Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with screenplays

High Concept / Low Result

HeroZero — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 08:14:14 -0800

What are some movies with clever premises and terrible execution? I watched Flatliners for the first time last night. It's a high-concept screenplay with an interesting premise -- med students temporarily kill themselves in order to glimpse the afterlife -- that quickly devolves into nonsense and tedium.

Can you think of other movies/books/etc. that start with a great idea and then deflate?

"Based on a story by my pal Shecky"

TheSecretDecoderRing — Thu, 28 May 2009 00:02:38 -0800

How often are the stories of a comic, novel, play, TV series, movie, or song conceived by the writer's friend, relative, acquaintance, neighbor, mailman, dog, etc? Writers get all the credit for their works (except in movies, where the director often ends up with a lot; and TV is often collaborative), but just how often is a given story entirely their own idea?

I remember some old anecdote about how Charles Schulz refused to accept story ideas from fans. And for legal reasons it's probably a smart choice for professional writers. But like a lot of people, IANAPW, but still harbor ambitions of coming up with the concept for the Great American Movie. (A lot of people in America, anyway.)

Not that I plan on hounding my friendly neighborhood screenwriter, but out of sheer curiosity, do you know of any instances where the premise behind a well-known show, movie, book, etc was conceived of in detail by someone other than the credited writer/creator... just an ordinary "civilian"?

A close example would be "Lost," which was roughly conceived by a then-exec at ABC, before being fleshed out by JJ Abrams and company. Now, if the general story arc of the entire series had originally been pitched to JJ by, say, his optician... that'd be even better.

Screenplay editing formats

cascando — Fri, 08 May 2009 09:07:30 -0800

Screenplay editing/ Script Development question. A friend has sent me a copy of his screenplay and is asking for some notes/ story editing commments. I have some questions about the style and format. Please see inside.... I have a copy of the screenplay. What is the standard format for writing my notes on it? Do I work in a Word document, and just write Page 2, Character development issues, Page 3... not enough conflict // protagonist and mother in law etc ... Does anyone have an idea in regards to how this is usually done? Is this done usually page by page, or is it more of a several page general summary of the script and its problems ? Is there a software program that helps? Is there anywhere on the internet or a book that I can see how a screenplay development thing is formatted? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Article on best unproduced screenplays

nightengine — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:17:50 -0800

Looking for an old article on unproduced screenplays. I dimly recall a magazine article from the 80s regarding the best unproduced screenplays. I believe it appeared in Film Comment magazine, though a search of their site turns up nothing. Two screenplays mentioned were The William Muny Killings (later produced as Unforgiven) and a John Boorman project, The Last Illusion. I'd really like to track down this article, especially to see how many projects came to fruition in the intervening years.

Does this ring any bells with anyone, and if so, where can I obtain a copy (preferably online)?

How should I approach screenwriting?

snsranch — Wed, 19 Apr 2006 20:02:23 -0800

Writing for the silver screen (from a novice's view). I have the idea that I can write a few good scripts (screenplays) and if they make the grade, find an agent and make some side money. What is right and/or wrong with this idea? Something is telling me that this is not the right approach.

1) I know nothing about making "pitches" to Hollywood types and/or agents.

2) I've researched the AskMe archives regarding pitches and taglines, but I'm not comfortable with offering up unfinished work.

3) Is it typical for writers to submit screenplays to agents? Or should I be writing in a different format?

4) I have a huge amount of original material, all based on personal experience.

Donnie Darko + Alyssa Milano

lbergstr — Sun, 24 Oct 2004 01:09:48 -0800

The IMDB entry for Donnie Darko says: "The script initially called for Donnie's fantasies to be about Alyssa Milano. This had to be changed however when Richard Kelly was denied the legal rights to reference her in this manner." Does anyone know what laws are operating in this situation?

Scripting the scripty script?

troutfishing — Wed, 19 May 2004 09:56:39 -0800

Speaking of movie scripts, recently a concept for one barged it's way into my head - without even wiping it's feet. There it was. I assume that, in such cases, it's who you know that is important. So - not knowing anyone - I wonder if I should bother (more inside), but I do feel like developing it a bit. Should I noodle out the minutia of dialogue or simply focus on the broad concept ? This one whacked me in the head while I wasn't looking, and i sort of like "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid" meets "You've got mail" meets Monty Python....a warmhearted international romantic comedy of errors, about technology, assumptions, and (of course) unexpected love - but not wholly declawed and with some sharp political edges. I dubbed it "You've got scam!". The same day it hit me, I scrawled out over thirty pages at the beach and it didn't even blow away, nor did any stray dogs piss on it. I have no idea what to do (never having even considered the thought of writing a screenplay let alone a comedy) other than to let it sulk and whine whilst I feed it scraps of time here and there. Obviously, I'm being cagey about the idea itself.

Take one step to the left, then two to the right.

dhoyt — Sat, 17 Jan 2004 10:58:21 -0800

In modern screenplays written for movies and television is it acceptable to include a fair share of Direction? I understand it used to be more common but has fallen out of vogue. (more) I've been finishing up a teleplay while reading some of William Goldman's screenwriting books (which are fantastic), and opinions really seem to differ on this. In his screenplay for Butch & the Sundance kid there is significant direction, even down to very specific camera instructions. Yet I've read that this is widely discouraged these days.

In short: is it best to assume there is a skeletal "writer's copy" of the screenplay which is eventually transformed, via the director, into a more fleshed out "director's copy"?