Scott Myers

Interview: Declan O’Dwyer — Part 1

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: “Paradise”

Written and directed by Diablo Cody After surviving a plane crash a young conservative woman suffers a crisis of faith. IMDB Release Date: 18 October 2013 (USA)

Scene Description Spotlight: “Jerry Maguire”

Writer-director Cameron Crowe, whose movies include Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Say Anything… (1989), Singles (1992), Almost Famous (2000), and Elizabethtown (2005), is known to write great dialogue. But if you study his scripts, you’ll quickly see how strong his scene description is — particularly in capturing the

On Writing

“I don’t think that writers or painters or filmmakers function because they have something they particularly want to say. They have something that they feel. And they like the art form: they like words, or the smell of paint, or celluloid and photographic images and working with actors. I

Daily Dialogue — August 5, 2013

INT. PAUL’S ROOM — ARRAKEEN PALACE — DAY The LIGHT decreases and Paul stands trembling. As he moves to the bed he sees a portion of the headboard slowly folding down and he sees a chrome sliver of metal glide out from within the dark opening. He freezes. PAUL: (inner voice)

Go Into The Story Week In Review: July 29-August 4, 2013

Links to the week’s most notable posts: Announcing: The Quest Writing Workshop [Oct. 17–20, 2013, Santa Monica] Audio Q&A: Michael B. Jordan (Fruitvale Station) Daily Dialogue Theme for Next Week: Talking to one’s self Declare Your Independents: Volume 3 Dispatch From The Quest: Waka Brown

Interview: Craig Mazin

Go Into The Story Interview: Craig Mazin My in-depth interview with screenwriter and co-host (along with John August) of the popular podcast Scriptnotes. Craig Mazin is a successful screenwriter in the comedy genre whose movie credits include RocketMan (1997), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Scary Movie 4 (2006), Superhero

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 6(G): Spectacle Sixth

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 (July 29-August 4, 2013)

Jonathon Aibel and Glenn Berger writing live-action/animation “Monster Trucks” for Paramount Animation. Fede Alvarez and Rodo Sayagues science fiction action project “Machina” at Media Rights Capital with Alvarez to direct. Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec writing Beverly Hills Cop IV for Paramount. Ron Bass scripted project “1:30

Video Interview: David Chase

Another great DP/30 interview with David Chase, creator of “The Sopranos” and writer-director of Not Fade Away: Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — August 4, 2013

PRESIDENT: I know that Ben said, “Keep it small and quiet.” And I don’t want to go against Ben’s wishes. (Military jet salute ROARS overhead). But I thought it would be good, as our friends are carrying Ben to his last resting place, to read from his quotes:

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Talking to one’s self

As we wrap up a week’s worth of eulogies [thanks for that, Despina], it’s time for next week’s theme: Talking to one’s self, suggested by camdeaver. I’ll admit it: I talk to myself. Like a lot. I used to be self-conscious about it, then

Interview (Part 6): Craig Mazin

Craig Mazin is a successful screenwriter in the comedy genre whose movie credits include RocketMan (1997), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Scary Movie 4 (2006), Superhero Movie (2008), The Hangover Part II (2011), Identity Thief (2013) and The Hangover Part III (2013). With fellow screenwriter Ted Elliott, he hosted the informative

Great Scene: “Monty Python and the Holy Grail”

In a comedy, there’s nothing better than coming up with a great set piece, something the writers and actors can milk for all it’s worth — and then some. A classic example is the Black Knight scene from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). I suspect that countless

Saturday Hot Links

Back for another installment of Saturday Hot Links! Today: The Big Time Movie Supercut Edition! The Hollywood Reporter: Top 25 film schools of 2013. The case for an only child. The trick that’s pushing movie titles to the front of the alphabet. 8 children’s titles that tried — and

Written Interview: Dalton Trumbo

One of the all-time great screenwriters Dalton Trumbo (Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Roman Holiday, Spartacus) interviewed by one of the all-time great film critics Roger Ebert. From September 5, 1971: “They wanted to know if I’d do a screenplay for Bunuel. Hell, I said I’d do

Daily Dialogue — August 3, 2013

KAREN The time you won your town the race We chaired you through the marketplace Man and boy stood cheering by And home we brought you, shoulder-high. Today, the road all runners come Shoulder-high we bring you home And set you at your threshold down Townsman . . of a

Is it possible to write while maintaining a full-time job?

In a recent “Dear Cary” letter to Salon.com advisor Cary Tennis, a reader asked: Dear Cary, I’m blocked. Creatively, spiritually, emotionally — you name it. I’m a 28-year-old writer who can’t seem to get anything onto the page without second-guessing and editing the entire

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 (Part 5): Craig Mazin

Craig Mazin is a successful screenwriter in the comedy genre whose movie credits include RocketMan (1997), Scary Movie 3 (2003), Scary Movie 4 (2006), Superhero Movie (2008), The Hangover Part II (2011), Identity Thief (2013) and The Hangover Part III (2013). With fellow screenwriter Ted Elliott, he hosted the informative

Go On Your Own Quest — Week 3: Character

The 2013 version of The Quest starts Week 3 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: “Machete Kills”

Screenplay by Kyle Ward, story by Robert Rodriguez & Marcel Rodriguez The U.S. government recruits Machete to battle his way through Mexico in order to take down an arms dealer who looks to launch a weapon into space. IMDB Release Date: 11 October 2013 (USA)

Scene Description Spotlight: “The Shawshank Redemption”

Here is the opening sequence in The Shawshank Redemption, screenplay adaptation by Frank Darabont from a novella by Stephen King. Note the contrast in scene description, pivoting from a MAN and WOMAN having steamy sex, and the drunken, but calculating moves of ANDY DUFRESNE: 1 INT -- CABIN -- NIGHT (1946)A

Great Character: Madison (“Splash”)

This month’s theme: Fish Out Of Water. And to kick it off, a literal FOOW: Madison from the 1984 movie Splash, screenplay by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel and Bruce Jay Friedman, screen story by Bruce Jay Friedman, story by Brian Grazer. Here is another guest post from Jason