Scott Myers

Interview: Jeffrey Lieber — Part 1

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: “Philomena”

Screenplay by Steve Coogan, Jeff Pope, book by Martin Sixsmith A woman searches for her adult son, who taken away from her decades ago when she was forced to live in a convent. IMDB Release Date: 1 November 2013 (UK)

Scene Description Spotlight: “Wall-E”

Today we look at an entirely distinct way to approach scene description in the screenplay for Wall-E. I have discussed the writing style of this Pixar film before: here, here, and here. On the subject of scene description, here’s a money quote from co-screenwriter and director Andrew

On Writing

“The greatest rules of dramatic writing are conflict, conflict, conflict.” — James Frey Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — August 12, 2013

Crush: Dude? Dude? Focus dude… Dude? [Marlin wakes up] Crush: Oh, he lives. Hey, dude! Marlin: Oh… What happened? Crush: Saw the whole thing, dude. First you were all like “whoa”, and we were like “whoa”, and you were like “whoa…” Marlin: What are you talking about? Crush: You, Mini-

Go Into The Story Week In Review: August 5-August 11, 2013

Links to the week’s most notable posts: Daily Dialogue Theme for Next Week: Pixar moments Declare Your Independents: Volume 4 Dispatch From The Quest: Waka Brown Dispatch From The Quest: Christian Fontenot Dispatch From The Quest: Troy Klith Dispatch From The Quest: Sandy Leviton Dispatch From The Quest: Miranda

Interview: Declan O’Dwyer

U.K.-based TV director Declan O’Dwyer (Robin Hood, Wire in the Blood, Merlin) wrote and sold the spec script “Broken Cove” to Thunder Road Pictures in April 2013. Here are inks to the six installments of the entire interview: Part 1: “It’s trite — but my only escape

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 7(A): Beginning, Middle, End

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

Daily Dialogue — August 11, 2013

“He’s a peeping tom.” — Back to the Future (1985), written by Robert Zemeckis, Bob Gale The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is talking to one’s self, suggested by camdeaver. Trivia: The time machine has been through several variations. In the first draft of the screenplay the time

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Pixar moments

As we wrap up a week’s worth of talking to one’s self posts [thanks for that, camdeaver], it’s time for next week’s theme: Pixar moments suggested by Mark Walker. So many great Pixar moments. A few lists for possible suggestions: here, here, and here. One key

Dispatch From The Quest: Troy Klith

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: Declan O’Dwyer — Part 6

Declan O’Dwyer is a U.K-based TV director (Robin Hood, Wire in the Blood, Merlin) who wrote and sold the spec script “Broken Cove” to Thunder Road Pictures. Recently I had a terrific conversation with Declan about his unusual path into the entertainment business and how he has

Great Scene: “The Natural”

With a screenplay by Roger Towne and Phil Dusenberry, based on a novel by Bernard Malamud, The Natural (1984) builds on the mythic elements in Malamud’s book: Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) like the knight Percival in Arthurian legends, his bat Wonderboy like Arthur’s Excalibur. The mythic themes work

Written Interview: Neill Blomkamp

Interview in I Am Rogue with screenwriter-director Neill Blomkamp whose newest movie Elysium opens this weekend. ON HOW HE CAME UP WITH THE IDEA FOR THE MOVIE “It’s like one of these organic things that you never really know when they begin or end to a certain degree.

Daily Dialogue — August 10, 2013

“Look what I have created! I have made fire!” — Cast Away (2000), written by William Broyles Jr. The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is talking to one’s self, suggested by camdeaver. Trivia: An early draft of the script had Chuck having two different personalities talking to each other,

Reader Question: How important is a logline in a query letter?

From Earl: You may have already tackled this somewhere, but what are some tips for effective and engaging query letters/emails. Besides of course a great Log Line… In this day and age where email has essentially replaced formal query letters via snail mail, the logline is it. That’s

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: Declan O’Dwyer — Part 5

Declan O’Dwyer is a U.K-based TV director (Robin Hood, Wire in the Blood, Merlin) who wrote and sold the spec script “Broken Cove” to Thunder Road Pictures. Recently I had a terrific conversation with Declan about his unusual path into the entertainment business and how he has

Go On Your Own Quest — Week 4: Style

The 2013 version of The Quest starts Week 4 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: “The Counselor”

Written by Cormac McCarthy A lawyer finds himself in over his head when he gets involved in drug trafficking. IMDB Release Date: 25 October 2013 (USA)  Comment Archive

Scene Description Spotlight: “The Hangover” (2009)

Today we check out The Hangover, the screenplay written by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore. I pimped this movie hard on GITS, starting with this post on September 26, 2008, the movie’s first day of shooting, then again here and here. And while I’d like to take credit

Great Character: Miles Monroe (“Sleeper”)

The Great Character theme in August is FOOW (Fish-Out-Of-Water). Today’s guest post by Jason Cuthbert features Miles Monroe from the 1973 comedy Sleeper written by Woody Allen and Marshall Brickman. After Diane Keaton and Woody Allen starred in Herbert Ross’s Play it Again, Sam written

Daily Dialogue — August 9, 2013

“He’ll keep calling me, he’ll keep calling me until I come over. He’ll make me feel guilty. This is uh… This is ridiculous. Okay I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go. What — I’LL GO. Shit. God DAMN it.

Declare Your Independents: Volume 4

GITS development assistant Wendy Cohen here, and welcome to another edition of Declare Your Independents, our new series highlighting the latest developments in the world of independent film. This week… Indiewire’s 7 Films You Must See This August “The Canyons,” Brian De Palma’s “Passion,” “On The Road” &