script-analysis.com blog

Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John McCain

2008-05-08T01:06:00.000-07:00

If this campaign season was a movie, which one would it be? Three Amigos? Definitely not. I think the campaign has actually become a reality show, and this one never ends, well it has to soon. It's a combination of Survivor, Dancing With The Stars and The Dating Game.

Survivor without the wit, instead of dancing it's really using and juggling the stars, and every now and then they have to sit down and answer some questions that all of their potential dates propose to them. Unfortunately the answers aren't as much fun as The Dating Game. Maybe that's the solution! Put our presidential candidates on the Dating Game.

We're gonna' be hand in hand for four to eight years. That's like an Oliver Stone movie!

Script Analysis

2008-05-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

A lot of people ask, what's the difference between script analysis, script coverage and script notes. I say: good question. Script notes are pretty cut and dry. They usually consist of somebody telling you what they liked, what they didn't like along with any formatting errors and misspelled words they could find.

Script coverage is usually performed by a studio and is how they figure out if your project is something they're interested in. Most of the scripts are read by a studio reader or an assistant, and based on their coverage of the script, the executive they work for will determine if they add the script to their already large weekend pile. They grade the story, dialogue, the project and the writer. With way too many scripts to read, they are looking to eliminate yours as quickly as possible. If your expecting constructive and detailed criticism here, don't.

That's where script analysis comes in to the picture. You don't want to just know what somebody likes or dislikes, you need to know why. How else are you going to become a better writer. With the aim of making your script the most impressive it can be, you will have a better chance of impressing the people that make decisions. Since they usually only perform coverage once on the same script, a script analysis will ensure that your chances improve. In the numbers game that is Hollywood, you need every chance you can get.

The Truth About Script Analysis On The Web

2008-04-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

Everywhere I look somebody is promising that if you join their site you will have a good chance of selling a screenplay. Whether getting script coverage, a synopsis, industry contacts or for no reason at all, they sell you an unrealistic dream that a script sale is imminent. And what really scares me are the prices some of these sites are charging. I have seen script coverage for as much as $700! That is seriously highway robbery.

The only way people will have a chance to sell their screenplay or TV show, is if it's great, and if they have many people to send it to, hoping that one will be smart enough to sign them/buy their script. So when you send a script to an analysis service, what do you need? Why should you do be doing it?

Anybody can list what a scripts problems are, but giving a writer the tools to attack the rewrite is what you should be looking for. And not just attack the rewrite, but give you a real understanding of why things don't work, and how they will work if you fix them. You should be given the tools to repair your script, not just this one time, but any time you write a script. If you're paying for a service related to writing, shouldn't you be paying to become a better writer as well? I do.

Basketball Jones

2008-04-28T23:48:00.000-07:00

With the basketball playoffs in full swing, it got me thinking about the best basketball movies of all time. Here's my top five:

#5 The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh-Julius Erving, Stockard Channing, Jonathan Winters, Flip Wilson, Meadowlark Lemon, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Not the best, but Dr. J's in it!

#4 White Men Can't Jump-With Wesley "What Taxes" Snipes, Woody "How's the air up there?" Harrelson and Rosie "Hey, how you doin?" Perez. Gets to the comedy of street ball that often gets overlooked.

#3 Teen Wolf-Michael J. Fox as a teenage werewolf who howls on the court. Somehow it snuck in here. Maybe because I never saw Air Bud.

#2 Hoop Dreams- William Gates, Arthur Agee. Basketball, no basketball, one of the best documentaries of the last ten years.

#1 Hoosiers-Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, Dennis Hopper. Never gets old. Heart all the way through. The little guy wins one on the biggest stage. Kind of like the Atlanta Hawks tonight over the Boston Celtics.

Moonstruck -

2008-04-27T04:06:00.001-07:00

           Ronny
Loretta, I love you. Not like they
told you love is and I didn't know
this either. But love don't make
things nice, it ruins everything, it
breaks your heart, it makes things a
mess. We're not here to make things
perfect. Snowflakes are perfect. The
stars are perfect. Not us. We are
here to ruin ourselves and break our
hearts and love the wrong people and
die!

- Moonstruck