The last post spawned some discussion about the purpose of a screenplay. Obviously if it's a screenplay by the Cohen brothers, they know it's going to get produced and they'll have a great cast and blah blah blah awesome.
But the rest of us usually don't get so lucky.
So what is a screenplay for, anyway? If you're not already an A-List writer, I mean.
There's that old "blueprint" theory. It's a blueprint. It's a document for building your movie with all the pieces listed in clinical description so all the construction workers can follow along and do their part correctly under the watchful eye of the contractor. If the blueprint is off, the house will fall unless the contractor does some quick calculations on the spot to fix it. And if a construction worker decides to ignore the blue print he might create a cool new breakfast nook or an unstable support and the whole thing could come crashing down.
That's a pretty good metaphor right there.
But a screenplay also has to be read. It's not a novel, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't still feel like a story. I feel like a script is good if I can see the events in my head. If I have such a good grasp of the characters that I laugh at the jokes on the page or I get nervous over the possibility of death around the corner.
If you're directing your own material of course it doesn't have to be as exacting as a spec you're hoping to pass around town, but even then you still want your actors, your DP, your prop guy, your costume designer and everybody else to be able to read it and understand it and hopefully also feel passionate. Movies are always better when every person involved is there out of love. And if your script is simply a scientific document - well, it's kind of hard to love a script written by the numbers.
The best screenplays I've read - Little Miss Sunshine, Sideways and The Matrix being in the top three, give you a very clear sense of what's going on and a ton of personality. When I read those screenplays I feel the right vibe coming off of them. I sense not only what the story is, but what attitude it has. I know exactly what this film should be when it's all put together.
So I think a good script should stand on its own to some degree. Obviously it's mean to be produced just like a play. Even without the actors Romeo and Juliet is still moving, but it's inspiring enough to want people see the possibilities and want to put the thing together. A good script should do the same no matter who you're writing for.
Exactly. Why shouldn't a script be a work of-- dare I say-- "art" in itself? Certainly it's not the finished product, but why not make the reading of it as enjoyable as possible?
ReplyDeleteI've also seen blueprints and charts and diagrams that are more visually engaging than some of the work hanging up in museums (i.e. Edward Tufte.)
Some will dismiss this as mere semantics (and those some will be very wrong, IMO), but increasingly I feel the oft-reffed metaphor as "screenplay as blueprint" is flawed -- perhaps fatally so.
ReplyDeleteA builder can look at a blueprint and see when something is just flat wrong. The measurements do not add up. The angles combine for impossible geometry. Spans cannot handle the loads being anticipated. When you look at the plans for a house, pretty much any builder can look at them and say 'yup-- that there's a house."
Screenplays don't work so neatly, in my experience. More often they are a series of suggestions which other creative folks might follow slavishly, or might use as mere suggestions, or might ignore almost entirely (go grab a copy of Trumbo's screenplay for M*A*S*H sometime and compare it to what actually happens on the screen -- while a lot of the dialog remains intact, it does not read anything at all like the move of the same name).
I maintain that the "screenplay as recipe" metaphor makes more sense, as neither a recipe nor a screenplay is made with the intention that IT be the thing. Rather, it is merely a PART of a greater things which other people will be expected to work on (and in the process perhaps elevate to genius or ruin utterly).
Are there screenplays which are beautiful "reads"? Surely, but that doesn't mean that that's what a screen needs to be, anymore than a recipe needs to have wonderful typography or pretty photos. In either case they are intended to help push the idea of a story further along the path to becoming a presentable viewable consumable experience.
if I were tasked with making a list of a screenplay's required or recommended functions, I think FIRST they ought to tell a story. Second I'd say they need to describe the visual sense of how that story can be expressed via film. I think third they ought to strongly suggest in the mind of the producers and directors and stars what is this really about", as everyone can then pull in the same direction, from initial concept to final marketing. Then maybe FOURTH I might possibly (though not necessarily) start to mention such things as "it ought to be fun or enjoyable to read."
What's a screenplay for? IMO, it's to help motivate other creative folks to want to help turn these ideas into moving images with sound which can then draw an audience eager to experience the story world described.
Whatever gets that job done effectively is, by (my) definition, a good screenplay.
Them's my three cents and change.
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Must you ALWAYS disagree with me, Brett?
ReplyDeleteI disagree with you Brett, a GOOD builder can see flaws and make improvements, but you have to assume that the builder only has your plans to go on, and will build only what you put in the blueprints. Therefore the writer MUST do their best and produce something that, even if followed to the letter, by the director and actors, will create a noteworthy experience.
ReplyDeleteNever assume competence, it's nice when you get it, but there's no guarantee.
Probably one of the biggest problems I have is whether to treat the reader as the audience or someone who's going to be involved in making the film. One example of this conflict is do you reveal the twist that unnamed man is really the protagonists father when you introduce the character or when it's revealed to the audience.
ReplyDeleteI don't think there's a right or wrong way to do it, but it just depends on your specific situation. From what you've said, it seems like the coen brothers write more towards treading the reader as people who will help make the film, while I think most writings trying to break into the industry might be better servers treating them like they would the audience.
Must you ALWAYS disagree with me, Brett?
ReplyDeleteOf course not.
Only when you're wrong.
8^p
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Dude you're gonna be chowing on crow all day when I sell my zombie script for a hundred billion dollars.
ReplyDeleteI have hundreds of kitchen-tested recipes for crow.
ReplyDeleteTastes like owl.
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