It seems like "Screenplay Script Writing" is in its own special little world where you learn, learn, learn to do the right things, perfect your scripting, sharpen your technique and master your skills ....only to find the upper crust of the Hollywood screenplays resemble the noobie shit you did waaaaay back in the beginning. ...So this is why I say it's "Fucked up".
I supposed I'd have to agree. But when you reach the top of your game, you don't need to play by the same rules. When you can afford to fund the making of your own script or you are placed in the position of making your own script (writer/director), guess what, your bad writing habits get made into a movie. It's not uncommon for directors to pay their friends to proof (i.e. doctor) their scripts. The history of movies is fascinating. The script for "Casablanca" was literally being written hours before the scene was being shot. Sometimes the 'noobie shit' seen in the published shooting scripts are the additions/alterations added after the fact. I want to re-emphasize, the scripts you read online are often NOT the scripts that were originally submitted. To make that assumption is dangerous and misleading. I think that is where your confusion lies.
If you sent me your manuscript and I decided to produce it. We start shooting and realize, we're way over budget. So my director crosses out your ending and puts in something smarmy writing "We see the hero roll over and shoot the villain. The heroine quickly runs over and is seen kissing him as he dies." The movie is made. Now the addition appears in the shooting script in place of yours though it still has your name because of WGA requirements. Damn, Birdman broke the rules with "we see", "quickly", "is seen", etc. Are you a bad boy rule breaker - or you just inherit the reputation from a shooting script edit? You still get paid, so does it matter? Hell, you don't even own the copyright so can't complain. This is a case where the output does not resemble the input. And a writer directing his/her own work has fewer constraints. And I have to say, some of the scripts I've read by writer/directors could only have been produced under this effed up system.
...I had my house built from a blueprint. The builders modified the hell out of the blueprints to make "special things" that I wanted to happen. They added 2 extra feet to the basement so I could work on my paintings along with a myriad of other changes.
When I walk out to the street and look at my house ......IT STILL looks just like the blueprints indicated it would. Sure, many things changed, but the house I saw in the illustration is the one that's sitting on my lot right now!
That's true for most scripts as well. You can always find examples of scripts that have been transmogrified beyond their original concept. It's not an "us against them" with writers, directors and producers. Like I said, it comes down to money. It costs too much for a producer to have to totally redo a script. It's easier to pass. Effects heavy films tend to run behind with cost overruns. As a result, often the cool scenes are cut, dumbed down, or the endings get drastically overhauled. The same for period pieces. But as the home owner, you could change the walls, windows, put on a patio. That is the same with the person who owns your script. Because you bought the house (script), as its new owner you can change it to make it liveable for you.
Now YOUR definition of a Screenplay being a "blueprint" is completely different than Rayw's, Chimps and several others. Their version of a "blueprint" is that I write a damned screenplay. The "Director" comes along and scraps everything I wrote and substitutes his own. My "vision" regarding the movie is tantamount to NOTHING!
Why can't you all agree on something as basic as what a Screenplay actually is?
So who's right? ...You? ....Chimp? .........Rayw? ...............Nobody?
-Birdman
Well, I am, of course.
I think we all agree that your vision of the story is uniquely yours. The realization of your story is the person who buys it off you. Ideally, they match up, but not always. As pragmatic realists, we urge you to take the money and run. If you truly want to see the movie made the way you've written it, you NEED to produce and direct it yourself. That is the
only way to ensure that it is artistically faithful.
There are many reasons, if I produced your project, I'd need to make changes. I can get a SAG actor on an Ultra-low budget agreement. He needs to be a main character. Your 17 something lead is now a 35 something lead. I can use his name to sell this picture. Oops, he can't be in high school anymore, so it needs to be changed to a community college setting since he looks like he can play a 25 something. Damn, this will need some re-writing. Now with all the changes, Birdman has gone from "written by" to "adapted from". If you have an agent, s/he may have negotiated your contract to include the re-writes, hence protecting your author status. As a producer, I still love your story about the twinkling vampire but I need to make a profit. Since I optioned/bought your script, you have little to no say so in how I use it.
What Chimp and Ray touch on is that there are three levels: hobby filmmaking, local indie filmmaking and production studio filmmaking. This forum supports all three levels. Hobby filmmakers are often 0-$10K budget shoots of fan films, horrors, shorts, local festival films. Indie filmmakers often have budgets from $10K - $500K. They typically use professional actors (non-union and occasionally union) with professional grade equipment. They will sometimes shop around for scripts. Production studio filmmakers are $500K+. These are almost always SAG/AFTRA productions with sufficient clout to bankroll their production budgets. They often anticipate a substantial return from various venues--DVD, streaming, overseas distribution, etc.
Most screenwriters can get their work produced in the first two categories. Most local indie directors don't care if you use proper format or not. Most of them are also writer/directors. Those that do dedicate themselves to perfecting their talents often move up to the next level and can partner with major studios for distribution. The third group is the "professional" level. They want a script that delivers ROI. They have access to green screen and sound studios. They know that time is money. They have access to writers with production credits under their belt. On the production side, the more a writer can do to make the script profitable to shoot, the more likely it is to be purchased and made as written. A clean, well written script is a blueprint for a good storyboard.
Like your house, sometimes the changes are internal. The outside is like the genre (horror, sci-fi, etc.). The interior is more the structure (scenes and acts). Sometimes by choice or accident, part of the house is demolished and needs to be changed. It isn't common that the whole house needs to be razed and rebuilt from scratch, though it sometimes happens if major elements are in disrepair. I don't care what house you buy, as the homeowner, you'll probably make some minor changes--painting a room, adding/removing carpeting, etc. The same is true with a script. The more closely the script matches the producer's needs and resources, the fewer changes that are needed.
When you sell a house, the realtor makes suggestions how to improve its 'curb appeal' and inside, its 'familiarity'. The same is true with suggestions about a reader makes about a script's style. A good reader doing coverage, like a good realtor, will know what the other "houses" in your area are going for. So a well written script--for me--is a blueprint that suggests genre, structure and story and marketability ('curb appeal'). Ray tends to focus on genre, structure and marketability (the money hungry bastard
). I think story shouldn't pander solely to commercial interests. Not every movie worth making needs to gross millions of dollars but it should at least cover production expenses with a money left over to invest in future productions. On the other hand, I don't turn down money even when the film goes unmade.
This way this script can be comprehensive not only for its creator, but for other programmers as well. And, unlikely with GOTO's, it also visually shortens the script code.
).