Dumb it down, please.

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  • #46
    Re: Dumb it down, please.

    Originally posted by kintnerboy View Post
    I'd much rather have a script that's representative of my own voice and vision, which is, I would presume, the only asset I have in making my script stand out against thousands of others.
    I understand where you're coming from, and I feel the same way, but this is a totally different concept to what I brought up in my original post. There's a huge difference between compromise of vision and attempting to figure out this whole idea of where the line is between being clear and being obvious.

    Vision has nothing to do with it, unless you're one of those standoffish "If they don't GET IT, f--k em!" kind of writers. I want people to get it. I want them to understand the complexities and the intricacies of character and story, on multiple levels, both subtle and clear.

    Originally posted by kintnerboy View Post
    But perhaps I just misunderstood where you were coming from. I have absolutely no desire to write OWA's or adaptations, so I write for myself and not the market.
    I'm quite the opposite. I want to put my stamp on Terminator 6, I want to make Die Hard movies good again, I want to write a comic book movie. I want to be the guy they bring in when s--t's not working. I want to be Michael Clayton. This is how I look at screenwriting, whereas I feel like most writers think it's all about fighting the system to get your spec on-screen the way you wrote it.

    That's not to say I don't have my own stories to tell. I've got no lack of original IP, but I'm aware that spec sales aren't the long-game. And really, I don't want them to be.
    Last edited by Eric Boellner; 10-14-2014, 02:01 PM.

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    • #47
      Re: Dumb it down, please.

      Originally posted by UnequalProductions View Post
      Besides the "first draft" part, this is essentially what everyone is saying when they send out a script. I can tell you right now, you'll never write a script that will have a producer say "We're filming this exactly as is. Change nothing. Here's all the money."
      I don't think you read my post. I welcome the collaboration. If Ridley Scott takes my Nottingham or my ALIEN: Engineers and decides he wants nothing to do with the original story even, then yeah I'll probably be a little disappointed at what could have been. But the entire point of the post to which you responded was that I don't agree that it has to be a fight over vision. I don't agree that a screenwriter should write for himself, because unless he's a one-man show, he'll never ONLY be writing for himself. Studio execs, actors, directors, producers, they all have something to offer, they all have something to say. The trick for me, is to write the script that's good enough that when it gets developed to hell, it still comes out as good as The Grey, or Edge of Tomorrow. And if I'm not cut from the project as soon as I turn in my draft, the trick then becomes to navigate development so that the best of all visions come out in the final product. That's a bridge I'll cross if and when I get there.

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      • #48
        Re: Dumb it down, please.

        Originally posted by Eric Boellner View Post
        I don't think you read my post. I welcome the collaboration. If Ridley Scott takes my Nottingham or my ALIEN: Engineers and decides he wants nothing to do with the original story even, then yeah I'll probably be a little disappointed at what could have been. But the entire point of the post to which you responded was that I don't agree that it has to be a fight over vision. I don't agree that a screenwriter should write for himself, because unless he's a one-man show, he'll never ONLY be writing for himself. Studio execs, actors, directors, producers, they all have something to offer, they all have something to say. The trick for me, is to write the script that's good enough that when it gets developed to hell, it still comes out as good as The Grey, or Edge of Tomorrow. And if I'm not cut from the project as soon as I turn in my draft, the trick then becomes to navigate development so that the best of all visions come out in the final product. That's a bridge I'll cross if and when I get there.
        Yeah. I guess I was just reading your post and not what you were reacting to. To which you were reacting? Whatever.

        I guess the main point is until you're literally writing for someone else, don't be writing for someone else. Don't dumb it down, play to the market, or try to anticipate a scared executive's notes. Just write the best script you can possibly write, that is clear and concise, and most importantly, something that you would want to watch. Until we finish and are ready for feedback, that's the only thing we can control.

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        • #49
          Re: Dumb it down, please.

          Originally posted by Eric Boellner View Post
          I don't agree that a screenwriter should write for himself, because unless he's a one-man show, he'll never ONLY be writing for himself.
          Perhaps I could have been clearer. I don't think it's all that radical or crazy to say that you should write the movie you would love to see.

          The compromise of collaboration comes in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th etc drafts, after the money, after the notes, after a cast and director, etc.

          I'm pretty sure any working writer, from Scott Frank to Tony Gilroy would tell you the first draft of anything they write is always for themselves.

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