What is a “professional quality script”?
Last week, I posted this about a 1-hour doc available for free on YouTube called Malkovich’s Mail. Here is the description of the project:
This hour long pilot for AMC takes a look at the bizarre solicitations received by John Malkovich’s production company and traces them back to the screenwriters who sent them.
A number of folks responded after watching the doc. For example:
The doc seemed to be making fun of their dreams, obviously picking the most outlandish ideas that would probably never get made. — januaryfire
We take our endeavors seriously… sleepless nights after a hard day’s work. Leisure-free weekends clicking away on our keyboards. We want to be taken seriously… Then a slap in the face by this piece of work. — Courtney Chambers
I’m not really sure what the makers intend the viewer to walk away from the piece with. That non-professional screenwriters are delusional and socially stunted? That there’s some sort of value/nobility in the pursuit of a goal, even if one never achieves it? That people should really stop submitting unsolicited screenplays to John Malkovich’s production company? — Foley
When the producers explained that they are just like the aspiring writer — sending queries to get people on board a project, trying to get actors, to get money, etc., that nugget hammered home that when I write I MUST write a screenplay that a producer, director and actor can say “Yes” to. — tracinell
As a human being, do I enjoy seeing aspiring writers belittled? No. But let’s not lose the forest for the trees here. There is a big takeaway from this doc: For any writer to have a serious chance of getting the proper attention of someone inside the film business, they must write a professional quality script.
Now I have some specific ideas about what that means. But before I weigh in, I’d like to hear from you. What key elements would you consider essential for a professional quality script?
At a most basic level, this is really what it’s all about. If you can’t write a professional quality script, you might as well do what Foley suggests: Stop submitting your screenplays. If, on the other hand, you understand what it takes to write a professional quality script and deliver the goods, then you have a chance of doing what tracinell suggests: Putting your script in a position for a Hollywood buyer to say ‘yes.’
So let’s hear from you: What are the essential elements of a professional quality script?