ScriptIdiot!

Spec Script Deal: "Non-Refundable"

Netflix acquires romantic comedy spec script "Non-Refundable" written by David Bernstein. Via Deadline:Non-Refundable is billed as a high-concept commercial comedy centered on Nate (Jake Innanen) and Dani (Millie Bobby Brown), an ex-couple who are still on the hook for their wedding venue despite breaking up. This leads them to travel to Mexico out of spite, where they try showing each other up with new dates.The pic is based on a spec by David Bernstein.Bernstein is repped by WME.By m

The Spirit of the Spec

I had a conversation recently with a former studio executive turned producer in which I found myself talking about the “spirit of the spec,” essentially when a person chooses to pursue a project or goal entirely on speculation with the hopes of some eventual payoff. Not everybody would make that choice. To many, with the odds so long against success, doing something on spec is not only illogical, it’s also seemingly inane.And yet almost all screenwriters, TV writers, novelis

Screenwriting 101: Nancy Meyers

“I follow the script very, very carefully. I rarely deviate from how I describe how the scene takes place. I don’t write it as a blueprint and then improvise on that when I get there. I would. I’m not rigid about it. But I don’t just use it as a blueprint. I very carefully follow what I wrote because I’m the most sane about the script when I’m writing. Once you start directing, there are so many other things that come into your life every day in terms of

2026 Black List Project Lab

This is the group of talented writer-directors I am working with this week in Ojai!Via Deadline:EXCLUSIVE: The Black List has named the six filmmakers for its 2026 Projects Lab. They are Mike Ambs (Falling Forward), Sierra Falconer (Cry For Me, Baby), Georgia Fu (Approximate Joy), Seth Kelman (Vessels), Megan Spatz (North) and Brandon Tyson(Ta Ta Dear).Now in its third year, the program provides creative mentorship and professional support to promising filmmakers as they further develop their fe

Minimum Words, Maximum Impact

I know the source of this mantra. It was one of my online screenwriting students. During a weekly live-chat session. I was going on and on about the importance of writing tight, taut, lean scene description, make it easy on the eye, clean on the page, really getting on my bully pulpit. Then a student typed:Minimum words, maximum impact?Here I had been guilty of the very thing I was decrying, then — boom! The perfect comment. Four words. And maximum impact indeed!Screenplays

Living and writing in L.A.

Let me say up front, there are advantages for a screenwriter to live in or near Los Angeles. Here are a few key ones:You are where the action is. There’s no better way to keep track of the ebb and flow, ins and outs of the movie business than by living in L.A. as the film industry is a ubiquitous presence.You are where the players are. Agents, managers, producers, studio execs, talent, L.A. is the center of the film business. Your presence in Los Angeles puts you in proximity to these peo

On Writing

“Get the structure wrong and you blow up shortly after take off.”--David MitchellFor 100s more On Writing posts, go here.The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytellingis a #1 Best Seller in Film and Television. Endorsed by over thirty professional screenwriters, novelists, and academics, you may purchase it here.

“Don’t think… feel”

With writing, there are times to think… and times to feel.“I’ve had a sign over my typewriter for over 25 years now, which reads ‘Don’t think!’ You must never think at the typewriter — you must feel. Your intellect is always buried in that feeling anyway.”— Ray BradburyI do a lot of thinking about the craft of screenwriting. I come by it honestly. I never went to film school or had any formal training before I broke int

Screenwriting 101: Nancy Meyers

“My first draft was exactly 250 pages. I didn’t have brads long enough to get through the script. It took me about eight or nine drafts to edit. How do you do it? It’s impossible to see what it is at first. You just keep taking away and taking away, and it begins to shape up. You just keep following the story.”--Nancy MeyersFor 100s more articles in the Screenwriting 101 series, go here.The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwritin

Similar But Different

Or Precedent and Analogy. However you refer to it, it’s how Hollywood operates.Remakes. Reboots. Sequels. Prequels. Shequels.Why do Hollywood studios choose to go this route with such familiar material? Why not fill their development slates with bold original projects full of fresh ideas and innovative stories?That would run entirely counter to the working ethos which informs the studio system decision-making process, a business mantra that can best be summed up in this manner: What they

Learn the Craft

Being a screenwriter is much more than just writing a script.Here’s one big problem with most of the screenwriting approaches I see floating around: Their focus is almost exclusively on writing a screenplay. Obviously this is important. You must be able to translate your talent, voice, and vision for a story onto the printed page. A script not only is a commodity which you can sell, it is also a representation of who you are as a writer.But while a screenplay is an end product of what we

On Writing

“You have to live with the notion of, ‘If I don’t write this, no one’s going to write it. If I die, this idea dies with me.’”— Lin-Manuel MirandaFor 100s more On Writing posts, go here.The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytellingis a #1 Best Seller in Film and Television. Endorsed by over thirty professional screenwriters, novelists, and academics, you may purchase it here.

Stacking Projects

One key to the craft: Learn how to manage several projects at once.Here’s something interesting to do if you subscribe to IMDbpro.com: Check out some of the top screenwriters and see what projects they have in development. Here are some writers I’ve gotten to know:Liz Hannah (The Post, Long Shot, The Girl From Plainville)Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine — ScriptUnder Another Name — ScriptBad Girls — Optioned / TV Ser

Get the damn thing done!

The one unalterable truth about writing a first draft.I lied. When I wrote that thing about “There are no screenwriting rules”…Actually there is one.It’s about first drafts. They are of such importance, I break my own rule about there not being any screenwriting rules by allowing this one rule. And here it is:Get the damn thing done!You have to start somewhere. And one of the most fundamental values of having a first draft in hand is it gives you something on which yo

Go Into The Story Interview: Omar Al Dakheel and Elie El Choufany

Omar Al Dakheel and Elie El Choufany wrote the original screenplay The Washroom which won a 2025-2026 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. I had an hour-long conversation with the pair exploring their creative backgrounds, analyzing their Nicholl-winning screenplay, and a discussion of key aspects of the screenwriting craft.Here is my Go Into The Story interview in its entirety.Scott Myers: Congratulations for being named Nicholl fellows this year. I'd like to begin our conversation just ge

Screenwriting 101: Rob Meyer

“It’s easy to spend a lot of time worrying about how other people are doing, why you’re not succeeding. That stuff’s a real enemy to making it.”— Rob MeyerGo Into The Story interview, March 2014For 100s more articles in the Screenwriting 101 series, go here.The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytellingis a #1 Best Seller in Film and Television. Endorsed by over thirty professional screenwriters, nove

Go Into The Story Interview (Part 6): Omar Al Dakheel and Elie El Choufany

Omar Al Dakheel and Elie El Choufany wrote the original screenplay The Washroom which won a 2025-2026 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. I had an hour-long conversation with the pair exploring their creative backgrounds, analyzing their Nicholl-winning screenplay, and a discussion of key aspects of the screenwriting craft.Today in Part 6, Elie and Omar answer some questions about their approach to the craft of screenwriting.Scott: Let me ask a few craft questions starting with this: How do you

Tweetstorm: Ed Zwick on Screenwriting

Back when Twitter was fun, screenwriters would sometimes string together a series of tweets - what came to be known as "tweetstorms." Advice, personal anecdotes, reflections on the craft. It was pretty awesome.The only problem: Once the tweetstorm came ... it went.So, I took to contacting the writers and asking if I could reprint their tweetstorm at Go Into The Story. That way, they'd at least be stored where folks could access them in the future.Here's an example: In Decembe

Go Into The Story Interview (Part 5): Omar Al Dakheel and Elie El Choufany

Omar Al Dakheel and Elie El Choufany wrote the original screenplay The Washroom which won a 2025-2026 Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting. I had an hour-long conversation with the pair exploring their creative backgrounds, analyzing their Nicholl-winning screenplay, and a discussion of key aspects of the screenwriting craft.Today in Part 5, Elie and Omar share what their Nicholl experience has been like.Scott: You had a lot of subplots at work there in Act Two. You've got the mosque and the

On Writing

“If you want a recipe for making a writer, have them feel a little out of place everywhere. Have them be an observer all the time.”--Lin-Manuel MirandaFor 100s more On Writing posts, go here.The Protagonist’s Journey: An Introduction to Character-Driven Screenwriting and Storytellingis a #1 Best Seller in Film and Television. Endorsed by over thirty professional screenwriters, novelists, and academics, you may purchase it here.