Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — November 12, 2013

Dr. Constance Petersen: You’re resisting a memory. What is in your mind? John Ballantyne: No. Dr. Constance Petersen: You’re resisting it. John Ballantyne: Don’t start that again! Don’t stand there with that wiseacre look. I’m sick of your doubletalk. Dr. Constance Petersen: You’re looking

Update: Award season screenplay downloads (22 scripts!)

It’s that time of year again when studios make available PDFs of movie scripts for award season. As in years past, we will be tracking them and posting links as they become available. Current total of scripts for download: 22. Newly added scripts [The Fifth Estate, Fruitvale Station, Lee

Screenplay time

Time is a mystery and perhaps nowhere more than in stories. As writers, we can jump through decades with one scene transition. Conversely we can stretch out mere moments for many pages, slowing down, even stopping the clock. Indeed something so fundamental as the choice of past tense, typical of

Part 1: If you are a beginning screenwriter…

Recently I received an email from someone who wants to begin the process of learning the craft of screenwriting. I started my response with the advice to use this blog as a free resource. After all, there are over 13,000 posts in the archives… Then it dawned on me:

“The story must be a conflict”

“The story… must be a conflict, and specifically, a conflict between the forces of good and evil within a single person.” This from novelist Maxwell Anderson. The necessity of conflict in story is so fundamental, we may well overlook it. Conflict is dynamic. Conflict is evocative. Conflict is compelling. Like

Movie Trailer: “Cold Comes the Night”

Written by Tze Chun & Oz Perkins & Nick Simon A struggling motel owner and her daughter are taken hostage by a nearly blind career criminal to be his eyes as he attempts to retrieve his cash package from a crooked cop. IMDB Release Date: 10 January 2014 (USA)

“Know your genre”

If you want to write in a genre, you’re wise to immerse yourself in it. I have gotten to know a lot of screenwriters through the years. In talking with or interviewing them, one thing I find they pretty much have in common: They know their genre. That is

On Writing

“Every scene is either a fight, a seduction, or a negotiation.” — Mike Nichols Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — November 11, 2013

INT. SEAN’S OFFICE — DAY Lambeau stands across from Sean, seething… LAMBEAU: You’re wrong, Sean. I’m where I am today because I was pushed. And because I learned to push myself! SEAN: He’s not you! A beat. Lambeau turns, something catches his eye. Sean turns to look,

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,