You Can’t Teach a Screenwriter to Say “I was wrong”

In my twenty years as a professional writer and the last twelve as a screenwriter, I’ve yet to meet a stupid writer. Pretty much all of them are literate, intelligent people who can string together a pretty neat sentence.

Running along side the general intelligence of screenwriters is the abundance of available information about screenwriting. Let’s face it, there is a lot of it… and it ranges from the downright daft to the pretty good.

It’s also true that more people than ever are trying to write screenplays.

Therefore, with all these smart people writing screenplays and so much information about how to do it well, there ought to be hundreds and possibly thousands of hot screenplays doing the rounds… and yet there aren’t. Talk to any producer and they will tell you the same story… there is still a shortage of great screenplays out there. In fact, you only have to look at what is making it into production to see that even at the top end, a great screenplay is the exception rather than the norm.

So, why is this? Why are so many smart people, with all the information they need to do the job well, failing to write great movies? Read more

The Vital Role of Panties in Screenwriting

There’s been another very good piece about character development written by Unk, over at unknown screenwriter. A piece written in response to the question:

“Once you’ve created that quin·tes·sen·tial character… I mean, you’ve got this fucker painted on the poster art in your head. How do you expand on his philosophy? How do you add more of those little layers, that slowly peel away revealing character? Does it come out of the dialogue? Via ‘dragging the character through the mud method’?Or do you have a preconceived plan before you start a scene, THEN drag him through the mud?”

Unk as usual has given a very good answer… however, I’d like to have a shot at expanding on his answer from my own perspective, which is, that most character development fails to do the job for which it’s intended, because it’s approached with the wrong attitude. Read more

Make Films, Not War

The last couple of days I’ve been distracted, because I’ve been engaged in a heated and protracted slanging match with a Hollywood screenwriter over at indieclub.com.

On the surface the argument has been centered around our different beliefs re: the role of script consultants in the micro-budget filmmaking development process. His take is that script consultants are bad for a screenwriter’s development, because they’re all frustrated, failed, writers trying to scam a quick buck from us… and that they force writers to give up their unique voice in favor of formulaic approaches.

My argument is what it’s always been, if you’ve no contacts in the industry who can steer you in the right direction, using a credible and professional script editor is a good idea… especially if you can find one who is able to nurture your development. Read more