill, and think things over. I know I’ve made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work

Go Into The Story Week In Review: November 25-December 1, 2013

Links to the week’s most notable posts: 30 Things About Screenwriting: (25) Set-ups and Payoffs 30 Things About Screenwriting: (26) Test your story concept 30 Things About Screenwriting: (27) Minimum words, maximum impact 30 Things About Screenwriting: (28) The spirit of the spec 30 Things About Screenwriting: (29)

THR: Cinematographers Roundtable

Barry Ackroyd (Captain Phillips), Sean Bobbitt (12 Years a Slave), Bruno Delbonnel (Inside Llewyn Davis), Phedon Papamichael (Nebraska) and Stuart Dryburgh (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty) sit down for a THR cinematographers roundtable. Comment Archive

Classic 80s Movie: “A Fish Called Wanda”

Today’s Classic 80s Movie guest post comes from John Hörnschemeyer. Movie Title: A Fish Called Wanda Year: 1988 Writers: John Cleese & Charles Crichton (story) John Cleese (screenplay) Lead Actors: John Cleese, Jamie Lee Curtis, Kevin Kline, Michael Palin Director: Charles Crichton & John Cleese (uncredited) Plot Summary: George

Why we’re doing a series on 80s movies

Yes, back in the 80s, they used to make movies with scenes like this: From the 1987 actioner Extreme Prejudice. That was the year I broke into Hollywood, so I was pretty well steeped in movies from that decade. And while there were plenty of over-the-top scenes from