Good Bad Ugly
In the comments to my last post, Joshua asked:
This is a variation on one of the questions I am most frequently asked about my work. "Does everything you read suck?" Or, "How bad is most of what you read?"
So let me begin with this. I would say that about 10% of what I read is total shite. Maybe 1% is really good to great. And everything else is somewhere in the middle.
Now mind you, first of all, that the bulk of the scripts that get to me have at least theoretically already passed through one filter: the agents. (I say "the bulk" because there are always scripts that come into a company "Submitted by Author" via a personal contact.) Were I reading scripts for an agent, I suspect that the percentage of garbage would be significantly higher. Still, I'm amazed how much crap gets through even after this vetting process.
Let me also discuss the other end -- the really good to great. This does not necessarily mean that the script is great art that will win an Academy Award. It just means it is great for this company. Typically it will be exactly the type of film that matches the company's brand, and is in a budget range they aim for.
I should also add that a number of the really good or great scripts that I've read came in to me as writing samples, rather than straight submissions, and may have already been picked up for production elsewhere. An example of this would be Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I was very impressed with this script when I read it, and Kaufman's name was actually blacked out on the cover page, so I had no idea who it was written by. That was an Oscar caliber script (and it rightly won that year), but another excellent screenplay I read that was far from Oscar worthy was How High? Now, I will say that that script was one of the funniest scripts I've ever read. The movie itself was kind of funny, but I definitely feel it paled in comparison to the screenplay. Largely I blame Method and Red for hamming it up too much. Regardless, the script was great, for what it was.
So, yeah, maybe 1% is in that top category. Of the 89% in the middle, some of those projects might get optioned or made, if the execs feel they are worth the requisite development. But it is rare that I will get on the phone with my boss and say, "Don't wait for the coverage -- read this now."
Tags: script+reading, screenplay+coverage, great+screenplays, bad+screenplays
How many great scripts have you read, over the years? Just curious.
This is a variation on one of the questions I am most frequently asked about my work. "Does everything you read suck?" Or, "How bad is most of what you read?"
So let me begin with this. I would say that about 10% of what I read is total shite. Maybe 1% is really good to great. And everything else is somewhere in the middle.
Now mind you, first of all, that the bulk of the scripts that get to me have at least theoretically already passed through one filter: the agents. (I say "the bulk" because there are always scripts that come into a company "Submitted by Author" via a personal contact.) Were I reading scripts for an agent, I suspect that the percentage of garbage would be significantly higher. Still, I'm amazed how much crap gets through even after this vetting process.
Let me also discuss the other end -- the really good to great. This does not necessarily mean that the script is great art that will win an Academy Award. It just means it is great for this company. Typically it will be exactly the type of film that matches the company's brand, and is in a budget range they aim for.
I should also add that a number of the really good or great scripts that I've read came in to me as writing samples, rather than straight submissions, and may have already been picked up for production elsewhere. An example of this would be Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I was very impressed with this script when I read it, and Kaufman's name was actually blacked out on the cover page, so I had no idea who it was written by. That was an Oscar caliber script (and it rightly won that year), but another excellent screenplay I read that was far from Oscar worthy was How High? Now, I will say that that script was one of the funniest scripts I've ever read. The movie itself was kind of funny, but I definitely feel it paled in comparison to the screenplay. Largely I blame Method and Red for hamming it up too much. Regardless, the script was great, for what it was.
So, yeah, maybe 1% is in that top category. Of the 89% in the middle, some of those projects might get optioned or made, if the execs feel they are worth the requisite development. But it is rare that I will get on the phone with my boss and say, "Don't wait for the coverage -- read this now."
Tags: script+reading, screenplay+coverage, great+screenplays, bad+screenplays
posted by Fun Joel | 2:28 AM
9 Comments:
...and that all seems to jive with the numbers we all hear out there (1-2%)...and you're right to distinquish between 'great' and 'right'(for the company) - hopefully they are the one and the same thing, but not necessarily...
Wait until you read my 94 page version of the script you read...
:)
- Allen
Ah... the bitch-slap of reality doth smite me. It’s a harsh, brutal place we all send our “babies”. I guess a partial answer comes on my birthday, August 10 (SCRIPTAPALOOZA), with October/November to follow (Final Draft’s “Big Break” Contest). After that, who knows? If my script ends up in the “shite” pile, perhaps I’ll just go back to watching movies... give up on the dream. I’ll have a new baby to care for by then (my wife’s due in late January/early February with our first). It won’t be the first dream I’ve abandoned, should that be the case.
Thanks for the dose of reality Joel. Your blog (and sage advice) is much appreciated!
Best Regards,
~Devin
Devin -- my plan was to target no one in particular. I was simply talking odds. And best of luck with the baby! Congrats!
Joshua -- I will offer a few potential explanations for this.
a. Due to the misplaced belief that screenwriting can be a way to get rich quick, and also due to the fact that EVERYONE sees movies and many fewer people see plays, there are not only more people trying to write screenplays, but also more talentless people who deceive themselves into thinking they can. What I mean is, a higher percentage of playwrights may be people with an understanding and love of the form, and a dedication to doing it right. Thus a higher percentage of quality examples there.
b. Since screenplays are worth more monetarily, the great ones are often picked up very quickly, and thus may be out of circulation before more people read it. Thus, of all the "great" scripts floating around out there, any given reader is less likely to read it. Thus, contrary to your conclusion, I'm speculating that the reason they aren't seen by as many people is because, in fact, they are making it to where they should!
Re: the different responses from other readers to me, I think what you may be talking about is the difference between very good for this company and truly great in terms of art. They may have been referring to the latter.
And Re: STAY, I haven't read it, so I can't give you my opinion. But I can give you plenty of examples of great screenplays. You may just not have connected with that script in particular, and it still may be great. Or alternatively, it may be over-rated, or you might not have "gotten" it.
Just my thoughts. Hope they help.
Thanks Joel (I knew what you meant... I guess I was getting carried away).
I think my idea is sound and entertaining, but perhaps I'm delusional. I'll see what happens once it has been read and judged.
With a baby on the way, I'm kind of distracted (YIKES!). ;-)
Best Regards,
~Devin
Bottom line -- movies are a business... (unless it's an "art film" or a "student film"). Many of us write screenplays in the hopes of capturing a bit of that magic for ourselves (the process... the notoriety... the credit... and yes, the MONEY). A lot of us do it simply out of the belief that we KNOW movies, and we know what we would like to see on the big screen, if given the chance to create one. I fall somewhere in the middle.
I can’t really speak from experience (as I have only just written my first spec script), but I have a feeling that “D-people” know a lot more than they get credit for. After all, their jobs and reputations are on the chopping block! It’s their decisions and choices that mean the difference between multi-million dollar profits or going down with the ship. So as much as I may dread the possibility of having to one day confront them (that’s assuming my idea piques their interest... which is a huge stretch at this early stage in the game), I have respect for their plight and their duty to the process.
Multi-million dollar contracts are drawn up every day in Hollywood. Dreams are realized or dashed in moments. I hope one day to have the experience of finding this out for myself, but realistically speaking, the odds are against me. Are my ideas marketable... good enough... interesting enough... worthy of optioning and producing into a big-budget motion picture? I’d like to think they are. We’ll see, I guess.
I’ve read interviews and blogs of many screenwriters, many of which hurl contempt at the ‘system’ whenever their idea isn’t picked up or produced. To me, it sounds like a lot of sour grapes. It’s an HONOR to be in that boardroom, no matter what the outcome. I hope to someday know what that’s like.
Best Regards,
~Devin
Again, I know D-folks and I wouldn't call any of them dumb - far from it - most are very smart - but my point was that, despite being smart, they didn't really know the difference between good writing and great, bad to awfull (and to be fair, a lot of alleged writers cannot tell the difference either) -
Here's an example. I'm a smart guy, couple college degrees, this and that - and I like to listen to music on the radio. Does that mean that I can tell a songwriter how to write a good song, or even tell the difference between a good song or great song (though I'm certain that THE THONG SONG will be playing in hell, if hell exists)- I could read books on songwriting, I could take seminars on it, but other than my own likes and dislikes with regard to taste (see above, THONG) how can I really say if I am qualified or not to say yes or no to a songwriter? How can I tell what will be a hit or what won't be?
I can't. I'm not a songwriter, no matter how smart I may be. Now, some folks can tell those things without being songwriters, just as some are born editors and have an eye for talent. Some folks do. But most don't, not in development, they just have an Ivy League diploma and an expense account (which happily pays for many a lunch for screenwriters)- smart as they are, it doesn't mean that they know great writing from good or bad. I think that's a talent much like writing is.
Same holds true with novels. And plays and, I feel, screenplays. And it's not everyone, but it is a lot of smart people running what is an inexact science, if it's a science at all.
I have to believe it all boils down to what a D-folk can sell versus what they are doubtful about selling. Fine art and lofty claims have little to do with it (unless it is of a caliber that can assure its status as a "sure thing").
Many great works of art only were recognized as such well after the artist him/herself was long-dead and nearly forgotten (look at Van Gogh!).
Film is a business. Crap does well simply because, at least for the time being, crap IS selling and making a profit for those purveying it. The moment it is no longer profitable will be the instant they begin looking for the next “sure thing”.
If you or I were able to remove ourselves from the artistic/creative end of the equation and look at it strictly as a business... which would you gravitate towards: 1) The “sure thing”; or 2) A risky project with plenty of potential for either success or failure... and your career rides on the outcome...? My guess is that we would go for the “sure thing”.
Just my $0.02.
Best Regards,
~Devin
I never asserted there was such an animal as a "sure thing", only the perception of one. Obviously, D-folks make mistakes and I would wager to bet that jobs are lost over the stinkers produced, based on their recommendations.
And by the way, I feel the way you do! I'm passionate about a good story! I love it when a movie gets it right... is smart... is entertaining... is a ride that takes me away from my worries and cares and leaves me smiling in the end, after having forked-over $10 plus two hours of my life and time, WHICH I HOLD DEAR.
I would like nothing else than to see quality out there... consistently and across-the-board. Why isn’t this the case then? What is it about our viewpoint and approach that doesn’t seem to jibe with what is occurring out there? Is it really the fault of the D-folk? Or are they simply trying to make a judgment call, based on their experience in the “business”? Not all D-folk make bad calls, by the way. But I believe many are afraid to put their careers on the line in order to take that leap-of-faith... the chance we all wish them to take.
I’m of a decidedly creative-mind. I am only attempting to understand the non-creative-mind as I begin my approach.
If my viewpoints offended you, I apologize – that was not my intent. Nor was it my intention to demean your points (as they are valid and well-spoken).
Best Regards,
~Devin
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