Nancy Meyers Talks Screenwriting at 2014 Final Draft Awards

Almost every writer in the business has one secret tool: Final Draft.  It’s the industry standard and since the software was developed in 1991, it has transformed the craft of screenwriting.  On Tuesday this week in LA, the company celebrated its valiant users at the Final Draft Annual Awards.

Held at the Paramount Theater, the centerpiece of the night was Nancy Meyers, who was inducted into the Final Draft Hall of Fame. I was red carpet ready and had a moment to talk to her about her career and her process.

From her first film, Private Benjamin, till now, I had to know how she evolved as a writer. “Hopefully I got better at it. If you stick with something for over 30 years, eventually…By the way, it’s always hard. It’s hard labor. It’s a long process for me. I work really hard at it like most writers I know do. But I feel over the years I’ve gotten a better understanding – having made movies, it helps, there’s a learning curve.”

Meyers first started off as a development executive until pairing with her ex-husband Charles Shyer. They began writing and producing together until Nancy began her own solo projects. I asked her about the benefits to both writing with a partner and then on your own. “Writing with somebody’s fantastic because you have someone to have a constant conversation with. Sometimes by writing with somebody you can get somewhere a little faster. But I had found having written with somebody for 20 years and then written by myself for 15 years or so, there’s great value to both. I really also like writing by myself because I think it becomes more personal.”

I mentioned that I love that in all her scripts there are many unlikely friendships and relationships. She stops me, “Are there? Oh, that’s good!” I assure her that the relationships on screen help you move forward in your own life, befriending people you wouldn’t have thought of before. Excited she replies, “That’s what my entire new movie’s about!”

The Intern will star Reese Witherspoon and Robert De Niro. She reveals, “We’re going to shoot in the spring in New York. It all takes place in Brooklyn.”

Well, I’m sold.