WHAT ARE THE MAIN THINGS YOU LOOK FOR WHEN YOU READ A SCRIPT?
I consider several factors. Is the premise catchy or is it a tired retread of other movies? Do themes speak to a universal condition or will only a narrow sliver of filmgoers relate? I don’t have to like the characters but do I root for them or invest in what they want? The characters I root for the least are one-dimensional stock types and stereotypes. Does the plot consistently surprise me? Is it cinematic? Great movies are a spectacle. That doesn’t mean they need to be epics or effects-laden, action-packed tent poles. But what gets put on that giant screen in a dark theater needs to be visually commanding whether it’s through characters we can’t peel our eyes off of or a plot that thrills visually, emotionally, intellectually and/or viscerally. When you conceive your screenplay, imagine it on that big screen. Can you see it? Is it worthy of all that space?

WHAT MAKES BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS?
Believable characters are well-motivated. They can be likable, unlikable, flawed, perfect, whatever. But I’m more likely to buy them if they are assigned strong reasons for what they want and what they do.

WHAT’S THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE YOU SEE?
Several mistakes pop up, even in screenplays written by veteran screenwriters. 1) forgetting to assign the protagonist a clear goal. What do they want? Without that, the plot and themes often take too long to come into focus or don’t do so at all. 2) absence of sufficient conflict. Often we writers get hung up on nifty plot mechanics and, in the clever design of getting characters from point A to Z, we forget to milk every moment and decision for conflict. 3) reliance on dialogue primarily to advance character and story. I’ve seen lots of scripts where the dialogue is zingy and zany but script falls flat nonetheless because the movie is talky and not cinematic. It’s a movie. Make it visual.

WHAT KIND OF SCRIPTS ARE YOU MORE LIKELY TO CONSIDER?
I like all genres. But I’m more likely to consider a script that keeps me turning the pages and not one that forces me to stop and re-read repeatedly to decipher what’s going on. If it’s a comedy and it makes me laugh consistently, or moves me as a drama, or excites me as an action or creeps me out as a thriller, you’re In Like Flint. Bottom line, I consider scripts that enthrall me in some way.

WHAT’S THE BEST SCRIPT YOU’VE EVER READ?
A few favorites are screenplays that haven’t release as films yet, such as SWEENEY TODD, but are a pure pleasure to read with gripping, complex characters that make tough, interesting choices and suffer, suffer, suffer! I’ll single out ALIEN as a favorite because economy of language, visual impact and taut pacing are all well represented in this screenplay.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MOVIEGOING EXPERIENCE?
STAR WARS as a kid. My dad took me to it and it was the first and only time in my life that I waited in a line that wrapped around several blocks, saw the movie and then got right back in line (with my agreeable dad) to watch it again. Immediately. Call me obsessive, but it was like “pee-in-your-pants” gotta see it now urgency and the crowd’s collective energy and excitement for the storytelling they experienced on that screen was pure magic. That level of excitement it generated continues to be the sort of magical film going experience that I continue to hold up as a measure for whether a screenplay possesses movie magic or is “big screen worthy.”