Screenwriting 101: Mark Fergus

“First, a great actor will go through the script and black out all the stage direction. You’re like, ‘but I want you to say that haltingly, so don’t cry.’ They don’t want you telling them how to move. Then they will start cutting lines that are emotionally redundant. Great line, great monologue — all gone, because they’ve said it already over here. They’re giving you a gift. They’re showing where you’ve overwritten, where you’ve hit false notes, where you’ve tried to be clever but you’re full of crap. They’re giving you a truth test on your own material.”

— Mark Fergus (Children of Men, Iron Man) excerpted from “Tales from the Script: 50 Hollywood Screenwriters Share Their Stories”