Scott Myers

Daily Dialogue — June 10, 2013

“Come on!” — Glory (1989), screenplay by Kevin Jarre, based on books by Lincoln Kirstein and Peter Burchard, letters by Robert Gould Shaw The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is all is lost, suggested by Turambar. Today’s suggestion by Barbara Thomas. Trivia: With the exception of Shaw, none of

The Quest Initiative: Day 19

The submission period for The Quest Initiative runs from May 22-June 9. Each day I will provide an update. Today: Marks the 19th and final day of submissions for The Quest Initiative. Number of entrants: 783. Number of loglines [estimated]: 1300–1400. Submission period closes tonight at midnight [Pacific]

Go Into The Story Week In Review: June 3-June 9, 2013

Some notable posts from this week: 30 Days of Screenplays — Day 3: American Beauty 30 Days of Screenplays — Day 4: Fargo 30 Days of Screenplays — Day 5: The Shawshank Redemption 30 Days of Screenplays — Day 6: Die Hard 30 Days of Screenplays — Day 7: Thelma & Louise 30 Days of

Interview: Dana Coen

I have the pleasure of working with Dana Coen as a colleague through the Writing for Screen and Stage program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a dramatic writing minor for which Dana is the director. Dana has an extensive background in television, penning episodes for “The

30 Days of Screenplays, Day 9: “The Matrix”

Why 30 screenplays in 30 days? Because whether you are a novice just starting to learn the craft of screenwriting or someone who has been writing for many years, you should be reading scripts. There is a certain type of knowledge and understanding about screenwriting you can only get from

Studying Aristotle’s “Poetics” — Part 4: Poetry and the Development of Tragedy

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 (June 2-June 9, 2013)

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa writing untitled “Archie” project for Warner Bros. Arash Amel writing drama romance “Seducing Ingrid Bergman” for YRF Entertainment. Ron Bass and Paco Arrango writing fantasy drama “Elven Percent” for YaYa! Films. Matthew Graham adapting sci-fi short “R’Ha” for IAM Entertainment and producer Rick McCallum. Jason

Video Interview: Danny Boyle, Ed Burns and Jason Reitman

From the Austin Film Festival, twenty minutes with Danny Boyle, Jason Reitman, and Ed Burns: HT to Shaula Evans for the link. Comment Archive

Daily Dialogue — June 9, 2013

Winston: Charles, why have we got that cage? Charles: Uh, security. Winston: That’s right, that’s right, security. So what’s the point in having it if we’re not goin’ fucking use it? Charles: Well, I would’ve used it but this is Willie and Willie lives here.

The Quest Initiative: Day 18

The submission period for The Quest Initiative runs from May 22-June 9. Each day I will provide an update. Today: Marks the 18th day of submissions for The Quest Initiative. Number of entrants: 665. Number of loglines [estimated]: 1100–1200. Note: The pace of submissions is getting intense. 1

30 Days of Screenplays, Day 8: “Dead Poets Society”

Why 30 screenplays in 30 days? Because whether you are a novice just starting to learn the craft of screenwriting or someone who has been writing for many years, you should be reading scripts. There is a certain type of knowledge and understanding about screenwriting you can only get from

Daily Dialogue theme for next week: All is lost

We are almost through a week’s worth of witty banter [thanks to the suggestion by stoneinthesling], so now it’s time for a new theme. Next week: All Is Lost, courtesy of Turambar. “I can’t swim!” The usual drill: * Copy/paste dialogue from IMDB Quotes or some other

Saturday Hot Links

Time for another installment of Saturday Hot Links. Today: The Cute Kids Singing Edition! Sundance and Indiewire announced Roger Ebert scholarship for film criticism. 10 TV writers and showrunners on their most controversial episodes. 15 surprising celebrity Marines… including Bea Arthur! 17 favorite words from “Game of Thrones”. Extreme Legos

“Advanced Writing Tools the Pixar Way”

A message from Tom Benedek: Dear Fellow Writers, We all want to get to the next level with our writing. I believe by breaking down how the best scripts work, we can learn and improve — make our scripts better. That is why I am now taking a look at some

Interview: Dana Coen — Part 6

I have the pleasure of working with Dana Coen as a colleague through the Writing for Screen and Stage program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a dramatic writing minor for which Dana is the director. Dana has an extensive background in television, penning episodes for “The

Spec Script Sale: “Don’t Mess With Texas”

Universal wins bidding war to acquire action-comedy spec script “Don’t Mess With Texas” written by John Quaintance and David Feeney. From Deadline: Pic is a female driven comedy about a cop and a prisoner on the run in Texas, with crooked cops in hot pursuit. As predicted a

Great Scene: “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”

Fight scenes. Whether swords or knives, guns or fists, lasers or kung fu, fight scenes are a staple of the movies. One problem: They’re so common, what can a screenwriter do to distinguish theirs from all the previous examples? William Goldman came up with an unexpected twist with this

Written Interview: Travis Beacham

One of the summer’s most anticipated movies is Pacific Rim. Here is an interview with the movie’s co-screenwriter Travis Beacham with SuperHeroHype: SHH: Obviously you’ve been working on “Pacific Rim” for some time so have you had time to do anything else in that time? Beacham:

Daily Dialogue — June 8, 2013

Rufus T. Firefly: Gentlemen, Chicolini here may talk like an idiot, and look like an idiot, but don’t let that fool you: he really is an idiot. I implore you, send him back to his father and brothers, who are waiting for him with open arms in the penitentiary.

The Quest Initiative: Day 17

The submission period for The Quest Initiative runs from May 22-June 9. Each day I will provide an update. Today: Marks the 17th day of submissions for The Quest Initiative. Number of entrants: 554. Number of loglines [estimated]: 950–100. Note: The pace of submissions is picking up even

EXCLUSIVE: Early notes from screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin on “Ghost”

The good folks at the Writers Guild Foundation know that this site is all about the craft of screenwriting. So they have been kind enough to provide us with an exclusive look at the earliest development notes by screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin and his hugely successful 1990 movie Ghost. Background

Interview: Dana Coen — Part 5

I have the pleasure of working with Dana Coen as a colleague through the Writing for Screen and Stage program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a dramatic writing minor for which Dana is the director. Dana has an extensive background in television, penning episodes for “The

101 Best Written TV Series

I’m a bit late in getting to this party, but recently the WGA announced the 101 Best Written TV Series. Here are the top 25: 1. THE SOPRANOS Created by David Chase “A mobster in therapy, having problems with his mother,” was how The Sopranos initially sparked, according to

Movie Trailer: “The To Do List”

Written by Maggie Carey Feeling pressured to become more sexually experienced before she goes to college, Brandy Clark makes a list of things to accomplish before hitting campus in the fall. IMDB site Release Date: 26 July 2013 (USA)

30 Days of Screenplays — Day 7: “Thelma & Louise”

Welcome to June and the series: 30 Days of Screenplays. Why 30 screenplays in 30 days? Because whether you are a novice just starting to learn the craft of screenwriting or someone who has been writing for many years, you should be reading scripts. There is a certain type of