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Stopping Behavior – Scanning Persistance

stopping-your-reader

Otherwise known as taking your reader and or audience OUT OF THE STORY. You don’t want to do that. This seems to be a little known and common phenomenon discussed in articles, books, and workshops but make no mistake…

It’s no less important.

Plus, it happens to all of us — no matter the level. I’ve actually read about stopping behavior that occurs in journalism but it’s really not that much different in screenwriting i.e., anything written that STOPS, PAUSES, or CAUSES your reader to jump out of your story — even if only for a moment.

Now there’s no way to know for sure what will take the person reading your script out of your story… There’s a lot of little things… TINY things that we do not all share.

I consider these more OCCUPATIONAL HAZARDS because you simply cannot know what’s going to make a particular person stop reading your screenplay.

Having said that, there are definitely BIG THINGS to avoid…

I could go on with this but you get the idea… This is just what’s IN your pages… LOL. What about your package? True, a lot of screenplays get sent via email although I personally would never do that… But it does happen every day… However, I’m talking about hard copy screenplays that get sent through the mail or some delivery service.

Had I not seen scripts with these kinds of problems, I might not have believed it but WOW… It happens and you’d be surprised how much it happens:

Again, I could go on with this but this isn’t really a list of screenwriting mistakes… What I’m talking about are things that are going to stop your reader DEAD in their tracks… Everything I’ve listed above is THE EASY STUFF. The kind of stuff that you definitely should know about before you send your script out to market. These are the GIVENS i.e., it’s a GIVEN that you shouldn’t send a script out with any of these problems.

Yet… It gets done all the time.

One of my own problems is telegraphing… I tend to set up a character way too much before they speak… Especially in my first drafts. But I do it that way because just as I don’t want a reader to stop reading my script, I don’t want to stop MY WRITING FLOW. I am a huge believer is keeping the writing flowing as much, as hard, and as long as you can and if that means writing every little thing down — SO BE IT.

Because cutting… At least to me, is a piece of cake. So when I go back through that draft, I can easily cut all the telegraphing that I’ve done and in fact, it sticks out at me like a sore thumb but it was NECESSARY for me to get that draft out as I tend to think in complete thoughts i.e., I SEE THE MOVIE and I COPY IT DOWN.

But telegraphing can easily take a reader OUT OF YOUR STORY so unless there’s a very good reason to telegraph, it’s definitely one of those things you want to cut. Another thing is every little movement a character might make in a scene. Another one of my own problems to be sure… I write it like I see it which means I am directing the character’s every move on the page. But again, unless those specific movements are important and integral to the scene, just say something like:

Jack exits the truck.

Instead of:

Jack pushes his sun visor up and out of the way, turns off the radio, opens the driver’s side door and jumps out of his truck.

Can’t tell you how many times I’ve read stuff like that… Unless we really need to know all those things before Jack exits his truck, cut ‘em.

But even that isn’t what this post is really about…

What I’m talking about here is QUANTITY. How many times are YOU willing to RISK taking your reader out of your story?

One? Two? Three? Four? MORE? LOL.

I know producers and readers that might be willing to be taken out of the story once or twice… And the good news is that these are problems that they simply cannot ignore thus, out of the story they go. Meaning, that they tend to overlook a lot of the little crap. That’s the good news.

The bad news is that they won’t do this too many times before tossing the script.

I can’t give you a list of everything that might take a reader out of your story or stop them dead in their tracks… It’s too large and definitely too subjective but IT EXISTS. That means you definitely want a few people to read your script before sending it out… I even give my scripts to people that know NOTHING about screenwriting just to see what might take them out of the story… I even ask them if they’d be willing to give me some notes if something really sticks out at them.

A sixteen year old kid just read my latest script as I was very interested in his take… And yeah, he told me about all the problems he had with it… LOL. “Hey, what does EXT. mean? Every time I read it, I wonder what it means!”

Whew… Those kinds of problems I like.

Unk




Thursday: 3 September 2009|1709|Under Tips

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30 Responses to “Stopping Behavior – Scanning Persistance”

  1. Christian H. on Thursday: 3 September 2009|1912

    Howdy,
    Great tips. I probably haven’t read the number you have but I’ve definitely seen the same types of “stuff.”
    I’m no genius and haven’t made a dime yet but I try really hard to steal from everyone who is “in the know.” (Who’d have thought I guy who curses a lot would be so insightful!) :-)

    The biggest issue I’ve had with feedback is the “why didn’t he…” comment. Though admittedly, I’ve smashed myself in the head trying to be more visual with less text – that may actually be my problem. I tend to “underwrite” certain things but I have “set designer” on the brain and they hate being told more than costume designers.

    There is a fine line between too much and not enough but I admit I love trying to walk it. Right now I’m at a crossroads between my actual day job and my perspective “day job” (read:start at midnight if you want).

    I’m just glad there are people like you around to help.

  2. Mike on Friday: 4 September 2009|0303

    Unk,

    Good stuff! Always write the shitty first draft because the real writing is:

    rewriting–

    and rewriting–

    and…

    Keep Writing!

  3. James on Friday: 4 September 2009|1715

    “Scripts arriving in with each page in clear plastic sheet containers”

    Hey, I need some of these. I use ‘em for storyboards to stick in a binder. You got any extras? :)

  4. Unk on Saturday: 5 September 2009|0048

    James,

    Shit… I just used the last of ‘em to send out a screenplay.

    Unk

  5. David Kassin Fried on Saturday: 5 September 2009|0651

    I like:

    Exit the truck.

    I’m certainly guilty of overwriting the action in a first draft – but I agree, it’s part of the writing flow. If you’re good at editing your own stuff, it’s always better to write too much and cut later.

  6. Tom on Saturday: 5 September 2009|1822

    The problem I’ve always had, and am getting over, is that I don’t always know when the audience will be able to fill in the blanks.

    When I write at least, I have the story in my head, and it flows naturally there. I see the characters in real time. But movies don’t happen in real time. So, I think it’s really about figuring out the least amount of information the reader needs to get what you’re trying to do then moving forward.

  7. Screenwriting Best of the Web 07/09/09 | The Story Department on Saturday: 5 September 2009|2235

    [...] UNK on how to make them stop reading/watching [...]

  8. Wojciehowicz on Sunday: 6 September 2009|0926

    The hardest thing for me is remembering that unless an act is specific to the story as a matter of plot and continuity, and even then should be left to the least description necessary, the mechanics of how the character will do something are largely going to be dictated by the director and the actors themselves when they get around to read-throughs and the actual shooting.

    On top of it I tend to write paperback fiction style and then adapt to screenplay format (I’ve only just gotten into screenplay writing) so there’s a lot of descriptiveness to remove.

    Nice blog you have here and I intend to follow it.

  9. Daniel Medley on Sunday: 6 September 2009|2137

    I hear so many views. What is the correct use of ellipses in a screenplay?

  10. John H on Monday: 7 September 2009|0021

    Am definitely guilty of one or two of those.

    Am interested about putting a picture on the cover though. If I were sending stuff to an agent or the Writersroom or something I wouldn’t bother (ie – where they’re really only interested in whether I can write or not) but if I’m trying to sell the idea of a series or feature as much as my writing then I’ve been told that some artwork helps them see the poster and tone and marketing potential (ie – does that one image intrigue them?)

    Is the concensus that it’s always a no-no then?

  11. Phoenix on Monday: 7 September 2009|1649

    Hey Unk,

    Confused by these two points:

    a)Unbelievable character action
    b)Unbelievable character dialogue

    But some scripts are “fable-like” and “fairytail-like” and VERY VERY cinematic and melodramatic..

    Look at INGLORIOUS BASTERDS. It’s getting standing
    ovations at every movie theatres in EUROPE.
    And some at the evening shows in North America.
    So I think a) and b) can work…

    So why did these two points work in INGLORIOUS BASTERDS?

    Phoenix

  12. Andy Phoenix on Tuesday: 8 September 2009|0519

    Unk,
    I actually delivered my script in a 3 ring binder to
    a Latino director in Miami.
    He was okay with it. And he gave me notes.
    So it’s okay, I think.

    How come that worked?

    Thank you.

  13. Lee Matthias on Tuesday: 8 September 2009|1855

    I recently posted on this kind of thing at my blog, “The Last Reveal,” but with a somewhat different take.

    While I am all for readability, and can’t argue with your logic that anything that stops them from reading is bad, I see some of this stuff to be anal in the extreme–the two brads versus three, for example, or the white covers versus beige.

    I see an element that for want of a better term I refer to as “The Screenwriting Priesthood,” a kind of literary paparazzi who get between writers and any chance at the brass ring. They’re script gurus and the like, they hardly ever write scripts themselves, and they run their little cottage industry likke Fruit of the Loom: “It’s not a screenplay unless we say it’s a screenplay!” For them it’s all about power, getting it and hanging onto it. So they impose rules, and most newbies follow ‘em.

    If the worth of a piece of work is neutralized by the writer having used a flashback or narration, no matter the rest of the story, then the tail truly is wagging the dog. Writers don’t have to become “Journeymen,” as the priesthood would have us believe, before they are “allowed” to break the rules.

  14. Unk on Tuesday: 8 September 2009|2346

    Daniel,

    Traditionally, an elipsis consists of only three (3) periods that come one after another…

    Like that.

    What happens ALL THE TIME IN newbie screenplays is inconsistent use of elipsis as well as the incorrect AMOUNT of periods….

    Like that.

    Additionally…You can use the elipsis like that. Or like this… Either is acceptable. I’m old school… So I use it like that.

    The biggest complaint I’ve heard and had discussions about with people in the business are the inconsistent NUMBER of periods or dots… Whatever you want to call them. When someone consistently uses an inconsistent NUMBER of periods for their elipsis, it pretty much confirms they’ve not done their homework and usually, the rest of the script follows suit.

    John,

    If you’ve queried or have been referred to a producer that wants to read your script, you can most likely get away with putting a graphic or picture on the cover… I know this because I’ve seen it done but MOSTLY by professional screenwriters that have already been produced.

    Having said that, I can also tell you that there are probably JUST AS MANY producers who wouldn’t be persuaded that a script is worth reading BECAUSE of the picture. In fact, I know a lot of people who would toss that script away… WHY?

    As I’ve said MANY times before… People in the business be they readers, producers, agents, manager, directors, et al have to somehow filter the quantity of scripts they have laying around DOWN to a MANAGEABLE number. If you don’t think many people in the business use one or more of the things I listed off the top of my head in the post above as a way to filter…

    Think again.

    Phoenix,

    You can’t take a movie like INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS and use IT as some kind of a rule of thumb… LOL. Quentin Tarantino wrote it and as we should all know by now, QT can write anything he wants and submit to anyone he wants and they are going to read it.

    Having said that… In a QT flick, what makes you think HIS characters perform unbelievable character action or unbelievable character dialogue? Those are HIS characters. He set them up to be the way they are and in both his script and movie, I would definitely argue that his characters are in fact believable because of HIM.

    And the fact that you delivered ONE script to a Latino Director in Miami (is there a reason we need to know he is Latino?) means NOTHING. LOL. If you don’t believe me, send your scripts to EVERYONE in a 3 ring binder and see what happens.

    Why did it work? Uh… You answered that yourself… “He was okay with it.”

    Lee,

    I agree. Which is why I always read scripts that come to me. Just because somebody hasn’t been schooled in the not-so-fine art of spec screenplay submission is no reason to toss the script in the garbage…

    But what do I know?

    Unfortunately, it all comes down to filtering as I outlined above… You’ve got 300 scripts to read by the end of the month but YOU KNOW you can only read and do coverage on 100 by the end of the month.

    How do you think they will create that filter? LOL. Trust me… Sometimes, there AIN’T NO FILTER and the ones in the pile closest to the garbage can get tossed.

    Point being is that getting a quantity of professionals to read your script is a numbers game i.e., you query or ask for referrals of 50 professionals and you end up getting requests for 5 script submissions.

    Do you or DON’T YOU want your script to be read? If you want it to actually end up being read, why would you consciously decrease its chances of being read OR STOPPING the read by doing one or more of a myriad of things that just happens to stop readers or keep the script from getting read?

    Why would anyone consciously risk stopping the reader when just a little more attention to detail obviously INCREASES your chances of both getting read and not stopping the read along the way?

    Isn’t it just as easy to put a professional looking screenplay together as it is to submit a piece of shit?

    By the way… These aren’t my rules and no… OF COURSE there will always be those isolated incidents where a script (by a non-produced screenwriter) that breaks all the rules gets read and maybe even sold . And, if you want to submit your spec based on those very few specs that broke the rules, be my guest…

    To throw produced screenwriters into the equation just doesn’t compute. They are produced. Being produced means they can do whatever they want because they have people chomping at the bit to read whatever they write no matter how they write it or what they write it on.

    Unk

  15. Lee Matthias on Wednesday: 9 September 2009|0854

    Apologies for the double post. It didn’t take for quite awhile.

  16. Christian H. on Wednesday: 9 September 2009|1641

    Hi all,
    TO the person who wondered about ellipses, it’s easy to remember:

    Ellipses are used when a thought trails off.
    Dashes are used when a person is cuttin ginto the conversation.

    All these and more are located in The Screenwriter’s Bible by David Trottier. Very cheap at The Writer’s Store or Amazon.

  17. reacharound on Thursday: 10 September 2009|1319

    I’m so sick and tired of anal readers. So the script arrived in a 3 ring folder, SO WHAT? SO WHAT? SO WHAT?

    Get over yourselves and your obsessive, small rules and judge the work on it’s quality.

    Brad’s too long? Shove it up your ass.

    Love the site btw, this is directed at assholes who’re not you.

  18. Wojciehowicz on Thursday: 10 September 2009|2300

    While it may seem anal to have all these rules for script submissions, you can think of it as similar to writing a good Python or Javascript or HTML script. Readability is going to be an issue sooner or later and even if you’re the CIO, the other people in the IT/IS team are going to more likely than not be used to the standards. Following the dominant formatting rules is EXTREMELY HELPFUL to those already conditioned, and those already conditioned are, statistically speaking, going to be the majority of those you HAVE TO deal with.

    If you spend time being annoyed with those adhering to the standards, all you’ll do is lose more arguments than you win. While I’m sure most know the standards are a combination of arbitrary, random and evolutionary, no one is likely to ever agree on anything different. Not to mention not having standards makes the read a chore for those who have to do it all day long.

    I don’t really mind appeasing those who simply by virtue of being essentially script management functionaries and thus in a position to circular file when annoyed or tired or both, could tank any chance I have at getting something really good in front of someone in a position to get a check for a year’s worth of income signed over to me. Never mind the people actually signing the checks who have to take it from the first bunch and think it something worth producing. Those are the other group of people not to annoy.

  19. Andy Phoenix on Friday: 11 September 2009|1946

    I agree with reacharound’s comment.

    As long as I make the reading experience for the
    director easy –> Really who cares.

    A bookstore owner gave me the three Jason Bourne screenplays. It was printed –> double sided and binded (professionally).

    I loved reading all three scripts in his way. It’s easy to flip and speed read.

    I did the same thing – double sided and binded my script. And delived my script to a director. His wife who is screenwriter/director actually read the script first and loved it.

    Really –> rules are meant to be broken.

    Do directors and producers care about these “formalities”. NO. They will tell by the first page if it’s crap. Even if you did a vanity publishing thing where you printed the script like a book?

    So frustrating when Hollywood is changing rapidly and we’re still worried about “formalities”.

  20. Bear on Saturday: 12 September 2009|1401

    Andy / Reacharound,

    Unk’s a smart guy. Listen to him.

    “Do you or DON’T YOU want your script to be read? If you want it to actually end up being read, why would you consciously decrease its chances of being read OR STOPPING the read by doing one or more of a myriad of things that just happens to stop readers or keep the script from getting read?”
    -Unk

    The Bourne scripts you read came from a book store… These were not production drafts. Trust me. Despit ethe inexplicable success of abnormalities and anomalies, no screen writer should ever be submitting ANY draft bound in any way other than the officially accepted two-brad method and following all other rules prescribed by Hollywood. Why? Because there’s just no damn reason to!

    I forget who, but some pro screen writer likes to refer to himself as a “story architect.” And that’s exactly right. We build stories, the medium (i.e. paper, etc.) is irrelevant. Architects make blue-prints and they all use the same type of paper. The important thing is what that house will look like when built!

    Hollywood has been kind enough to develop rules, arbitrary as they may be, that allow us to avoid agonizing over what font to use and which fastening device is least likely to catch in an envelope. It’s a waste of time and potentially a waste of a good story to present it in an unprofessional, albeit creative, way. If you want to express your creativity through bindings, fonts, paper and bedazzled covers, take up desktop publishing or scrapbooking. Besides, many of these rules exist for a reason.

    During development and production, those scripts get handed out to a hundred or so people who all want to take notes all over the pages. Then there are dozens of revisions during which new pages are copied on different colors of paper to replace old pages. Single-sided, two brads, courier 12 point, set margins,etc: this format makes it possible to stay organized throughout and do so in an efficient way. Double-sided drafts are often distributed to marketing and ancillary departments because they won’t need rewrites and it saves $ on paper costs, but that’s it. Imagine being the PA that had to keep track of rewrites when you have a third revision page 57 and a fifth revision page 58. “How do I get one side of the paper to be goldenrod and the other side to be blue?” (Are there exceptions to this? Sure! And some land mines are duds; but I wouldn’t go for an afternoon stroll in a minefield.)

    What does this have to do with a spec submission when they’re going to be reprinting it anyway? Consistency, probably. I don’t know… But some people care more than others. It takes a lot of Yeses to get a movie made, but only one No. And that No can come from a shmuck making 75 bucks a day.

    Fuck all, it doesn’t matter. None of it matters… EXCEPT the STORY. I say focus not at all on these rules, just follow them. Focus on telling a kick-ass story. Let THAT stand out from the pack.

    Also, I’m pretty sure there is a large contingent of self-defeating writers who have so little confidence in their ability that they intentionally break these rules to transfer the onus of their (perceived) failure onto something other than themselves. “Of course I got no calls about my submission! Hollywood’s all about rules and fitting in and they totally couldn’t handle my creativity — which was all but bursting from the seams of my butterfly-shaped, sparkle-coated, 9 point Garamond-fonted, 195-page MASTERPIECE!” And if you think that level of self-sabotage is absurd, just consider for a moment how masochistic the art of writing is to begin with…

  21. Andy Phoenix on Sunday: 13 September 2009|0846

    Hey Bear,

    Okay I see your point, only when I was starting off in screenwriting years ago.

    Now, I’m at a different stage and I don’t have the connections and I’m not a social “butterfly”.

    Just like the thousands of good writers in LA. They are good but have ZERO CONNECTIONS and ZERO DESIRES TO SOCIALIZE or SUPERVISE THEIR AGENTS AND MANAGERS INDIRECTLY….

    So one has to lean on CREATIVE/LATERAL professional, slick, concise marketing strategies.

    After winning some awards, placing at Nicholl, made some short films and tired of getting good coverages…

    What’s next?

    More marketing.

    I will do it my way.
    I will break the rules.
    I will treat people with respect even if they ridicule me.
    I will only fight the important battles.
    I will not sweat the small stuffs.
    I will have some form of success.
    I will.

    Hollywood is not film school.

  22. Pam Inglese on Friday: 18 September 2009|1022

    Movie makers counsel screenwriters – ad nauseum – not to take the reader out of the story, and rightfully so. So why does this cardinal rule not apply to them? I have seen innumerable movies in which I am yanked from the story (never to return) not only by predictable cliched character dialogue but by stupefyingly ridiculous character action. (i.e. a character’s toes are crushed with a hammer, yet he’s still able to run after his assailant, minor car crashes resulting in ginormously preposterous explosions, characters completely uneffected by 35 below zero temperatures with grossly inadequate clothing — I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface here but I’m sure you get the picture). Surely I can’t be the only one perplexed by this paradox. I would love an explanation. Any one… ???

  23. Script Doctor Eric on Friday: 18 September 2009|1056

    Missed this post when it first came out. Great stuff.

    It’s mind boggling how many people spend 100+ hours writing a screenplay and 0 hours researching things like brads. Brads ain’t that hard!

  24. Pam Inglese on Friday: 18 September 2009|1243

    Movie makers counsel screenwriters not to take the reader out of the story, and rightfully so. And yet this cardinal rule is breached, ad nauseum, by countless production companies. I have seen innumerable movies in which I am yanked from the story (never to return) not only by predictable cliched character dialogue but by stupefyingly ridiculous … Read Morecharacter action. (i.e. a character’s toes are crushed with a hammer, yet he’s still able to run after his assailant, minor car crashes resulting in ginormously preposterous explosions, characters completely uneffected by 35 below zero temperatures with grossly inadequate clothing — I haven’t even begun to scratch the surface here but I’m sure you get the picture). Surely I can’t be the only one perplexed by this paradox. Some one, any one, please, explain it to me.

  25. Pam Inglese on Friday: 18 September 2009|1753

    so am i to assume, not all comments are worth responding to?

  26. Pam Inglese on Friday: 18 September 2009|1755

    it’s perfectly ok. i’m just curious

  27. Unk on Friday: 18 September 2009|2016

    I just happened to be cruising through here and found these new comments…

    First off, my post really wasn’t about the OBVIOUS stuff. If you’re somebody who can CONSISTENTLY put your screenplays in the hands of directors, producers, actors — WHATEVER — then yeah, you can pretty much submit your script on toilet paper if you want. Hell… Go ahead ahead and even use if first if you want.

    I break the RULES every day… And I do mean every day… However, if I were sending my script out to someone I really didn’t know… Had no relationship with… I would DEFAULT to sending my script out in the default manner.

    Why? Because this shit is a numbers game — plain and simple.

    What the post was REALLY and TRULY about was what’s IN THE SCRIPT. LOL. If what you have in your script makes the reader stop more than a few times, guess what?

    YOU LOSE. Again, plain and simple. If your script doesn’t keep the reading flow fast and furious… 9 times out of 10, the reader probably won’t even finish reading.

    So now the POINT becomes this… If you’ve got several areas of your script that will IN FACT, stop the reader (take them out of your story for whatever reason), do you really want to take the chance on packing the script in a 3 ring binder? LOL.

    Dude… Whatever. You can tell me how fucking many producers and directors read your script in a 3 ring fucking binder until the fucking cows come home and you aren’t going to convince MANY of us to do the same thing.

    Is it cool for you?

    I don’t give a shit. Everyone does what they want to do. But here’s the DEEPER point my friend… If we take a thousand screenplays from a thousand screenwriters and bind them all on 3 ring binders and print it out both sides of the paper and send those thousand screenplays out to all the agents, managers, and producers that are willing to read UNSOLICITED MATERIAL, what the FUCK do you HONEST TO GOD THINK THESE entities are going to do with those scripts?

    I rest my case.

    I know a lot of people in this business and sure, I COULD, if I wanted — send my script out to all these people in a 3 ring binder printed out on both sides of the paper and they will all read it.

    But I won’t fucking do that… Why? Because it’s just UNPROFESSIONAL. It’s no different than getting your car back from an oil change and seeing your front fender smeared with oil. UNPROFESSIONAL. Sure, you’ll take the fucking car back but you’re NEVER going to take your car back to that same place to get your oil changed.

    You’ll just find somebody else to change your oil.

    Agents, Managers, and Producers are no different.

    But again to reiterate… This post wasn’t about the packaging because packaging is a given. This is about what’s inside the screenplay that’s going to make me stop reading. You want as FEW OF THOSE sections as possible. If even more possible, you want NONE.

    If you package the script unprofessionally, then you’ve already given yourself strike one.

    There’s ALWAYS going to be exceptions to the rule… I am pretty sure we all know and realize that. Plus, there’s always going to be somebody who comes out of the woodwork to tell us they did it THIS WAY OR THAT WAY and the script was accepted.

    Cool. It happens. Go make a movie. LOL.

    Pam,

    Nope… I don’t always respond to all comments because I either don’t feel like it’s worth responding to OR I just don’t feel like it OR I’m just too busy. However, you made a comment on an older post and I never even logged into the comments until today. Has nothing to do with your comments…

    As for your comment about being taken OUT of the actual movie… LOL. Sure… Happens all the time these days. They can do whatever they want with your screenplay after you sell it to them. They get buyer’s remorse and get another 15 writers to fuck the story up over the course of a year or two… A lot of writers who work on original screenplays actually try to change the original vision so they can end up getting credit… Happens a lot. They want credit so they can hopefully secure future rewrites, fixes, etc. Well, when someone who wants credit takes your script and proceeds to work on it, they usually change it enough to procure that credit and by then, the original writer’s vision is not even in the ballpark.

    Many producers and production companies wouldn’t know a good screenplay if it bit them on the ass… Why do you think they hire READERs? LOL.

    And then a Reader (not all readers but a lot of them) are often afraid (especially in this economy) to say what they REALLY MEAN about a script. If they like it, they still play it down because if that script were to bomb as a movie, they would be worried about their job.

    Then again, some readers just don’t get it… I’ve seen that time and time again.

    But yeah… With all the SCHLOCK Hollywood makes today and the future SCHLOCK they keep making, expect to keep being taken out of the movie’s story.

    Why does it happen? Because of the demographic that watches the SCHLOCK. Hollywood THINKS that the demographic that watches the SCHLOCK wants to keep watching similar SCHLOCK.

    And based on box office numbers… THEY’RE RIGHT.

    Unk

  28. mizdaice on Tuesday: 29 December 2009|0150

    Unk,

    Thank you for the inside info. It’s good to know.

  29. T-pot on Saturday: 24 July 2010|0911

    I was just on this video blog from Blue Cat and the guy there was saying o-one ever hassled him about format, basically don’t worry about it. And I thought: Are you mad?? I’m really grateful to know about industry standard submission. I do know that if there is a stack of scripts to read and a tired reader, any excuse to hoik a script in the bin is a good excuse.

    More than that, dressing your dolly up is fun… and respectful to those afeared of nekkit plastic. Alright, that was non-linear.

    How many brads now?

  30. T-pot on Saturday: 24 July 2010|0912

    Balls. Typos. Disgrace to self. Must flagellate.

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