WHAT ARE THE MAIN THINGS YOU LOOK FOR WHEN YOU READ A SCRIPT?
Professionalism and concision are of the first elements a reader can detect; I'll take a quick page count (readers can tell by the weight of the material), check the title page for superfluous information, and by the end of the first ten pages, I'll have an accurate idea of the writer's concision, and the overall precision of the material. From there on, I'm looking for believable, genuine characters who weren't born on page one, with ideas based on their perspective, and who I'll miss once the story's over. And a few more elements I look for in the material - which I feel are severely underrated and overlooked - are dilemma, sub-text in the dialogue, creativity, imagination, and intelligence.
WHAT MAKES BELIEVABLE CHARACTERS?
In a word: Truth. Despite popular belief, a character isn't necessarily believable merely because they're challenged by an internal flaw, rather, character believability is made of the same invisible, seamlessly woven story elements which thread the fabric of theme. Believability is you and me. Our personal agenda is challenged everyday, we contradict ourselves from time to time, and we struggle to pick sides between what our mind tells us to do, and what our hearts tell us to do. Believable characters don't need to spark with bells and whistles, they simply need to be genuine as a human being.
WHAT’S THE MOST COMMON MISTAKE YOU SEE?
The absence of dilemma, subtext, and concision. Not only is it the writer's job to create a complete, coherent world of story and character, but it's just as important that the writer presents conflict for the characters to confront throughout the material. Without conflict, there's no dilemma, and without dilemma, there's no drama. Likewise, without conflict, there's usually no subtext within the dialogue, which is imperative regarding character believability. And finally, it's the writer's job to tell a story with absolute concision; with millions of dollars being spent on every page, screenwriter's simply don't have the luxury to stray off-point and explore ... cut to the chase!
WHAT KIND OF SCRIPTS ARE YOU MORE LIKELY TO CONSIDER?
Well written, imaginative stories with authentic characters struggling to get something they want. The painfully confusing adage, "Something new, but the same," applies here as well, and it's what I call the Wendy's Exemplar. Simply put, readers are looking for something fresh, but made of the same ingredients; Wendy's went beyond the standard round hamburger patty, and released the square hamburger patty. It was something new, yet made of the same classic ingredients customers loved.
WHAT’S THE BEST SCRIPT YOU’VE EVER READ?
The Truman Show is one you've seen, but the absolute best I've read - and one of the few I've recommended in my career - was an unproduced screenplay submitted to Penny Marshall. Hopefully we'll be able to see it in a couple years!
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MOVIEGOING EXPERIENCE?
Although I'm mildly interested in being able to watch Psycho, Star Wars, and The Searchers on my phone, I'm a sap for the movie theater. Popcorn, coke, and 24 beautiful frames per second, what could be better? Perhaps the revival of the drive in theaters circuit, but I digress. |
