Scott Myers

Screenwriting Tip: Muck up your plot

Imagine this: Here is your Protagonist at the Beginning. And way over there, 120 pages away is where your Protagonist will finish up at the Ending. In between, the Beginning and the Ending is this thing I call the Plotline, and I want you to envision it just like 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

Interview: Jay Eden — Part 2

For the last few weeks, I have turned attention to screenwriters, TV writers, and filmmakers who are on the front edge of making their mark in the business. Their insights, so recently on the outside looking in, reflect the excitement of breaking in, yet the challenges of attempting to carve

Go On Your Own Quest: Week 2 — Concept

The 2013 version of The Quest starts Week 2 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 Wind Rises”

Hayao Miyazaki (comic), Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay) A look at the life of Jiro Horikoshi, the man who designed Japanese fighter planes during World War II. IMDB Release Date: 20 July 2013 (Japan)

Movie Story Type: Mockumentary

In Hollywood movie circles, there are genres like Horror or Science Fiction, cross genres like Action-Thriller or Drama-Comedy, and sub-genres like Romantic Comedy or Mystery Thriller. Then there are story types, a shorthand way to describe a specific narrative conceit that is almost always tied directly to

Screenwriting 101: David Simon

“Exposition sucks the life out of your story.” — David Simon Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — July 23, 2013

INT. SLUM STAIRWELL — MORNING Mills and Somerset are standing in the middle of one flight of stairs. Both are highly agitated. SOMERSET: The way this has gone till now, I wouldn’t have thought it was possible, but we may have underestimated this guy. MILLS: I want him bad. I

The terror of writing… the wonder of writing

I want to follow up on the previous post, a Dispatch From The Quest by Miranda Sajdak in which she writes this: There’s something both wonderful and terrifying about reading these lectures — the knowledge, first of all, that I’m truly embarking on a journey that will bolster my

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 which I will 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

Interview: Jay Eden — Part 1

For the last few weeks, I have turned attention to screenwriters, TV writers, and filmmakers who are on the front edge of making their mark in the business. Their insights, so recently on the outside looking in, reflect the excitement of breaking in, yet the challenges of attempting to carve

Go On Your Own Quest: Week 2 — Concept

The 2013 version of The Quest starts Week 2 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: “Snowpiercer”

Screenplay by Joon-ho Bong and Kelly Masterson, screen story by Joon-ho Bong In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine. IMDB

Movie Story Type: Martial Arts

In Hollywood movie circles, there are genres like Horror or Science Fiction, cross genres like Action-Thriller or Drama-Comedy, and sub-genres like Romantic Comedy or Mystery Thriller. Then there are story types, a shorthand way to describe a specific narrative conceit that is almost always tied directly to

On Writing

“Plot, or evolution, is life responding to environment; and not only is this response always in terms of conflict, but the really great struggle, the epic struggle of creation, is the inner fight of the individual whereby the soul builds up character.” — William Wallace Cook

Daily Dialogue — July 22, 2013

Joan stands over Christina’s bed, shaking from anger. She holds a dress hung on a wire hanger. Joan: No… wire… hangers. Christina bolts up, instantly awake. Joan: What’s wire hangers doing in this closet when I told you: no wire hangers EVER? I work and work ’till I’

Go Into The Story Week In Review: July 15-July 21, 2013

Daily Dialogue Theme for Next Week: Tantrum Declaration of Independents: Volume 1 Dispatch From The Quest: Waka Brown Dispatch From The Quest: Christian Fontenot Dispatch From The Quest: Troy Klith Dispatch From The Quest: Sandy Leviton & Miranda Sajdak Dispatch From The Quest: Paul Wie GITS Interview: Terrance Mulloy GITS

Interview: Jim Stansberry and Annika Tuneld

As part of my series on writers and filmmakers who are on the front edge of making their mark in the business, recently I interviewed the writing duo of Jim Stansberry, based in the U.S., and Annika Tuneld, who lives in Sweden. Together they wrote and sold the original

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 6(E): Thought Third

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

Comc-Con 2013 — Video: Marvel presentation

Sans movie clips: Via /Film. Comment Archive

Screenwriting News (July 15–21, 2013)

Joe Casey adapting action drama graphic novel “Office Down” for Man of Action Studios. Shawn Christensen adapting his Academy Award winning Live Action Short film “Curfew” for Wigwam Films with Christensen to star and direct. Will Dunn sells action spec script “Children of the Gun” to Bold Films. Gregory Poirier’

Video Interview: Alfred Hitchcock

The complete 1972 “Master of Cinema” interview with Alfred Hitchcock, 33 minutes long. The interviewer is Pia Lindstrom, who is Ingrid Bergman’s daughter: Did you know Hitchcock was also a screenwriter? From 1923–1932, he was credited with having written or adapted 13 movies with multiple projects thereafter for

Daily Dialogue — July 21, 2013

“Please stop me. Oh, God, help me. Filthy Billy, I know what you did nasty Billy!” — Black Christmas (1974), written by Roy Moore The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is horror scene, suggested by @JaimePrimak. Trivia: According to director Bob Clark, there were three voices used for the frightening

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: Tantrums

We’re just rounding out a week’s worth of horror scenes, courtesy a suggestion by @JaimePrimak. For next week, the theme is tantrums, offered up by Aarthi Ramanathan. If you don’t recognize this scene, then you have some serious movie-watching to do to bolster your knowledge. FYI

Interview: Terrance Mulloy

As part of my series on writers and filmmakers who are on the front edge of making their mark in the business, recently I interviewed Australia-based screenwriter Terrance Mulloy who sold his original spec script “Priority Run” to Arclight Films. Here are all three parts of that Q&