WHAT ARE THE MAIN THINGS YOU LOOK FOR WHEN YOU READ A SCRIPT?
I think it helps if the audience is able to relate to the characters, perhaps seeing themselves taking the same sorts of actions if placed in a similar situation. Or in some instances as long as they are able to imagine that the character as presented would make the choices they do, even if they seem wrong, repugnant, or just plain crazy. It’s a difficult thing to put into words, but if you just try to be truthful it helps. Certainly the idea that a man would deal with the murder of his parents by dressing up in a rubber bat outfit and fighting crime is a little unusual, but the audience that saw Batman Begins was able to suspend their disbelief. It’s all a matter of finding a way to ground the character in his reality. Another good rule is to let the story flow from the character’s actions rather than letting the character’s decisions be dictated by the needs of the story. Sometimes a writer is stuck forcing a character down a path to strictly to advance the plot. When plot points like that are forced, it can show. An actor friend of mine gave me an insight I always try to follow. Once he was presented with a character whose actions seemed at odds with his character and the way he was presented. To deal with it he set about finding a way to incorporate that into his performance – to find a way to justify it within his understanding of the character. So if you must pull out the marionette strings to get one of your puppets to dance properly, see if there’s a way to root those decisions in the foundation of the character.

WHAT MAKES BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS?
I think it helps if the audience is able to relate to the characters, perhaps seeing themselves taking the same sorts of actions if placed in a similar situation. Or in some instances as long as they are able to imagine that the character as presented would make the choices they do, even if they seem wrong, repugnant, or just plain crazy. It’s a difficult thing to put into words, but if you just try to be truthful it helps. Certainly the idea that a man would deal with the murder of his parents by dressing up in a rubber bat outfit and fighting crime is a little unusual, but the audience that saw Batman Begins was able to suspend their disbelief. It’s all a matter of finding a way to ground the character in his reality. Another good rule is to let the story flow from the character’s actions rather than letting the character’s decisions be dictated by the needs of the story. Sometimes a writer is stuck forcing a character down a path to strictly to advance the plot. When plot points like that are forced, it can show. An actor friend of mine gave me an insight I always try to follow. Once he was presented with a character whose actions seemed at odds with his character and the way he was presented. To deal with it he set about finding a way to incorporate that into his performance – to find a way to justify it within his understanding of the character. So if you must pull out the marionette strings to get one of your puppets to dance properly, see if there’s a way to root those decisions in the foundation of the character.

WHAT’S THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE YOU SEE?
There are two very common mistakes I see in first time writers, and their roots are both in the same concept – structure. I can’t tell you how many scripts I’ve read that have only one plot turning point, usually right in the middle of the script. That’s not a feature film, that’s a padded short film. Knowing the fundamentals of structure will help you identify where you might need more plot points or turning points. Many times it will also help you with pacing. If nothing exciting happens in your film until page 50, a studio reader is never going to get that far. The other very common mistake is when writers submit a script that may as well be a transcript of them hanging out with their friends. The plots are usually paper-thin and are more often than not a collection of small episodes. There’s nothing wrong with using people you know as the basis for characters. Just make sure the story is interesting. Again, it all goes back to structure.

If there’s one bit of advice I could give to every starting writer it would be to learn the three act structure – study it, know it, use it. Don’t try to break the rules on your first script. As a film teacher of mine used to say, “You need to learn the rules before you can break them.” Yes, if you read the screenwriting books, it all sounds very formulaic and “cookie cutter” but a first time writer who doesn’t “color within the lines” so to speak, isn’t being original – he’s being ignorant.

(One more minor annoyance: as a reader, I’ve learned it’s a bad sign when a script makes a point of noting a female character’s cleavage when she bends over. This is especially true when the woman is deliberately displaying her breasts to distract, attract, or annoy a man. I’m not saying a good script couldn’t use this joke, but I’ve seen this bit too many times to count and it’s always in the worst scripts I’ve read. When I get a two paragraph description of a woman’s breasts by page 15 it doesn’t instill me with a lot of hope for the rest of the script.)

WHAT KIND OF SCRIPTS ARE YOU MORE LIKELY TO CONSIDER?
It’s a cliché, but the answer really comes down to “good writing.” I can see the value in a well-written chick flick just as much as I can a good, tight thriller. Having said that, there are particular genres that are more of an uphill battle for me. I’m not a fan of period pieces. If I open a script and the first slug line read, “ PARIS – 1608” I’m probably not going to be enthusiastic right off the bat. As a general rule, it’s probably easier for me to get into comedies, thrillers and horror movies than it is bio-pics, chick flicks and period pieces.

WHAT’S THE BEST SCRIPT YOU’VE EVER READ?
Over the last two years, I’ve probably read at least 700 or 800 scripts and after a while most of them fade from memory. Oddly the worst ones stay with me more than the bad ones, but I do recall being very enthusiastic about Richard Kelly’s DOMINO when I first read it. I’m curious to see what Tony Scott has done with it. Cameron Crowe’s ELIZABETHTOWN also was very good. Beyond that I’m drawing a blank, though there have been a number of good scripts I’ve seen that simply never got made. I will say that one of the worst scripts I ever read did get produced and is currently scheduled for release, so individual tastes obviously vary.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MOVIEGOING EXPERIENCE?
Tough one. A recent example would be opening day of Revenge of the Sith at the Arclight with a crowd that was really into the film. I’m sure there are other examples, but that’s the only one that springs to mind. These days I’m just excited when I go to a movie and no one there is trying to carry on a cell phone conversation or talking back to the screen.