Scott Myers

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

Interview: Declan O’Dwyer — Part 4

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: “Her”

Written by Spike Jonze A lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with his newly-purchased operating system that’s designed to meet his every need. IMDB Release Date: 20 November 2013 (USA)

Scene Description Spotlight: “Star Trek” (2009)

One key aspect about scene description is something I call narrative voice. It is the invisible character in your script — the mindset, personality, and ‘voice’ of the character who conveys the story, primarily through scene description, but also in transitions choices, pace, scene cross-cuts, etc. Narrative voice is heavily

The Business of Screenwriting: Spec script aren’t just for aspiring screenwriters

You may think a spec script is something only relevant to aspiring screenwriters. Not true. Established screenwriters choose to write spec scripts as well. In fact, the top ten biggest paydays for spec scripts per this website are all by established writers. So why would an established screenwriter, some of

Daily Dialogue — August 8, 2013

“Yeah, fuck you, too. Fuck me? Fuck you, Fuck you and this whole city and everyone in it. Fuck the panhandlers, grubbing for money, and smiling at me behind my back. Fuck the squeegee men dirtying up the clean windshield of my car — get a fucking job! Fuck the Sikhs

Reader question: How may I approach a favorite screenwriter (since I’ve got their personal email)?

Question from Josh: I’ve recently been able to get a hold of the personal email address of one of my favorite screenwriters. I have no intention of trying to sell him an idea or get him to read my script — I just want to buy the guy a beer

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: Declan O’Dwyer — Part 3

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: “Haunter”

Written by Brian King, Matthew Brian King The ghost of a teenager who died years ago reaches out to the land of the living in order to save someone from suffering her same fate. IMDB

Scene Description Spotlight: “Rachel Getting Married”

Since I started this series of weekly posts, spotlighting good examples of scene description, much of the focus has been on action. But how to write about a moment where nothing much is happening visually (External World), but so much is going on emotionally (Internal World). There’s a great

Script To Screen: “Ghostbusters”

From the 1984 movie Ghostbusters [written by Dan Aykroyd & Harold Ramis], the Final Struggle. Setup: Gozer commands the three Ghostbusters to choose their form of destruction and despite trying to keep their minds blank, Stantz has a brain fart, resulting in this: They all turn and look to the

Daily Dialogue — August 7, 2013

GOLLUM: We wants it. We needs it. Must have the precioussss. They stole it from us. Sneaky little hobbitsesss. Wicked, trickssssy, falssse! SMÉAGOL: No! Not Master. GOLLUM: Yes, precious. False. They will cheat you, hurt you, lie. SMÉAGOL: Master’s my friend. GOLLUM: [Tauntingly] You don’t have any friends.

Reader Question: Does a Mentor always have to be right?

A question from Annika: In your five archetypes that populate almost every movie, does the Mentor always have to be right? If the issue at hand came down to heart versus head and the protagonist should be using their heart more, could being under the influence of a mentor, who

Dispatch From The Quest: Sandy Leviton

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 2

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: “Jayne Mansfield’s Car”

http://movies.yahoo.com/video/jane-mansfields-car-trailer-1-184015599.html?format=embed&player_autoplay=false Tom Epperson (screenplay), Billy Bob Thornton (screenplay) Alabama; 1969: The death of a clan’s estranged wife and mother brings together two very different families. Do the scars of the past hide

Scene Description Spotlight: “Unforgiven”

I remember reading the script to Unforgiven (1992) and being struck by two things: It was a clean read and it was a compelling read. This scene, which takes place in Act Three, is a great example of both. VIEW on Little Bill in the crowded bar and he is

Screenwriting 101: Arash Amel

“I am a great believer in the psychology of character in screenplay. I think that almost any story becomes a visual enactment of the psychological dilemmas faced by the lead character. If you can make that connection, you elevate your characters to a mythic level.” — Arash Amiel [GITS Interview, July

Daily Dialogue — August 6, 2013

“Come out to the coast, we’ll get together, have a few laughs…” — Die Hard (1988), screenplay by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza, novel by Roderick Thorp The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is talking to one’s self, suggested by camdeaver. Today’s suggestion by Thomas

“Breaking your story”

There’s a phrase professional screenwriters and TV writers use: “break the story.” Sounds like a bad thing, but in actuality it’s one of the biggest keys to being a successful writer. Breaking the story is the part of the writing process where you figure it out, nail it

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