Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — October 29, 2013

Frank Hallet: You know how to survive, don’t you? Rynn: I thought I did. — The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976), written by Laird Koenig The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is Halloween, suggested by Bretton Zinger. Trivia: The film, with its mostly house-set setting,

A different approach to “theme”

Nearly everything I’ve ever read on the subject of ‘theme’ in relation to screenwriting has felt either confusing or impractical. What does theme mean? How should we understand it? How can we use it in our writing? The ironic thing is theme is incredibly important: * Important in helping us

“How To Write An Awesome Movie, According To Some Of Hollywood’s Best Writers”

Buzzfeed with a nice collection of quotes: Richard Linklater (Before Sunrise trilogy, Dazed and Confused); Paul Feig (Freaks and Geeks, Bridesmaids, The Heat); Diablo Cody (Juno, Young Adult); Richard Curtis (Love Actually, About Time, Four Weddings and a Funeral); Nicole Holofcener (Enough Said, Please Give); Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter

“Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it”

“Finish what you’re writing. Whatever you have to do to finish it, finish it.” That’s a quote from author and screenwriter Neil Gaiman. I thought it an appropriate way to kick off this week’s worth of daily posts about writing a first draft. As I suggested last

Movie Trailer: “Mr. Peabody & Sherman”

Screenplay by Craig Wright, characters by Ted Key Using his most ingenious invention, the WABAC machine, Mr. Peabody and his adopted boy Sherman hurtle back in time to experience world-changing events first-hand and interact with some of the greatest characters of all time. They find themselves in a

Hidden Movie Gem: “Ice Pirates”

Today’s Hidden Movie Gem guest post comes from Jon Stark. Movie Title: Ice Pirates Year: 1984 Writer: Stewart Raffill, Standford Sherman Lead Actors: Robert Urich, Mary Crosby, Michael D. Roberts, Anjelica Huston, and Ron Pearlman. Director: Stewart Raffill Plot Summary: From IMDB: In the far future water is the

On Writing

“No scene is ever about the words being spoken.” — Del Close

Daily Dialogue — October 28, 2013

“Stop that. It’s a fake knife.” — E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), written by Melissa Mathison The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is Halloween, suggested by Bretton Zinger. Trivia: The script was largely written whilst on location filming for Raiders of the Lost Ark during filming breaks. Steven

Screenwriting News (October 21–27, 2013)

J.J. Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan rewriting Star Wars: Episode VII for Walt Disney Pictures. Clive Barker writing reboot of Hellraiser for Dimension Films. Bill Condon rewriting “The Greatest Showman on Earth” for Twentieth Century Fox. Mike Flanagan and Jeff Howard sell horror pitch “Peekers” to Lionsgate. Ian Fried sells

Interview: Seth Lochhead

Seth Lochhead’s original screenplay Hanna made the Black List in 2006 and was produced, then released in 2011, the movie starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, and Eric Bana. Seth’s background is an interesting one, so I was pleased when he agreed to do a Q&A with

Hidden Movie Gem: “Local Hero”

Today’s Hidden Movie Gem guest post comes from John Arends. Movie Title: Local Hero Year: 1983 Written by: Bill Forsyth (story and screenplay) Starring: Peter Riegert as Mac McIntyre, Denis Lawson as Gordon Urquhart and Burt Lancaster as Felix Happer Directed by: Bill Forsyth Plot Summary: A big Texan

Daily Dialogue — October 27, 2013

POLA: But it’s different with girls don’t you think? FREDDIE: How is it? POLA: Well, you know what they say about girls who wear glasses. FREDDIE: What are you talking about? POLA: Men aren’t attentive to girls who wear glasses. FREDDIE: Did you ever try it? Pola

2,000!

As of today, I have posted on my blog for 2,000 consecutive days. I had planned something special, but I’m here at the Austin Film Festival with a thousand things going on and don’t have the time or energy to come up with anything, so let me

Interview: Seth Lochhead — Part 5

Seth Lochhead’s original screenplay Hanna made the Black List in 2006 and was produced, then released in 2011, the movie starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, and Eric Bana. Seth’s background is an interesting one, so I was pleased when he agreed to do a Q&A with

Great Scene: “Shakespeare In Love”

In the screenwriting class I’m currently teaching at UNC, for the last two weeks we’ve been analyzing the truly wonderful screenplay Shakespeare In Love (1998), written by Marc Norman and Tom Stoppard. There are so many fantastic scenes in the script, but here’s a great one: Viola,

Writing “Star Wars” with ‘Michael Arndt’

You may have heard that Michael Arndt is no longer writing Star Wars: Episode VII: As Episode VII continues pre-production, Lawrence Kasdan and director J.J. Abrams have assumed screenwriting duties for the film. Kasdan, who has been serving as a consultant on the film, is a veteran of

Hidden Movie Gem: “Blue in the Face”

Today’s Hidden Movie Gem guest post comes from Joshua Caldwell. Movie Title: Blue in the Face Year: 1995 Writers: Paul Auster & Wayne Wang Lead Actors: Harvey Keitel, Lou Reed, Michael J. Fox Directors: Paul Auster, Wayne Wang, Harvey Wang (video segments) Plot Summary: Paul Auster and Wayne Wang’

Written Interview: Terry Southern

From the Paris Review: At the time of this interview (1967), Southern was famous as the ­coauthor of Candy, the best-selling sex novel, and as the screenwriter ­behind Stanley Kubrick’s dark antiwar, antinuke comedy, Dr. Strangelove. Both ­appeared in the U.S. in 1964 (a headline in Life

Daily Dialogue — October 26, 2013

EXT. EAST RIVER — NIGHT Jack walks up to the river, drunk. A Pinocchio doll is taped to one leg. He drops his whiskey bottle and it smashes, a drop in the ocean of garbage surrounding him. He stares into the water, serene. He leans forward, ready to jump… The headlights

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Halloween

After a week’s worth of Meet Cute (suggested by bolo boffin), this week Bretton Zinger has a timely suggestion: Halloween. This feels like a tough one. I suppose we could just go through the entire Halloween series, but there have to be other movies that feature the holiday, right?

Dispatch From The Quest: Paul Wie

Over the course of the 24 weeks I am working with the writers in The Quest, each will write a weekly dispatch to share with the GITS community. There are several reasons for doing this, the main one educational: Hopefully you will learn something of value for your own understanding

Interview: Seth Lochhead — Part 4

Seth Lochhead’s original screenplay Hanna made the Black List in 2006 and was produced, then released in 2011, the movie starring Saoirse Ronan, Cate Blanchett, and Eric Bana. Seth’s background is an interesting one, so I was pleased when he agreed to do a Q&A with

“You just muscle it out”

“First you start with an idea, then you start to flesh out the structure, and that’s a long process. I think that’s where we spend a lot of time, just figuring out the structure… all the acts… the beats of the story. And then comes the great leap

Movie Trailer: “Blue is the Warmest Color”

Screenplay by Abdellatif Kechiche and Ghalia Lacroix, comic by Julie Maroh Adele’s life is changed when she meets Emma, a young woman with blue hair, who will allow her to discover desire, to assert herself as a woman and as an adult. In front of others, Adele grows, seeks

Hidden Movie Gem: “A Canterbury Tale”

Today’s Hidden Movie Gem guest post comes from Walker. Movie Title: A Canterbury Tale Year: 1944 Writers: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger Lead Actors: Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price, John Sweet Directors: Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger Plot Summary: A ‘Land Girl’, an American GI, and a British