Write a great script - and other ramblings

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  • Write a great script - and other ramblings

    I was reading the entertaining thread "Writers - Be Aware Of Amazon Studios!" (go check it out!) and was thinking about the usual mantra "go write a great script" which is usually followed by "great script triumphs everything".

    I'm a believer -and living proof- of the concept. Still, for the sake of argument, I'd like to talk about it, with a little help of you guys.

    First things first: what's a great script? For example, tons of writers are praising the lord for the Brigands of Rattleborge, which "isn't for me". Does it mean they are right and that I have supbar taste? What makes it so good for the other and not so good for me?

    So the first barrier for our success is the one who is reading it. Could be great for exec 1, not for exec 2. Too bad, exec 2 is the one who is going to read your script. Trash can. Start over.

    Second thing would be the standard. One thing I realized is that the average moviegoer will be happy if he sees specific things in the movie he paid to see. I.E : Dialogue and over the top characters in Tarantino flick, production design and sfx in Sci-Fi, Ryan Gosling in any movies. Sometimes, even okay cinematography is enough (*wink* Revenant/birdman *wink*). So maybe your script will receive major praises, making you more confident of its qualities, then will fall flat if the exec reading it has high standards.

    Third thing would be the context. As James Gunn recently wrote, now, everyone will produce his own Deadpool. The average exec likes to be told what to do. The easiest, safest way.

    So the third barrier would be time/context. Your Deadpool like script was sent wide three years ago? too bad. In three years? Too bad too.

    Forth thing would be who you are. Comedians talk about the difference between being known versus being unknown. When you are unknown, you have to fight for the audience to laugh, to work harder. When you are known, they are laughing even if you don't do anything funny.

    So a great script might depends on the context, the reader, and your level of success. What is your opinion about this?

  • #2
    Re: Write a great script - and other ramblings

    I think we all know what a great script is. It was Creative Exec who once said, "it's not the perfect script, but the *right* script." As in, the right script for a certain actor, for a prodco's slate, etc. Which circles back to the subjectivity of this endeavor, "nobody knows anything," and "all you need is one yes."

    Let the games begin!

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    • #3
      Re: Write a great script - and other ramblings

      A GREAT SCRIPT absolutely depends on context. I was just referring to this idea in a different thread [When to stop -- sending out your script].


      I don't think I've ever written a script that wasn't divisive. Generally my stuff is either loved or hated, but never universally one or the other. This tells me that it's context. What life has the person reading it led? And what life are they currently leading [these people aren't robots, they have lives outside of the industry]? Are they on the rag? Sick? Overworked? Going through a divorce? Having an affair? A drug addict/alcoholic? Dealing with a terminal illness in the family? In the middle of being poached? An ******* who relates to the antagonist? -- Or, maybe they just don't get it and it wasn't for them. Any number of reasons can garner a bad read [on a good script], but the same life trials can garner a good read. So? However, the town is very insecure and functions from a perpetual state of fear. Too many people want someone else to vet material [agents and mangers are probably the easiest people to please around town -- producers -- then studios.]. How many times has someone passed on material only to turn around after it's a hot property and asked said agent "why have I not read this" to which the agent replies "you have…and passed." EVERY hit movie script received those calls.


      Theres also a tastemaker quotient to consider: Who likes your script first? If a tastemaker likes your script first, it's likely going to land well enough, as this is a town of followers.

      There's also the zeitgeist to consider. Let's say you wrote a script about X. Your script goes out. Days later X controversial subject matter blows up in the news. That script will land when it may not have otherwise. Context/timing. Sometimes scripts/movies land out of guilt, said another way, assuaging said guilt [Slumdog Millionaire. That move is a case study on zeitgeist/context/timing, as far as I'm concerned. That and Crash. Surely there are others. But speaking of Crash, I never understood why it was a hit until I realized, obviously, that it was designed to assuaging white-privilege guilt. There's a line from an IAMX song "my european guilt… wanting instant fix." Paul Haggis has since admitted, in so many words, that the script/movie sucked. I respect him for that. I wish Danny Boyle would admit the same about Slumdog.] Context/zeitgeist/timing. It can get a movie made that should never have been made. It can win awards even. However, it's not something a writer can knowingly harness. So, that's no help to us.

      Then again, those types of films stand as an indelible testament to the shortcomings of the human mind. Which should maybe be far more interesting to any writer (any studier of the human psyche) than the actual movies themselves. It's like The Orchid Thief played inside out.

      Having said that, I'm not quite clear on what your angle is here. Are you attempting to understand why people pass? Why people love certain scripts while others hate the same script? What to do to have a better batting average contextually?

      I think it's just one of those things. You have to begin with a script you know [not think, but KNOW is good], from that point it's which ever way the wind blows once you go to market. No mathematics can be applied because we're dealing with psychology. And considering we're still making movies [bad movies even], that's proof we don't yet understand psychology. Once we do, we may no longer need movies. So, that's no help to us.

      BTW -- your bit about known writers having a leg up. True. But they also have a leg down. Would be interesting to slap a super star writer's name on a "just okay" script and watch how many people laud it. M. Night comes to mind. His is really the story of the Emperor's New Clothes. His reps should have told him the truth early on. I actually feel sorry for the guy. Imagine if any piece of crap you wrote, your reps told you it was brilliant. You'd make it. Obviously. When it flopped you'd be utterly confused. Being "yes'd" to death is also a concern.

      --Just my opinion--
      DOPE CITY

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      • #4
        Re: Write a great script - and other ramblings

        Originally posted by nativeson View Post
        I think we all know what a great script is. It was Creative Exec who once said, "it's not the perfect script, but the *right* script." As in, the right script for a certain actor, for a prodco's slate, etc. Which circles back to the subjectivity of this endeavor, "nobody knows anything," and "all you need is one yes."
        More or less. Especially the part about one yes. But only after 3 people have vetted it as great [is my rule.] That's the part new writers forget. They're endlessly in search of the one yes with zero true vetting.

        I've read exactly one script in my life that I thought was perfect. And yet I can't stand the writer. Nor do I believe they should have one an Oscar for it. Nor do I believe they delivered on their next few projects. Maybe I should read something new from them. I bet I'd hate it. I mean, I'd bet actually money.

        That one script was perfect though...
        DOPE CITY

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