What others thought of your screenplay

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  • What others thought of your screenplay

    What is the nicest thing someone has said about one of your screenplays?

    Conversely, what one criticism was like a punch in the gut?

    Nice Comment: "I was bummed when the villains were killed at the end. I loved them and wanted to see more."

    Not-So-Nice Comment: (After five pages) "It's a comedy?" "I thought it was horror?"
    Teach me a fact and I'll learn.
    Tell me the truth and I'll believe.
    Tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.

    - Native American proverb -

  • #2
    Re: What others thought of your screenplay

    C/p from one review I received:
    The author should be hired to work on a writing staff for a sit-com. You're creative but let others write the scripts. This is actually a compliment. The story itself is funny. Your best character is Billy. I laughed everytime something came out of his mouth.


    Yep. Gotta love those backhanded compliments.

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: What others thought of your screenplay

      "I'd like to make an offer on this."

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: What others thought of your screenplay

        Originally posted by Ronaldinho View Post
        "I'd like to make an offer on this."
        Is that the Nice or is there a "...for me to poop on!" coming?
        Last edited by Dean; 05-24-2013, 08:42 AM.
        Teach me a fact and I'll learn.
        Tell me the truth and I'll believe.
        Tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.

        - Native American proverb -

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: What others thought of your screenplay

          For one script I did something I said I would never do; a semi-autobiographical piece. It chronicled the few years where I made the mistake of falling in love with a friend knowing it wouldn't end well. It didn't. It got a little ugly and a lot of time passed.

          I got back in touch and eventually asked if it was okay for me to start on said script, which it was. Anyway to cut this long, boring story short I finished it and gave it her to read.

          She got back to me hours later saying how brilliant it was, both very funny and pulled on the heart strings. Yeah it might have just been niceness but I like to think it was genuine. Even after the years of silence I could still bring the emotion out so that was a good moment.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: What others thought of your screenplay

            From two separate well known producers....

            Best: "How do we make this?"

            Worst: "You should be ashamed of yourself."


            Both about the same script.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: What others thought of your screenplay

              Back when I had a manager (seems like eons ago) he got an agent to hip pocket one of my scripts and go wide.

              Nice Comment: she said she agreed because a couple of scenes made her tear up and feel something. And that was good.

              Not so Nice: She also said she could tell it was written by someone "older" and the maturity was a good thing, too. Of course, all I heard was, "It's clear you're older than the average newbie."
              Advice from writer, Kelly Sue DeConnick. "Try this: if you can replace your female character with a sexy lamp and the story still basically works, maybe you need another draft.-

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              • #8
                Re: What others thought of your screenplay

                Nicest comment from a fellow writer: "This is so good it makes me angry I didn't write it."

                Worst comment from a professional reader: "This is fundamentally flawed and completely unsellable."

                Different scripts.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: What others thought of your screenplay

                  In all seriousness, the nicest thing anyone ever said came from an A-list pro who kindly read the opening five pages of my script (I only asked him to read one) and told me that I'm not good enough to be pro and most probably never will be.

                  Said pro has a reputation here for being cruel and harsh (I never thought that) but he was very gracious as well as honest. I respected his expert opinion, his honesty, and the fact the gave the straight forward answers I required - no window dressing, false hope or encouragement to save hurt feelings.
                  M.A.G.A.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: What others thought of your screenplay

                    I'm not pandering when I say that the advanced section of this forum has given transformative feedback and advice. Jeff Lowell and Mazin taught me about stakes. It seems so obvious in hindsight, but it's something I never stop thinking about now. Derek Haas giving me encouraging words is something that fuels me to this day. I still have a ton to learn, and I hope to never be done learning, but having the screenwriter of one of my favorite movies (3:10 to Yuma) compliment my work is something I'll always treasure.

                    As for worst feedback, I haven't had anything particularly awful. Someone once rewrote something of mine and it seemed weird because the revisions seemed to be more of a style/personal preference than actual improvement of the material. I've been lucky though, I'm surrounded by terrific generous writers that give for the most part solid feedback.
                    Ring-a-ding-ding, baby.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: What others thought of your screenplay

                      A producer once said "Your words have swagger." I rather liked that.

                      Some dude on The Tracking Board made a big deal about how he couldn't stand the entire script because there's a scene with cow tipping in it. The scene in question is half a page long.

                      I guess if that's the worst criticism I get to hear, that's not so bad.
                      Chicks Who Script podcast

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                      • #12
                        Re: What others thought of your screenplay

                        "this script is so good it might even make you a better person "

                        (That's about my script "Herod" in case anyone is interested....)
                        "People who work in Hollywood are the ones who didn't quit." -- Lawrence Kasdan

                        Please visit my website and blog: www.lauridonahue.com.

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                        • #13
                          Re: What others thought of your screenplay

                          "Yo, this sh!t was actually funny so I read the whole thing."

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                          • #14
                            Re: What others thought of your screenplay

                            Originally posted by Dean View Post
                            What is the nicest thing someone has said about one of your screenplays?
                            "I thought the script was terrific" -- said by the actor who ended up playing the part.

                            Originally posted by Dean View Post
                            Conversely, what one criticism was like a punch in the gut?
                            Critique for a treatment: "...first, start by removing every adverb. Then, move on to the adjectives."

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: What others thought of your screenplay

                              Worst:

                              "Do people really talk like that?"

                              Best:

                              "Yeah, it was alright."

                              Comment

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