Archive for October, 2009

Q&A Friday: Spec Script Sales

Q: I’ve heard spec script sales are down. Is that true? How do I find out what’s selling?

A: Done Deal Pro is an excellent resource for script sales information and well worth the $23.95 annual fee. According to the site, almost 50 spec scripts have sold so far this year. The majority have been comedies and thrillers, followed by action, drama, and sci-fi/fantasy.

Spec scripts make up a small percentage of the number of screenplays purchased each year. Adaptations (scripts based on source material such as a book, comic, another film, magazine article, television show, play, video game, etc.) account for 85% to 95% – and possibly up to 98% (!) – of screenplays sold.

Interview with “The Informant” Screenwriter

Book: The Informant

In Contention has an interview with The Informant screenwriter Scott Z. Burns and Truby’s Screenwriting gives an analysis of the structural breakdown of the script.

Genre: 15 Elements of Action-Adventure Scripts (Part II)

Here are two examples of classic action-adventure writing – from the films Alien a Sci-Fi Action-Adventure, and Lethal Weapon, an Action-Adventure Comedy. Each screenplay incorporates some of the 15 elements outlined in the previous post – note the snappy dialogue in Lethal Weapon and how both screenplays utilize active and vertical writing.

From ALIEN by Walter Hill and David Giler:

INT. MESS

The entire crew is seated.
Hungrily swallowing huge portions of artificial food.
The cat eats from a dish on the table.

KANE
First thing I’m going to do when we get back is eat some decent food.

PARKER
I’ve had worse than this, but I’ve had better too, if you know what I mean.

LAMBERT
Christ, you’re pounding down this stuff like there’s no tomorrow.

PARKER
I mean I like it.

KANE
No kidding.

PARKER
Yeah. It grows on you.

KANE
It should. You know what they make this stuff out of…

PARKER
I know what they make it out of. So what. It’s food now. You’re eating it.

Suddenly Kane grimaces.

RIPLEY
What’s wrong?

Kane’s voice strains.

LAMBERT
What’s the matter?

KANE
I don’t know… I’m getting cramps.

The others stare at him in alarm.
Suddenly he makes a loud groaning noise.
Clutches the edge of the table with his hands.
Knuckles whitening.

ASH
Breathe deeply.

Kane screams.

KANE
Oh God, it hurts so bad. It hurts. It hurts.

BRETT
What is it? What hurts?

Kane’s face screws into a mask of agony.
He falls back into his chair.

KANE
Ohmygooaaaahh.

A red stain.
Then a smear of blood blossoms on his chest.
The fabric of his shirt is ripped apart.
A small head the size of a man’s fist pushes out.
The crew shouts in panic.
Leap back from the table.
The cat spits, bolts away.

The tiny head lunges forward.
Comes spurting out of Kane’s chest trailing a thick body.
Splatters fluids and blood in its wake.
Lands in the middle of the dishes and food.
Wriggles away while the crew scatters.
Then the Alien being disappears from sight.

Kane lies slumped in his chair.
Very dead.
A huge hole in his chest.
The dishes are scattered.
Food covered with blood.

LAMBERT
No, no, no, no, no.

BRETT
What was that? What the Christ was that?

From LETHAL WEAPON by Shane Black

MURTAUGH’S POV – THROUGH THE WINDOW

Enough cocaine to service the third tier at Yankee Stadium.
A BLONDE, BIKINI-CLAD WONDER sits on the couch, happily snorting.
She sees Murtaugh and waves hilariously.
Makes come-hither gestures.
Murtaugh scowls, turns to Riggs.

RIGGS
I’m thinking probable cause.

MURTAUGH
Jesus. Maybe I should call for backup.

RIGGS
What am I, chopped liver?

Murtaugh looks at him. Sighs.

MURTAUGH
No killing.

RIGGS
No killing.

He grins cheesily. Riggs and Murtaugh approach the frosted glass door. They draw their guns.

MURTAUGH
Nice and easy.

RIGGS
Nice and easy.

Murtaugh takes a deep breath. Kicks open the door.

MURTAUGH
Police. Hold it right there.

INT. SOLARIUM

The rich guy does not hold it right there.
In fact, he has already snatched up the SHOTGUN.
He triggers a BLAST, BLOWS OUT GLASS next to Murtaugh.
Murtaugh dives, rolls, comes up in a combat crouch.
BAM — The rich guy takes it in the shoulder. Spins around.
The gun clatters to the ground.
Riggs and Murtaugh approach, guns drawn.
The rich guy writhes on the ground, clutching his shoulder.

MURTAUGH
See how easy that was? Boom. Still alive. Now we take the gun away …
(he does)
… And we question him. Know why we can question him? Because I got him in the shoulder. I didn’t blow him up or jump off a building with him.

RIGGS
No fair, the building guy lived.

MURTAUGH
Whatever. The point is, no killing.

RIGGS
No killing.

MURTAUGH
Right. Piece of cake. I’m very happy. Read the man his rights, I’ll be over here being happy.

Genre: 15 Elements of Action-Adventure Scripts

Action-adventure scripts seem to always be in demand. They’re big business for Hollywood – making up the industries main tentpole films each year. Let’s look at some of the essential elements of the genre:

1. The “Big Idea” Premise
Action–adventure films are most often high-concept with a main storyline that involves the hero saving the world from destruction. More frequently action-adventure films have franchise/series potential.

2. The Hero is an “Average Guy” or “Larger than Life” Character
The Average Guy hero (John McClain in Die Hard, Neo in The Matrix) is an unwilling participant who gets himself into a predicament and is forced to take action. The “Larger than Life” hero (such as Batman) is already prepared to fight and save the day and doesn’t usually require any convincing to take action. Sometimes the Action-Adventure hero is an “anti-hero” character (such as Danny Ocean in Ocean’s 11.)

3. High Stakes
The stakes for the hero are often extremely high: the destruction of earth by an asteroid (Armageddon), the death of innocent hostages held in a skyscraper (Die Hard), the annihilation of entire planets by a space-station super-weapon (Star Wars)

4. Plot-Driven
Action-adventure films are plot-driven. The events that make up the story’s plot consist of the hero’s efforts to thwart the villain’s plan.

5. Present a “Good vs. Evil” Theme
The theme of action-adventure stories is basically “good vs. evil”. This theme is often narrowed and personalized based on the hero’s emotional stakes (for instance, Lethal Weapon’s narrowed theme focuses on the importance of family.) The hero almost always reflects and upholds the current morals of society.

6. A Title that Reflects The Action and Content of the Story
A vibrant title that evokes the action, adventure, and premise of the story is a key component to the genre. (Iron Man, Terminator, Lethal Weapon, Braveheart, Die Hard, Armageddon)

7. The Villain Has a Masterful Plan
The villain’s plan provides the catalyst for the hero’s adventure. The villain’s plan sets up the hero’s goal (which is to stop the villain’s plan.)

8. The Villain Is More Powerful than the Hero
Creating a villain that is more powerful than the hero forces the protagonist to transform. In action-adventure films where the protagonist is a “Larger than Life” character, the hero often has a weakness the villain can exploit (such as kryptonite against Superman.)

9. The Hero and The Villain Do Battle to the “Death”
Though the obligatory scene (the final battle between the protagonist and the antagonist) does not always involve the literal “death” of the villain, the hero always triumphs in some way – even if the hero dies in the battle.

10. Contain Plenty of Action Sequences
The core of an action-adventure film is of course, action: violence, car chases, gun battles, fistfights, explosions, martial arts, and foot pursuits. The average action-adventure film contains nine action sequences that put the hero in physical jeopardy.

11. Big Set Piece(s)
A set piece is a memorable scene that stands alone. In an action-adventure film the big set piece (or set pieces) is an organic extension of the action sequences, such as the train wreck in The Fugitive, the plane crash landing on the Vegas Strip in Con Air, and the famous car chase in the film Bullitt.

12. Snappy Dialogue
Most action-adventure films contain snappy dialogue, especially in stories where the hero has a buddy or ally or mentor to spar with. Another common dialogue element is the hero’s payback line delivered to the bad guy. (“Do you feel lucky? Well, do you punk?”)

13. A Ticking Clock Scenario
Many action-adventure films use a ticking-clock scenario, which creates urgency, heightens tension and increases suspense. Examples include the ticking bomb in Die Hard, the amount of time available to pull off the heist in Ocean’s 11, the countdown to the asteroid striking Earth in Armageddon, and the deadline for getting a prisoner on a train in 3:10 to Yuma

14. Incorporates Mythical Story Structure
Campbell’s hero’s journey is often, though not always, used as the foundation for action-adventure films. Star Wars, The Matrix, and Lord of the Rings are a few examples to study.

15. Vertical, Active Writing
Vertical writing creates an immediate, active experience for the reader. Action expressed in few words moves faster. The action-adventure writer leaves plenty of white-space on the page by breaking long sentences or important moments of action into short phrases and presenting them as separate lines of description (instead of paragraphs.) Action scripts use tight writing full of sound elements (BOOM, CRASH, BANG) and active verbs – and avoid adjectives, which stall action.

YOUR TURN: What additional elements are essential to the action-adventure genre?

STAY-TUNED: In the next post we will examine two classic action-adventure scenes.

Adaptation Sales: “Sex Crime Panic”

Sex Crime Panic

Genre: Drama

Author: Neil Miller

Screenwriter: David A. Lee

Logline: Hysteria leads to the incarceration of a group of men in a mental hospital for being gay.

Q&A Friday: How Do I Write a Script or Treatment For a Television Series?

Q: How do you structure a story for a television show? I am particularly interested in how the narrative elements, plot points and structural paradigm are laid out within the 30 pages of a pilot.

Q: What is the format for a television script?

Q: For a television series can I just send in a treatment for consideration or do I need to write a full episode?

A: Wow – lots of questions about teleplays this week. And my answer on the subject is going to be really short. My education, experience and knowledge is exclusive to feature film screenplays. I don’t know enough about television writing to offer constructive advice. I recommend Alex Epstein’s book Crafty TV Writing and his blog Complications Ensue and the book Successful Television Writing by Lee Goldberg. Also check out the blog The Aspiring TV Writer.

YOUR TURN: If there are any television writers who read this blog perhaps you would like to comment and offer advice on this topic?

Adaptation Sales: Alive and Kicking – When Soccer Moms Take The Field”

alive and Kicking

Genre: Sports Drama

Logline: A women’s soccer team in Montclair, N.J. is formed by mothers who are tired of standing on the sidelines while their kids play.

12 Things That Can Hurt Your Dialogue

Here are 12 examples of things that can hurt your dialogue (thanks to a class I attended presented by Mr. Karl Iglesias)

1. Dialogue That Contains Too Much Exposition
Dialogue is often used as a tool to reveal necessary exposition. But when it’s presented in an awkward or obvious way it hurts the scene. Writers also need to be careful not to create scenes with chunks of expository dialogue or they risk losing the reader with information overload.

2. Dialogue That Is Too Direct
Dialogue that is too obvious and explicit is boring to a reader and an audience. Good dialogue is implicit, containing subtext and layers of meaning.

3. Dialogue That Doesn’t Sound Real
Good dialogue should flow smoothly and sound like a real conversation.

4. Dialogue That is Predictable
If the reader already knows what the next line of dialogue will be before reading it then the writing is too predictable. If one character says, “I love you” to another character, the reader wants the response to be something other than “I love you, too.”

5. Characters That All Sound The Same
When a writer develops his characters fully, they will each have a distinctive voice. When reading the dialogue you should be able to cover the names of the characters and know who is speaking.

6. Dialogue That is Too Long
Long speeches and chunks of dialogue can weigh down a script and slow the pace of the story. Good screenplays usually have one or two major speeches for the protagonist – the rest of the dialogue should be short and lean.

7. Dialogue That Repeats What Has Already Been Shown
If the audience has already seen something they don’t need to be told it again through dialogue. Never repeat.

8. Dialogue Where Characters Talk About Nothing
There is no room for small talk in a screenplay. The following exchange is a waste of space –  “Hi”, “Hello”, “How are you?”, “I’m fine. How about you?” “I’m good.”

9. Dialogue That Sounds Contrived
Using formal speech with perfect grammar creates artificial dialogue that calls attention to itself and takes the reader out of the story.

10. Dialogue Where The Characters Repeat Names
Most people don’t refer to each other by name every time they speak. “Mary, hi” “Bob, how are you” “Well, Mary I’m doing fine.” “That’s great Bob!”

11. Dialogue That Contains Too Many Filler Words
Filler words dull the dialogue. Try to avoid using well, so, you know, by the way, anyhow, look, as I see it, nevertheless, I mean….

12. Dialogue That Includes Strange Spellings to Indicate Pronunciation
Using phonetic spellings is frustrating for a reader. It slows the reading process and makes the dialogue difficult to decipher. When you’re trying to capture the texture of regional speech or a character’s way of talking, focus on speech patterns (like fragmented sentences), and the characters use of expressions, jargon and slang to convey the character’s voice – and not on phonetics.

YOUR TURN: What are other things that can hurt dialogue and how do you avoid them?

Adaptation Sales: “American Rust”

Genre: Drama

Author: Philip Meyer

Screenwriter: Jose Rivera

Logline: Two longtime friends from an economically depressed steel town in Pennsylvania have their dreams of escaping to California dashed when they’re implicated in a crime.

6 Ways To Create Subtext In Your Dialogue

Subtext; implicit meaning.

Subtext in dialogue reveals meaning without the character saying it directly. We all know the meaning behind the famous line: “Go ahead, make my day” (Sudden Impact) without the character explicitly stating what he thinks or means.

Subtext is a key element of great dialogue. Subtext engages the reader, allowing him to actively experience the scene. It challenges him to become involved in the conversation (rather than sitting back passively and being spoon-fed direct dialogue by the screenwriter.)

Subtext is truthful speech. In real life, people rarely speak directly to one another because there is too much at stake. It’s the same for film characters – they have too much to risk emotionally by being direct. In each of your dialogue scenes, consider why your characters are in conflict and what they have to lose by directly revealing what they’re thinking or feeling. In this scene from Unforgiven both characters find it too painful to speak plainly:

DELILAH
Them other two, they been takin’ advances on the payment.

MUNNY
Advances?

DELILAH
Free ones.

MUNNY
Free ones?

DELILAH
Alice and Silky gave them…free ones.

MUNNY
(understanding, embarrassed)
Oh. Yeah.

DELILAH
(timid)
You want… a free one?

MUNNY
(looking away)
Me? No. No, I guess not.

DELILAH
(covering her hurt)
I didn’t mean… with me. Alice and Silky, they’ll give you one… if you want.

Here are six ways to use subtext in your dialogue:

1. Use Action As A Response
If a character tells another “I love you”, the response could be: a slap to the face, going back to reading the morning newspaper, walking out of the room, or a confused stare.

2. Change The Subject
Have the character evade a direct response, such as in this scene from Basic Instinct:

CATHERINE
She’s helped me understand homicidal impulse.

NICK
Didn’t you study it in school?

CATHERINE
You know all about homicidal impulse, don’t you Shooter? Not in theory – in practice.

3. Imply the Meaning, Instead of Directly Stating It
Craft the dialogue so the reader has the opportunity to engage and evaluate its meaning. An example of this is the famous line from the Godfather: “I’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse.”

4. Use Metaphors
From Silence of the Lambs: “You fly back to school now little Starling… fly, fly fly.” And from Wuthering Heights: “Two souls as different from lightning as frost from fire.. but thoughts are like tyrants that return again and again.”

5. Use Words or Phrases That Have a Double Meaning
Here’s an example from the film Shakespeare In Love

WILL
I have lost my gift. It’s as if my quill is broken. As if
the organ of my imagination has dried up.
As if the proud tower of my genius has collapsed.

6. Answer a Question With a Question
This technique is often used when a character has something to hide or doesn’t feel comfortable stating it directly. From the film As Good As it Gets:

SIMON
Mr. Udall… excuse me, have you seen Verdell?

MELVIN
What’s he look like?

YOUR TURN: How do you incorporate subtext into your dialogue?

« Older Entries