Scott Myers

Interview: Jeffrey Lieber — Part 4

Jeffrey Lieber is a screenwriter (Tangled, Tuck Everlasting) and TV writer-producer (Miami Medical, The Whole Truth, Pan Am, Necessary Roughness). He also received co-writing credit for the pilot episode of “Lost”. I recently spoke with Jeff about his background, his screenwriting and TV writing projects, and the writing

Go On Your Own Quest — Week 5: Dialogue

The 2013 version of The Quest starts Week 5 today. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by because you can Go On Your Own Quest by following the structure of The Quest to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write

Movie Trailer: “C.O.G.”

Screenplay by Kyle Patrick Alvarez, story by David Sedaris A cocky young man travels to Oregon to work on an apple farm. Out of his element, he finds his lifestyle and notions being picked apart by everyone who crosses his path. IMDB Release Date: 20 September 2013 (USA)  Comment Archive

Scene Description Spotlight: “Chinatown”

The screenplay for the 1974 movie Chinatown is considered one of the best scripts ever written. Its writer Robert Towne received an  Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the script ranks #3 on the WGA 101 List of top screenplays of all time. Whether you consider the movie film

The Business of Screenwriting: Three scripts

This is advice for the front end of your life as a screenwriter. Advice you may not want to hear… but advice you need to hear. Three scripts. Don’t even contemplate working in Hollywood as a writer until you’ve completed at least three scripts. You may think you

Daily Dialogue — August 15, 2013

Darrell: Lightning McQueen is gonna win the Piston Cup! Sally: Come on! You got it! You got it, Stickers! Chick: I am not comin’ in behind you again, old man. Dear: Oh, no! Chick: Yeah… Woooww! I won, baby! Yeah! Oh, yeah! Flo: What’s he up to, Doc? The

Background: “JOBS”

This backround on biopics and the new movie Jobs from Wendy Cohen: “Screenwriting Drafts of History” Four years ago, when Gus Van Sant’s MILK, Oliver Stone’s W. and Steven Soderbergh’s CHE — political biopics as varied about the figures they covered as the critical praise they received — were

Dispatch From The Quest: Christian Fontenot

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: Jeffrey Lieber — Part 3

Jeffrey Lieber is a screenwriter (Tangled, Tuck Everlasting) and TV writer-producer (Miami Medical, The Whole Truth, Pan Am, Necessary Roughness). He also received co-writing credit for the pilot episode of “Lost”. I recently spoke with Jeff about his background, his screenwriting and TV writing projects, and the writing

Spec Script Sale: “Soldiers of the Sun”

Universal acquires action science fiction spec script “Soldiers of the Sun” written by Arash Amel. From THR: Sun is set in a post-apocalyptic future and focuses on a squad of soldiers that searches for a fabled city of gold while on a tour of duty in Mexico liberating it

Go On Your Own Quest — Week 5: Dialogue

The 2013 version of The Quest starts Week 5 today. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by because you can Go On Your Own Quest by following the structure of The Quest to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write

Movie Trailer: “Fading Gigolo”

Written and directed by John Turturro Fioravante decides to become a professional Don Juan as a way of making money to help his cash-strapped friend, Murray. With Murray acting as his “manager”, the duo quickly finds themselves caught up in the crosscurrents of love and money. IMDB

Scene Description Spotlight: “Gattaca”

The 1997 movie Gattaca is one that many GITS readers have commented on with great affection, either publicly or to me via email. Here is the movie’s plot synopsis per IMDB: Vincent is one of the last “natural” babies born into a sterile, genetically-enhanced world, where life expectancy

Script To Screen: “The Usual Suspects”

From The Usual Suspects (written by Christopher McQuarrie), the final sequence in which all is revealed. Setup: Dave Kujan, U.S. customs officer, has just released Verbal Kint. And uh-oh! INT. RABIN’S OFFICE Kujan still stares at the bulletin board. SUDDENLY, Kujan’s face changes. He leans in

Daily Dialogue — August 14, 2013

When the restaurant is empty Linguini and Colette bring Remy to meet Ego. Remy: At first, Ego thinks it’s a joke. But as Linguini explains, Ego’s smile disappears. He doesn’t react beyond asking the occasional question. And when the story’s done, Ego stands, thanks us for

Reader Question: How to raise the stakes in the plot?

Question from Greg Colburn: Just got some feedback on two scripts (a horror actioner & a R-rated comedy) I submitted to Blue Cat… lots of positive feedback on concept, characters and plot, but I got gigged on both about NOT raising the stakes. My protagonists each had a challenging

Dispatch From The Quest: Waka Brown

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: Jeffrey Lieber — Part 2

Jeffrey Lieber is a screenwriter (Tangled, Tuck Everlasting) and TV writer-producer (Miami Medical, The Whole Truth, Pan Am, Necessary Roughness). He also received co-writing credit for the pilot episode of “Lost”. I recently spoke with Jeff about his background, his screenwriting and TV writing projects, and the writing

Go On Your Own Quest — Week 5: Dialogue

The 2013 version of The Quest starts Week 5 today. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by because you can Go On Your Own Quest by following the structure of The Quest to dig into screenwriting theory [Core — 8 weeks], figure out your story [Prep — 6 weeks], and write

Movie Trailer: “Winnie Mandela”

Screenplay by Andre Pieterse and Darrell Roodt, based on a biography by Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob A drama that chronicles the life of Winnie Mandela from her childhood through her marriage and her husband’s incarceration. IMDB Release Date: 6 September 2013 (USA)  Comment Archive

Scene Description Spotlight: “Alien”

Since we featured Wall-E last week, and co-screenwriter Andrew Stanton acknowledged his inspiration for the ‘haiku style’ approach he took to scene description from reading the script to Alien, I figured we should take a look at what Walter Hill and David Giler did with their final draft.

Screenwriting 101: Ava DuVernay

“When I write a screenplay, I’m writing for myself. I’m the director and I need to create an emotional map. Not just plot, but a map of where these characters are, where they’re going and where they’ve been. A map from which I can direct the

Daily Dialogue — August 13, 2013

Sid Phillips: Counting..10..9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1 Woody: [through his voice box] Reach for the sky! Sid Phillips: Huh? Woody: This town ain’t big enough for the two of us! Sid Phillips: What? Woody: Somebody’s poisoned the waterhole! Sid Phillips: It’s

Reader Question: Is any exposition scene a “crock of sh*t”?

Open forum question via email from Lee Gabel: I have a question about exposition in regards to the David Mamet note. “ANY TIME ANY CHARACTER IS SAYING TO ANOTHER “AS YOU KNOW”, THAT IS, TELLING ANOTHER CHARACTER WHAT YOU, THE WRITER, NEED THE AUDIENCE TO KNOW, THE SCENE IS A

Dispatch From The Quest: Miranda Sajdak

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