Analysts

WHAT ARE THE MAIN THINGS YOU LOOK FOR WHEN YOU READ A SCRIPT?
Certainly an original premise is at the top of my list, or at least a well-executed premise.  Strong, credible characters are always a must, as is distinctive dialogue.  Ultimately I might end up giving structure the most scrutiny but I don’t know if you can pick out any one element that you should specifically look for.  It would be like going to the symphony and saying “I’m just here for the French horns.”  Ideally all the elements of the screenplay will work together well in concert.

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.

WHAT KIND OF SCRIPTS ARE YOU MORE LIKELY TO CONSIDER?
High concept always has an edge, but I also respond well to a script that opens with ten pages that perfectly sets the stage for the following film.  If I’m on p. 15 and I still have no sense where the lead character’s arc is going, or what genre this is, or who is the main character, the script has pretty much earned a PASS already.  I’m not saying that writers should telegraph everything so that in the first ten minutes I know exactly how this movie is going to end up.  However, watch the first ten minutes of any movie at random and notice how the tone is set, how the main characters are introduced and showcased, how the major themes are established.  Those are the details that are important. A strong start is critical to getting that Consider.  I tend to be hardest on first acts because in some companies, that might be all that gets read.  It’s very hard for a script to recover from a weak opening. As far as what genres I go for, looking back over my list of Considers from ScriptShark over the last four years, I find that virtually every genre is represented.  Comedies and high-concept thrillers might have a slight edge, but what gets me excited is just plain good writing.

WHAT’S THE BEST SCRIPT YOU’VE EVER READ?
After six years of reading, so many scripts fade into memory.  Oddly the worst ones stay with me more than the good ones.  Interestingly, one that leaps to mind immediately is the first 30 pages of The Wake, which I read for Triggerstreet’s Screenplay of the Month Competition a while back.  There were some issues with later parts of the script, but the first act was one of the most solid thirty pages I’ve ever read.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MOVIEGOING EXPERIENCE?
This is another tough one.  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.  The Dark Knight was also pretty cool in the moments where you could feel the entire theatre holding its breath during Heath Ledger’s scenes.  Mostly, 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.