...Ohh, no doubt! This self-defeating philosophy is why so many of you "Screenplay Writers" struggle so hard to get a script sold. You have no faith in yourself, your script or your own frickin' VISION! The basis, cornerstone and foundation of your script before you ever type "FADE IN" is based on one philosophy: "Whatever I write doesn't really matter".
So how many screenplays have you sold or optioned? How many production companies have you read for or worked with? How many production companies have you been the 'behind the scenes' script editor for? How many writing workshops have you attended? Have you ever taught screenwriting or filmmaking? It's very easy to be an armchair critic if you've never held a camera, acted, directed a scene, shouldered an audio pole or run lighting. It's awfully easy to say your vision is exceptional until you're on the set and have to totally re-work a scene because it just doesn't work as written. Or having to be the editor that needs to cut the film run time by 10 minutes. My experiences inform my writing and my writing is crafted from experience. If you've never worked as an actor, then you should start working in community theater. If you've never worked on a film, you need to volunteer as crew. It will help you improve your work.
"The job of the scriptwriter is STORY"
"[The script] conveys a feel of the story to the director"
...I especially enjoy your synopsis of the overall value of a scriptwriter in your last paragraph:
"Most new writers and their scripts just aren't that important"
I'm enjoying watching the role of the scriptwriter descend into nothingness with each paragraph that you write. In your first paragraph the Scriptwriter is responsible for "STORY". In the following paragraph he is reduced to just the "Feel" of a story. In your last paragraph the Scriptwriter ends up a meaningless, worthless grunt with no vision.
If that's how you want to read it. I thought I was clear from the previous discussion but to be specific "Most new writers and their scripts just aren't that important ...
to warrant being given creative control over the production." If a writer thinks his/her script gives creative license over the film, there will be extreme disappointment. New writers--outside of Hollywood especially--view screenwriting as a golden lottery ticket. They'll make it because "they're special". Actors fall into the same trap. This is fallacious thinking alternating between blind obsession and blaming--"If my script were only more ..." and "My script is PERFECT, it's THE STUDIO who is wrong!". Like anything, getting to the top takes time and effort. Successful screenwriters have a LOT of failures before making it big. Screenwriting is a craft honed with practice.
Having to read hundreds of submitted scripts, you can appreciate those with potential from those who are mediocre at best. It comes down to format, structure, and story. As a reader, I don't care about vision. If the writer can't spin a good story, it doesn't make it past me to even get considered. You have this concept that a script immediately lands in the hands of a producer or director. It doesn't. It lands in the hands of a reader who must decide if it meets script standards. If yes, what's its comparables (is it marketable)? If it passes coverage tests, it moves up the chain. If you have an agent (and to get one of those you have to have a produced project or won a competition these days), you might have it fall into the hands of a director. Thousands of scripts flow in for review. And writers are always pissed when they learn their original idea isn't as original as they thought.
A screenwriter has an idea that s/he changes into a story then crafts into a screenplay. To naively believe s/he will get it right the first time or should make demands before they've developed their skills is a set up for disappointment. A more realistic approach is to work with others who have experience. As the screenwriter grows, their scripts improve and the likelihood of getting that major motion picture increases. The role of the screenwriter is to layout the story framework that can be sold to a producer. If your script gets to that level, it will be your logline and pitch that cinch the deal nowadays. And sometimes, they even trump the quality of the script. If they like the idea, they'll pull in writers to make a workable script. Even A-list screenwriters will often have their writing revised by studio writers.
Look, I would be the first to agree with ALL of you that once you sign over the rights to your script they can do whatever they want with your script (unless it's written into the contract - which many of you mistakenly think is "far fetched"). Where you all error is thinking that whatever VISION you had is completely lost after a sale. I should remind you that it was (((YOUR STINKING VISION))) that got your script sold in the first place!
How many contracts have you signed? How many scripts have you optioned or sold? No one here feels that "all vision is completely lost". We recognize that
creative control over production has changed hands. To think otherwise reflects a lack of industry experience. Perhaps a musician may object to his/her music appearing in a film based on your script for whatever personal reason. His/Her vision and control of their work carries just as much weight as the scriptwriter's vision. Your creative rights don't override another artist's creative rights. If your contract specifies a given song and that musician refuses, guess whose project doesn't get made.
If you are of the mindset that a goon squad of Hollywood script writers will swoop in and totally rewrite your script into another movie I would say you will probably never write a successful script. You have already doomed yourself from the start.
...What makes their talent and vision so much better than yours?
...Are they able to describe a scene better than you?
...Is their "dialogue expertise" so much better than yours?
...Are they going to have a much better plot than you could ever come up with ...just because they're from Hollywood?
You seem to one who is catastrophizing. But if an outsider does successfully sell to a studio, it will be gone over by studio writers. It's not malicious, it's pure economics. They're on a payroll. Theirs is work-for-hire so they don't have copyright claims. The Writer's Guild regulations are different as regards re-writes, credit, etc. They are on set so they can make immediate script changes and shooting script revisions based on studio notes. For a big production, it makes economic sense to have a cadre of in-house writers. It's not personal, it's business.
That office scene you envisioned, well now they have a different location. They have some actors on contract, so they need to add in some scenes/lines. They want more/less sex/violence/etc. The actor wants changes or refuses to do the scene as written. If you think that some director/producer is going to call Cold Springs, KY to get your permission, you'd be sadly mistaken. If you think they're going to pay you to sit in Hollywood and oversee their production, you're also sadly mistaken.
Can they do it better? Maybe yes (they have a much better idea what resources they have access to), maybe no (I've read some very powerfully developed scripts). However, unless the writer is also the director/producer, it will almost certainly be altered by on-site writers. Most of them are interns or industry-hopefuls trying to work their way up with BFAs or MFAs. Many have studied with faculty who have acted or written produced screenplays. As unfair as it seems, Hollywood does have a very low view of the rest of the country, except perhaps New York City and Chicago. Suddenly they're supposed to kowtow to a butcher in Iowa who writes a script? Not likely. Economically and legally, it's cheaper to use local, on-staff writers.
(1) If you write an excellent script (with excellent dialogue, scenes, format, substance and overall impact) to the point that a studio wants to purchase it and make it into a movie ...then YOUR VISION DOES MATTER! They would have never bought it in the first place had your vision NOT mattered!
(2) Yes, many parts of your script will get re-written based on budget, effects capabilities, time limitations and issues the screenplay writer didn't anticipate. ...But they WILL ADHERE to your original idea as much as they possibly can. It does not benefit a Hollywood producer to redo something that already works. "Reinventing the wheel" applies to Hollywood as with just as much as to any other industry in America. If you have something that works ...don't waste time and money making it into something else!
We all agree on that. But don't confuse "vision" with "story". They bought a story to be made into their vision, not yours. It's wonderful when their vision matches yours. However, if the two are in conflict, theirs will win out. On what experience do you have to base "they will adhere to your original idea"? Having worked on over fifteen productions now, I've often found the script was altered from the original, sometimes substantially. Even in major productions, whole scenes are often cut out in editing. Paquin's character was recently cut out of the next X-Men. "Casablanca" was literally written on-the-fly sometimes just hours before the scene was shot. The producer wants a movie that sells, even if it means changing key elements of the story.
Here's the one that hurts:
(3) If your #1 goal is to simply "sell a script" ...then you'll probably end up agreeing with the "Self Defeating" scriptwriter's philosophy posted in these threads. The reason is because you have already reduced yourself to nothing more than a literary whore. You don't believe in yourself nor in what you write. You are 100% happy with being a meaningless pawn in the gigantic Hollywood machine and the only thing important to you is getting a fast paycheck. This type of thinking can ONLY translate into a mediocre Script from the very start!
Why write a script if you want it to sit on a shelf? There are THREE options: (1) try to sell it in Hollywood (which is a very difficult proposition), (2) try to sell/option it to an independent (which means recognizing you need to be a team player, not a prima donna), or (3) make it yourself where it['s totally your own vision. Well, four. The fourth option is to sell it as a novel/play/short story. Since I'd rather not use my scripts to prop up a desk or line cages, I'm content to work within the system to sell/option my scripts or make them into movies myself, which is the idea behind "independent" filmmaking.
You posted at the very beginning of your follow-up post:
"Get over yourself"
...I respectfully counter that with the following:
"You don't even know who you are"
And I respectfully ask, "Why do YOU want to write scripts if not to sell them to someone who can make them into a movie or not make it into a movie yourself?" Truthfully, what experience do you even bring to this discussion as a screenwriter, director, videographer, crew, creative consultant, reader or actor? How many films have you written or been involved with? Have you ever worked as a gaffer or grip? Have you ever taught shot composition or screenwriting? Do you even know how to do a script breakdown or prepare a budget? I know who I am because I know where I've been and where I want to go.
Until you see yourself as a key element in the creation of a major motion picture you will never amount to anything. ...and that IS A FACT!
-Birdman
That we all agree on. However, the scriptwriter is not the ONLY element in the creation of a motion picture. And those who have worked in filmmaking appreciate the level of collaboration needed. If you say "It's MY bat and ball, so people need to play by MY rules!", you'll find others are happy to find others whose sticks and cans aren't elegant but are willing to play. The one thing I've found most important for being successful is being a team player.
I craft wonderful stories and scripts. Being open to let others share in the creativity doesn't diminish my worth or their quality. It has stirred up new ideas and enhanced the projects I've been associated with that have been produced. It's egotism to think the writer's vision is the only correct view.
P.S. Many of you supposed "Scriptwriters" would have a very Merry Christmas today if you opened a present that made you even more restricted and worthless to the movie industry than you were the day before.
Since many of us here already have written and produced films as active screenwriters and filmmakers, most of us shrug our shoulders at your comments. My only question is what gives you the right to think you can chastise us for being successful? What have you to show? I would love to know when you sell/option a major motion picture following your own advice. Maybe if you were in LA and were well connected. It's important to be confident in one's ability though I'd strongly encourage flexibility. As a screenwriter, I'm proactive in seeing my script make it to the screen. Acting abrasive and 'entitled' is counterproductive.
Actually I did get a wonderful gift. A book called "Power Filmmaking Kit" by Jason Tomaric. I am really impressed. It has great advice for filmmaking on a budget and walks you from pre- to post-production. I'd really urge you to get out of your armchair. Perhaps you can get a copy and take full creative control over making your script into a major blockbuster.
My apologies to the OP (original poster) for the digression. Music and film clips require licensing. Including them in the script should be a thoughtful decision and be viewed as a suggestion. Simply be aware that what is actually done with the movie is based on production needs, creative permissions and what can be obtained with the available budget.
Best wishes for the New Year.
