GITS: The Twitter Conversations — Script Readers (Part 7)
Back in May late one night, I stumbled into a Twitter conversation with @amandapendo [Amanda Pendolino], @BittrScrptReadr [The Bitter Script Reader], and @nate_winslow [Nate Winslow]. These three all have different things going on in their lives, but one bit of business they have in common: they read scripts, covering them for Hollywood industry insiders (production companies, agencies, etc]. In other words, they are professional script readers and as such serve as the first line of defense in the Hollywood script acquisition and development system.
Our conversation that night evolved into a spontaneous Q&A about the experience and perspective of professional script readers about screenwriting. You can read a transcript of that conversation in these GITS posts:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5.
The response to the conversation was excellent, and I received lots of email and tweets asking for it to happen again so others could join in with their questions.
So on Monday, June 25th between 7:30–9:00PM Pacific, we held a second conversation with the same trio. I will be posting an edited transcript of the conversation every day this week, essentially picking up from the first chat.
BSR [Bitter Script Reader]
GITS [Me]
NW [Nate Winslow]
AP [Amanda Pendolino]
Here is Part 7 of GITS: The Twitter Conversations — Script Readers:
mlemcdonald: Hi, just wondering what your biggest pet peeves are that really turn you off when you read a script?
BSR: My blog is full of them, but I really, really hate torture porn, misogynistic violence, and no clear concept early on
NW: They write an entire script w/o a movie concept. Kills me every time. Happens more than you can imagine.
NW: Entire screenplay dedicated to a concept that isn’t a MOVIE. Chars sound exactly the same. No stakes. No emotion.
GITS: Similarly BrandiLGulledge asks: What is the most irritating, common mistake you repeatedly see in scripts?
BSR: Lifted dialogue and characters. Scenes that don’t raise the bar. Scenes that take too long.
NW: Tough to say in 140 chars, but when you immediately think “This feels like a short film/sketch/poem,” it’s bad.
AP: probably grammar mistakes like ITS vs IT’S. If you want people to PAY for your words, your words should be correct
BSR: There are people who could care less about grammer mistakes. We probably aren’t
AP: Bitter is provoking me. IF YOU COULD CARE LESS, THEN YOU DO CARE
BSR: I KNEW that would get under your skin! Thanks for noticing :)
pagesincourier: Do readers ever change their minds? Have you ever thought a script was bad but read it again and changed your mind?
BSR: I’ve rarely gone from “This sucks” to “This rocks!” I HAVE gone the other way though.
NW: Hm. I don’t think it’s ever gone from a “wow, this is really bad” to “wait a minute, this is great!!”
Here are two thoughts to take away from this part of the conversation:
* Big Ticket Note: If you write a script, make sure you are working with a clear story concept. I mean, really listen to what Nate is saying here: “They write an entire script w/o a movie concept. Kills me every time. Happens more than you can imagine.” Can you believe that? People write 100 pages or more and there is no apparent concept, let alone a great one at the foundation of the story? This is one enormous value of forcing yourself to write a logline of your story idea… because if you can’t craft a logline, then you probably don’t have a concept.
* Little Ticket Note: Grammar. I’m totally with Amanda on this. Drives me crazy to read scripts with poor spelling or grammar. Your goal as a writer is to create such a compelling, entertaining story universe, the reader loses him/herself in it. For a careful reader such as myself, if you spell the word “lightening” to describe the meteorological phenomenon, or “your” when you should have used the contraction “you’re,” that will cause me to slip out of the story-reading experience. Enough of those boo-boos, I start to resent the fact that evidently you weren’t paying attention to your 6th grade English teacher. Your script is a representation of you, and every little bit counts, even spelling. And note this: Spell checking programs will not catch errant uses of “its/it’s”, “they’re/there/their”, etc. You have to proofread your script carefully before sending it out.
A quick word from Max Millimeter: Hollywood Movie Producer Extraordinaire:
“Hey, I hear you out there. ‘But Quentin Tarantino misspells words in his scripts.’ Look, I know Quentin Tarantino can’t spell for shit, but he’s… you know… QUENTIN FUCKING TARANTINO! Guy could write his scripts with magenta crayons on toilet paper and they’d still be genius. When you become Quentin Fucking Tarantino, then you can misspell any damn word you want. Until then, your first date on a Friday night should be with a dictionery… dicshunary… ah, hell, I could never learn how to spell that word.”
For Part 6 of the script reader conversation, go here.
Tomorrow: Part 8 of the GITS Twitter Conversation with Amanda, Bitter, and Nate.
Some background info:
The Bitter Script Reader has spent many years — “perhaps too many,” he says — working in development and as a reader at production companies and agencies. For over three years, he’s blogged regularly about the missteps he’s seen writers both young and professional make, and implored his audience to avoid those same writing pitfalls. You can find him at his blog and check out his videos on his newly-launched YouTube Channel.
After working for a motion picture literary agent at a major talent agency, Amanda Pendolino went on to become a professional script reader for a few different production companies. She is also developing some feature comedies, in addition to an original sitcom.
Nate Winslow moved to Los Angeles last year and spent the majority of his time reading scripts and writing coverage for a production company and an A-list director. He’s currently working for Franklin Leonard at The Black List, Scott Myers at this blog you’re reading, and two production companies.
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