Writing when the movie could get ruined
When you conceive a great screenplay idea do you ever
worry about how that idea might be destroyed if and
when it gets produced as a film? How do you overcome
the anxiety that a great idea will be poorly executed
and go on writing?
– Ralph
Los Angeles, CA
Whether it’s an original script or an adaptation, screenwriters have every reason to worry that their great script will get butchered, mangled and ruined. At least in terms of plot and character, my hunch is that most movies were significantly better before they were filmed — generally, at the draft when the director signed on. Because it’s after that point that the compromises begin: we can’t afford that location; the actor doesn’t like that moment; we need to cut 10 pages for budget.
This is what sucks about screenwriting. Unlike a novel, a screenplay is not a “final” art form. However beautifully written, it’s essentially a plan for making a movie. And plans change.
Even if a screenwriter directs her own movie, it’s never going to be as perfect as it was on the page. Between the camera, the actors, the lights and the locations, nothing will be exactly as she planned it. Directors like George Lucas and Robert Rodriguez may use technology to nudge their films closer and closer to their original vision, but it’s never going to be quite what they imagined. For instance, I bet JarJar Binks was great on the page.
So, knowing that things will get changed, and quite possibly ruined, how does the screenwriter avoid creative paralysis?
You have to embrace the chaos on some level. Moviemaking is like white-water rafting. You know you’re going to get from point A to point B, but it’s going to be scary along the way. You’ll have to paddle your ass off. You might get thrown from the boat. But if you make it down in one piece, that’s success.
If you’re not comfortable with those risks, screenwriting isn’t for you. There are many safer and less terrifying literary forms out there.
Articles
June 9th, 2005 at 10:09 am
I think all you can do is love what you have written but be prepared to throw your baby in the dumpster if you have to. This is not to say that you write with any less focus or intensity. When writing for yourself to direct just understand that what you have written will probably resemble perfection for a short period of time. Once you take on the task of directing a film from that screenplay be prepared to make compromises but push hard to make sure it resembles what you intended. It can happen. I think when you are looking to sell the screenplay, you are at the mercy of whoever is signing the check or so it seems. It makes no sense but hey, that’s how films get made…
June 9th, 2005 at 10:16 am
Not everything always gets worse when a movie gets made. Everyone who reads a script will visualize it a bit differently. Even those who view the final results have a different view of it’s success. A great actor, director of photography, art director, etc can improve scenes or at least provide more life in the final images than the screenwriter had originally imagined. This may not happen a lot but it certainly happens.
June 9th, 2005 at 10:52 am
Poor Jar Jar. He’s the William Hung of his time.
June 9th, 2005 at 12:14 pm
In his later years Eugene O’Neill wrote plays strictly to be read, not performed (they were performed anyway, despite his intent), because he felt the play in his head (and, by extension, on the page) was better than any staging a theatre could ever give. I’ve sometimes thought one could write screenplays strictly for publication, to be read, and not for production. Since the mid-90’s published screenplays have become very popular and how-to scriptwriting books even moreso. Granted, the published scripts are generally hit films (though Spanglish stands out as an exception, it’s still an interesting read because it’s by James Brooks.) and there is a social identification with them but I wonder if publishing screenplays just to be read would fly?
June 9th, 2005 at 12:15 pm
Scott,
I think you’re right, it can happen. I think a big part of that equation is the budget. The bigger the budget the more hands on deck. If it’s a small/micro budget the film will suffer from having to cut corners. The mid range seems to be the best of both worlds where, hopefully, if everyone is on board with what the final result will be it can be a great experience.
June 9th, 2005 at 4:05 pm
Rob,
As a former high school English teacher, I think many students would be more intereted in reading a screenplay than a book . . . wait a second isn’t that like studying a play (i.e. Antigone, Romeo and Juliet, The Crucible) and those were some of the most painful days. Perhaps it was the subject matter. If it had been Liar,Liar maybe it wouldn’t have been as painful and the students would have still learend an important moral lesson. . . Moving to strictly publishing them. . . I don’t know about that. That opens all sorts of sticky situations. If a publisher prints it who owns rights to it if someone wants to film it? This might be an interesting thread to throw out to the guys at Artful Writer.
June 9th, 2005 at 10:59 pm
How does any creative peson avoid paralysis? I’m a writer…not necessariy of screenplays…and I tutor children in writing through my local library’s literacy program.
Everyday paralysis can be broken through exercises that get your imagination flowing again. Focus on what brings you pleasure….imagine it, talk about it, get lost in it. It might be a scenic spot, a sumptious meal, unforgettable sex. Whatever. Dream it…then write about it. Do it for days, alternating with reading a book only for pleasure. The combinatin will get your writing flowing again.
Deeper blocks require therapy.
June 10th, 2005 at 9:21 am
come armed with massive talent and brutal hard work, and humility despite knowing you’re one of the best. solves many of these issues. not all, but many
June 10th, 2005 at 4:14 pm
Circusguy,
I suppose if someone wanted to shoot it they would have to buy the rights just as they would a novel or if the script had been submitted to them by the writer or her agent. But as a script published solely to be read, those rights could be refused by the author or publisher. That might not stop, say, a film student from shooting it as an exercise or graduate film but in that case if it were distributed for profit he’d get his ass sued for not obtaining the rights.
June 10th, 2005 at 7:10 pm
I’m in the middle of reading Steve Zaillian’s draft (the final shooting script) of “Patriot Games,” by Peter Iliff. I just finished Iliff’s 5/31/91 draft (no way of telling which draft it is, presumably the one that got bought, or he had been hired to write). Yes, this draft is different. And improved. And, to the best of my recollection (I haven’t seen the film in a while), the finished product closely follows this draft. The point being that it’s actually possible for your script to IMPROVE in the development process. IMHO, all you can do is write from your heart, hope for the best, and thank your lucky stars if your script gets bought.
June 16th, 2005 at 12:53 am
Hello. As an Iranian graduate I must claim that some of Persian stories and folklore suit to be turned into comprehensive and in some cases amusing screenplays. I express my readiness to sell the English translates of them to agencies which buy them, but I do not know how. Perhaps, you are the right source to inform me what to do.
I would be grateful I wish to hear from you soon
Best Regards M.T
June 27th, 2005 at 9:40 am
Have you ever written something great, but the director completely muddled with your script, and once it was on the big screen, you hated it? And in that instance, would you ever pull your name from the writing credits?