PGL: Studio Thinks Bad Script = Commercial?

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  • PGL: Studio Thinks Bad Script = Commercial?

    I started a new PGL thread to discuss this studio facet of last night's episode.

    Everyone in the room agreed one or both of the other two scripts were better.

    I haven't read the scripts, but just the set up of Feast sounds like the second 'bar' half of that Tarrantino film with Clooney in it (I forget the title). Sean of The Dead used the bar as a vehicle too but it was part of the characters' back story and used well. So this 'bar' concept isn't fresh, either.

    Everyone also agreed Feast had big script problems, including introducing a dozen characters in the first 10 pages.

    With this in mind I ask : WHY does the studio think a bad script can be commercial?

    Is that a commentary on HW studios' opinion of audiences?

    Do they think audiences are so stupid, you can just throw a recycled idea and bad writing at them, and audiences will come in droves because it's a genre film.

    Or, could it be, the other two scripts were too original and the studio guys could better envision Feast because it WAS a recycled idea?

    Add to this - - the trailer for the next episode showed a studio guy beating up on the writers. That was interesting. First they elevate these guys, 'Great script.' then they smash them to the ground: 'Youe script sucks and I'll get other writers & replace you if you don't rewrite it."

    And KUDOS to Matt Damon for telling the studio guys off.

  • #2
    Seeing as I also introduce a dozen characters in the 1st ten pages, here's to hoping this film rocks the hizzy, as they say in the projects.

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    • #3
      WHY does the studio think a bad script can be commercial?
      Because it's the easiest to market to a mass audience. It's life Affleck said: the Dimension guys already had the poster in mind...the trailer...everything. If you have those -- and you put enough money behind 'em -- you can get people into the theater. And at this point in time, it's all about having a PGL movie that makes a return on investment.

      BTW, WILDCARD sucked. I am SHOCKED it got into the Top 3. Shocked. And then I was appauled when Wes Craven actually optioned the friggin' thing later with an eye towards directing it!

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      • #4
        Maybe you guys don't know what makes a commercial script good?

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        • #5
          Whatever, Dave.... :rolleyes

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          • #6
            I'm just saying. You saying a script sucks, and Wes Craven saying "I can make money with this" makes me believe he might know a bit more about the script's real value than you do.

            No offense meant.

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            • #7
              Well, as much as I've enjoyed Wes Craven's films, I would hardly call him a strong judge of artistic merit.

              Ele...

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              • #8
                the set up of Feast sounds like the second 'bar' half of that Tarrantino film with Clooney in it (I forget the title)
                From Dusk Till Dawn, FWIW.

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                • #9
                  Here's my question: Is the PGL grading system flawed?

                  Don't contestants submit a script and then by doing this, have to read and grade another one?

                  Well, who's gonna rave about another script when you have your own up there? Knowing how people are and how tough this biz is to get into, who wouldn't torpedo every submission they could get their dirty, little hands on?

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                  • #10
                    Except we're not talking artistic merit Ele. Because in the final analysis, artistic merit and a quarter won't even buy you a cup of coffee.

                    We're talking commercially good.

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                    • #11
                      Right, Ele. I mean, maybe there are those rare directors out there who honestly don't give a sh*t about making money and only care about the art.

                      But I'd wager that most of them want to keep making those Bimmer payments.

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                      • #12
                        But I'd wager that most of them want to keep making those Bimmer payments.
                        *best hard-ass Mexican accent*

                        "Payments? We don't make no stinkin payments!"

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                        • #13
                          So you're saying, Dave, that Craven's perception of value for the script is monetary value, not artistic value. I can buy that.

                          Ele...

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                          • #14
                            My two cents. Okay, four cents.

                            I didn't read any of the final scripts either, but I have a hard time thinking that the script was "bad", it just wasn't written as well as the other scripts.

                            The studio wants to make money - every time they decide to greenlight something it is to make money. This is business, bottom line. (*note to self, shmoozing works with suits)

                            So the question is, what's going to make money? Well, truthfully it's a big ol crap shoot because if I remember right, only four out of every ten movies produced every year make money and only one is a blockbuster. (I could have those stats wrong, but it's along those lines)

                            The best they can do is make an educated guess. Monsters will put more 18-25 year old guys in the seats. Monsters will appeal to the basic horror audience. So the script is inferior to the other two finalists - guess what? Scripts can be rewritten. Apparently the problems they had with the script are fixable.

                            I'm not surprised that the studio strong armed for the more marketable Beast considering PGL has been a big ol money sucking machine for the last two projects.

                            The studio wants this next one to be a success. They think this is their best shot.

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                            • #15
                              Here's my question: Is the PGL grading system flawed?
                              Abso-friggin'-lutely it's flawed! That's why scripts like STOLEN SUMMER and THE BATTLE OF SHAKER HEIGHTS made it into the Top 10 in the first place.

                              Even if you look past the fact "warring" screenwriters are being forced to judge one another's work, you also have a bunch of non-entrant PGL members who know nothing about the mechanics and art of screenwriting deciding what story "sucks" and what story is "good."

                              Time and finances would ultimately make this a prohibitive idea, but I would like to see the entire peer-judging facet done away with and have professional readers evaluate all of the material. Again, that ain't gonna happen, but I think you'd have better quality material get to the final round.

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