Script that changed the way you write.

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Script that changed the way you write.

    One pick only...name the script you read that permanently changed the way your write...and the reason why.
    "Take the thing you love, and make it your life"--Californication. [email protected]

  • #2
    Re: Script that changed the way you write.

    THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE by Allan Loeb.

    It sold to a studio...made the screenwriter a star...attracted two big actors to the lead roles...got made....and it broke EVERY screenwriting rule I had continuously read about on this site and in books by the so called screenwriting experts.

    It didn't necessarily change the way I write but it gave me the confidence to continue developing my voice on the page at a time when that confidence was dwindling.
    "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Script that changed the way you write.

      My new script is UP... practically perfect in every way and I don't even write kid stuff!

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Script that changed the way you write.

        Basic Instinct.. minimum words, maximum effect...

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Script that changed the way you write.

          Originally posted by joe9alt View Post
          THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE by Allan Loeb.
          In the first conversation I had with my manager he told me to stop everything and read this script first. I did, and it was amazing, definitely had the same impact on me. It resonated and gave me additional confidence to explore my own voice.

          As for the first script that changed the way I write? There never was one. I find it peculiar anyone would "change" the way they write after reading someones script. I mean, there's scripts that blew me away and inspired me, but changed the way I write? Sounds like insecurity to me, guess I'm just arrogant like that.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Script that changed the way you write.

            Juno.

            Yup!

            T

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Script that changed the way you write.

              Originally posted by Takezo View Post
              Juno.

              Yup!

              T
              The question was a change for the better, not worse.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Script that changed the way you write.

                Originally posted by Telly View Post
                In the first conversation I had with my manager he told me to stop everything and read this script first. I did, and it was amazing, definitely had the same impact on me. It resonated and gave me additional confidence to explore my own voice.
                It should have never been a studio picture. The studio process damaged the final product that made it to the screen. That was another lesson learned for me. There are scripts that shouldn't be made by the studios. This was one.
                "I hate to break it to you but there is no big lie. There is no system. The universe is indifferent.- - Don Draper

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Script that changed the way you write.

                  Originally posted by joe9alt View Post
                  It should have never been a studio picture. The studio process damaged the final product that made it to the screen. That was another lesson learned for me. There are scripts that shouldn't be made by the studios. This was one.
                  That was actually one of the points my manager made, unfortunately I never saw the film to make the comparison, but maybe I shouldn't.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Script that changed the way you write.

                    Joss Whedon's Alien: Resurrection (the original draft).

                    He was so advanced and comfortable with the flow and format bending it felt like a juggling act. And a good one, at that.

                    Mind you, it's far from the best one I've read, but it's one I read when I was 18 and provided a turning point in my approach and mentality.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Script that changed the way you write.

                      ALIEN - by Dan O'Bannon

                      This was the first script I remember reading that literally glued me to my seat. It didn't necessarily change the way I write, but what it did was make me realize how good a screenplay can actually be. It was easy to see why the script sold and basically launched the guys career.

                      It made me say to myself, "I'm going to learn how to write a script like this, even if it takes ten years."
                      QUESTICLES -- It's about balls on a mission.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Script that changed the way you write.

                        Originally posted by joe9alt View Post
                        THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE by Allan Loeb.

                        It sold to a studio...made the screenwriter a star...attracted two big actors to the lead roles...got made....and it broke EVERY screenwriting rule I had continuously read about on this site and in books by the so called screenwriting experts.

                        It didn't necessarily change the way I write but it gave me the confidence to continue developing my voice on the page at a time when that confidence was dwindling.
                        Well, if it did that, that's good.

                        But I'd be curious to know some specifics as to what "rules" Mr. Loeb broke in his script. I've read it and certainly enjoyed the writing and the story but it didn't strike me that he was playing fast and loose with the traditions or conventional approaches that are commonly seen. He did employ some unique features but nothing that seemed to me to be "breaking rules" or the kinds of guidance we find in books on the subject.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Script that changed the way you write.

                          Originally posted by RTrevino
                          Kaufman's Being John Malkovich... by a landslide. Next is probably Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale.
                          Both in my top ten for sure, excellent catch.

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Script that changed the way you write.

                            Fabulous Baker Boys -- Steve Kloves... when I start getting fluffy, flowery, puffed up and pretentious, I go back and re-read it. Awesome use of white space, spacing, minimal decriptions (just enough you need) and a very fast read... it made me turn the page from being too novelistic in my writing to cut out the trash
                            "you have to write right, right?" -- Todd Gordon

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Script that changed the way you write.

                              Michael Clayton by Tony (double--dash) Gilroy.

                              That's the one that hooked me.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X