Scott Myers

Go Into The Story Week In Review: November 4–10, 2013

Links to the week’s most notable posts: 30 Things About Screenwriting: (4) Watch movies. Read scripts. Write pages. 30 Things About Screenwriting: (5) A spec script will not sell unless it has a strong story concept. 30 Things About Screenwriting: (6) Write what they’re buying or sell them

“Facing the odds”

How to sustain creativity in the face of considerable odds against success. Some time ago, a GITS reader [who wanted to remain anonymous] forwarded me this information: As you are known for tracking sales, I thought I’d throw in some stats I got from someone at the WGA yesterday

Every Woody Allen stammer… from every Woody Allen movie (video)

Via FilmmakerIQ: Where is Lionel Logue when you really need him?

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 13(A): A Perfect Tragedy

As I’ve been interviewing screenwriters, I typically ask what some of their influences are. One book title comes up over and over again: Aristotle’s “Poetics”. I confess I’ve never read the entire thing, only bits and pieces. So I thought, why not do a weekly series with

Screenwriting News (November 4-November 10, 2013)

Michael Cristofer writing thriller “Fade Out” for Likely Story and Artina Films. Morgan David Foehl sells action thriller pitch “The Asset” to 20th Century Fox. Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland writing drama “Still Alice” for BSM Studios and Killer Films. Sean Hogan writing horror “No Man’s Land” for SHH

Daily Dialogue — November 10, 2013

Warden Samuel Norton: Well? Red: Well what? Warden Samuel Norton: I see you two all the time, you’re thick as thieves, you are. He musta said something. Red: Honest, Warden, not a word. Warden Samuel Norton: Lord, it’s a miracle! Man up and vanished like a fart in

Daily Dialogue theme next week: Therapy

As we wind down our week’s worth of Daily Dialogues on the theme of dramatic reveal (thanks, hoernsch, for that), we prepare for next week with a suggestion from Despina: Therapy! “I’m haunted, but I can’t see by what!” The scenes that spring to mind are primarily

“When something happens… something ELSE happens”

The dynamic dual nature of a screenplay universe. One would think this is obvious, but I continue to be surprised by scripts I read which stories suffer because they live on the surface exploring solely what’s going on in the plot. That does not reflect the depth of a

Great Scene: “The Silence of the Lambs”

Flashbacks. Overused? Perhaps. But not when they provide a key revelation. Here is the second flashback in the movie The Silence of the Lambs (1991). The first one showed young Clarice happily meeting her father, a town marshal, after work. This flashback reveals that her father died when Clarice was

Saturday Hot Links

Time for the 111th installment of Saturday Hot Links! Today: The Day The Videos Died Edition! Blockbuster to close all remaining U.S. stores. Blockbuster to stop movie rentals Saturday. Abraham Lincoln’s retirement plans. John Sayles: “I don’t think there’s an independent movie business anymore.” Nearly 2-

Written Interview: George R.R. Martin

Nice interview with George R.R. Martin about “Game of Thrones”: The Geek: So, you happy with the TV series? Martin: Oh yes, I love the TV series. I’ve been involved since the beginning. I’m an executive producer on it. And I write one script per season, so

Daily Dialogue — November 9, 2013

“I’m not a comic book villain. Do you seriously think I would explain my master stroke to you if there were even the slightest possibility you could affect the outcome? I triggered it 35 minutes ago.” — Watchmen (2009), written by David Hayter and Alex Tse The Daily Dialogue theme

Update: Award season screenplay downloads

It’s that time of year again when studios make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season. As in years past, I’ll be tracking them and posting links as they become available. Current total of scripts for download: 18. Newly added script [We Steal Secrets] and production notes

Reader Question: What to do with a 70 page screenplay?

Is the story ‘done’ or can it be mined for additional content? Question from @speero: I’ve written 70 pages on my first screenplay. The story is done. But a real screenplay has 110 pages. What to do?! :p Let’s just start with this: If your story really is

Spec Script Sale: “Line of Duty”

Lotus Entertainment acquires crime drama spec script “Line of Duty” written by Cory Miller. From THR: Miller spent four years working as an investigator in the NYPD Internal Affairs unit before attending UCLA, where he earned an MFA in writing and directing in 2011. He’s been editing and producing

Declare Your Independents: Volume 14

GITS development assistant Wendy Cohen here, and welcome to the return of Declare Your Independents, our series highlighting the latest developments in the world of independent film, after a month-long hiatus! This week… Watch the 2013 Hollywood Reporter screenwriters roundtable Oscar Predictions for Best Foreign Language Film Nikki Finke,

Spec Script Sale: “The Civilian”

Millennium Films acquires action spec script “The Civilian” written by Rachel Long and Brian Pittman. Via Deadline: In The Civilian, an American doctor has his identity stolen by a covert operative. The only way he can clear his name is to assume the dangerous mission of the spy who stole

“Script Diary”

The last thing I do before I type FADE IN is create a Word file which I call Script Diary. I come to the diary to start every writing session. I visit it when I get stuck. I return to it when I hit on a story revelation. Day after

Movie Trailer: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”

Screenplay by Wes Anderson, story by Wes Anderson & Hugo Guinness The adventures of Gustave H, a legendary concierge at a famous European hotel between the wars, and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend. IMDB Release Date: 7 March 2014 (USA)

“Immerse yourself in cinema”

If you want to write movies, you need to love movies. And that love ought to manifest itself in a thorough, longstanding and passionate immersion in the world of cinema. Love it. Live it. Learn it. You may squint your eyes at that word cinema. Sounds awfully high tone if

Great Character: Linda Ash (“Mighty Aphrodite”)

In November, guest columnist Jason Cuthbert looks at five significant female characters in Woody Allen movies. Today: Linda Ash from the 1995 movie Mighty Aphrodite, written and directed by Woody Allen. In Woody Allen’s New York City universe of upscale female artisans, it is not far-fetched to find

Daily Dialogue — November 8, 2013

Barbara Novak: I’m not gonna storm out of here, Catch. And I’m not gonna admit that you got Barbara Novak to fall in love… because I’m not Barbara Novak. There is no Barbara Novak. Catcher Block: Huh? Barbara Novak: And I didn’t fall in love with

Update: Award season screenplay downloads

It’s that time of year again when studios make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season. As in years past, I’ll be tracking them and posting links as they become available. Current total of scripts for download: 17. Newly added script [The Place Beyond the Pines] in

Reflections on the 1st Black List Screenwriters Lab

On Monday, September 30th, six writers — Jan Arnold, Minnie Baig, Robin D. Fox, Gia Gordon, Nick Malick, and Casey Scharf gathered in downtown Las Vegas as participants in the inaugural Black List Screenwriters Lab (for background, read this). Joined by professional screenwriters Brian Koppelman (Oceans 13), Jenny Lumet (Rachel Getting

Q&A: “Dallas Buyers Club”

A heads-up from GITS development assistant Wendy Cohen For you L.A. folks — the KCET Cinema Series continues its fall season next Tuesday, November 12th at 7pm with a screening of the classic Hollywood caper THE GREAT ESCAPE. The quarterly series is hosted by nationally recognized film expert and