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SimplyScripts Screenwriting Discussion Board    One Week Challenge    October, 2011 One Week Challange  ›  10/11 OWC Reader's Choice and Guess who wrote what
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 Reader's Choice
The Open Casket (11 votes)
28.21%
The Last Stop (5 votes)
12.82%
Forever Thine (4 votes)
10.26%
Our Lady of Eternal Suffering (3 votes)
7.69%
Payer Fedris - A Gothic Dream Tax (2 votes)
5.13%
Veil of Blood (2 votes)
5.13%
Asylum (2 votes)
5.13%
Open House With An Empty Heart (1 votes)
2.56%
The Stone Within (1 votes)
2.56%
The Lonley Tenant (1 votes)
2.56%
Mischief At Morley House (1 votes)
2.56%
The Executioner (1 votes)
2.56%
Sweep (1 votes)
2.56%
Allured (1 votes)
2.56%
The Madness of Time (1 votes)
2.56%
A Dance in the Dark (1 votes)
2.56%
Annabel (1 votes)
2.56%
The Truth (0 votes)
0%
The Woods (0 votes)
0%
The Haunted Tale of James O'Neil (0 votes)
0%
House Proud (0 votes)
0%
Traceless (0 votes)
0%
Castle Trouble (0 votes)
0%
Falling Angels (0 votes)
0%
Revenant Stand (0 votes)
0%
Satanas (0 votes)
0%
Together Again… Someday (0 votes)
0%
Reaparations (0 votes)
0%
Betrayal (0 votes)
0%
All That Remains (0 votes)
0%
A Price To Pay (0 votes)
0%
No Balls (0 votes)
0%
Innocence Condemned (0 votes)
0%
Abracadabra (0 votes)
0%
Mr. Daniels (0 votes)
0%
My Love (0 votes)
0%
Condemned Sanctuary (0 votes)
0%
39 Votes Total
You must login or register to be allowed to participate in this poll

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  Author    10/11 OWC Reader's Choice and Guess who wrote what  (currently 11714 views)
Dreamscale
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 9:19am Report to Moderator
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Brett, hopefully you realize I wish you all the success in the world with your scripts.

But your quote about Producers or whoever looking merely for premises/ideas/etc. is a perfect example of exactly what's wrong in the film making business.

There are countless movies being made that have good or even great premises.  The problem is that almost none of them actually deliver on that premise, and a good 90% or more turn out to be huge disapointments and downright crappy movies.

Why does this happen?  Well, IMO, it's simple and crystal clear.

Poor writing.  No or little thought.  No attention to detail.  100's of "little things" that weren't properly done up front and either snuck through or were never even addressed.  Bottom line is that the actual script wasn't the reason the poject was funded.

But, most likely, the bigger problem is that the majority of Producers or decsion makers literally don't care about this stuff.  They don't see this stuff.  They don't realize it's missing or lacking.

They're only concerned about putting butts in seats and selling tickets.  They don't care that those butts turn around and walk out hating what they wasted their hard earned money on.
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RayW
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 9:34am Report to Moderator
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Quoted from Dreamscale
There are countless movies being made that have good or even great premises.  The problem is that almost none of them actually deliver on that premise, and a good 90% or more turn out to be huge disapointments and downright crappy movies.

Could you provide a short list of some good/great premises films the producers failed to deliver on?
Big box office + Lousy reviews.




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Electric Dreamer
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 9:40am Report to Moderator
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Taking a long vacation from the holidays.

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Quoted from Dreamscale

But your quote about Producers or whoever looking merely for premises/ideas/etc. is a perfect example of exactly what's wrong in the film making business.

There are countless movies being made that have good or even great premises.  The problem is that almost none of them actually deliver on that premise, and a good 90% or more turn out to be huge disapointments and downright crappy movies.


Sure, if the premise isn't developed thoroughly, it's a problem.
But at this initial stage of meeting, it's all about the premise.
The script comes next when I send it, and hopefully we talk after that.

But, when pitching someone that doesn't know you, an innovative premise is king.
I saw yesterday it's the kind of "currency" that gets people interested in YOU.

A solid premise is just the tip of the iceberg, IMO.
It's the impetus to collaborating with others that are excited about the premise.
Then, as a "team of believers" hopefully move forward on said premise.
Which is why I'd like to stay on my stuff in a producer capacity.
Shepherd it with others that have more industry experience.

I agree that a great premise is just the foundation, not the completion.
I do agree that exhaustive exploration of a good premise is key.

E.D.



LATEST NEWS

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is producing a short based on my new feature!

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Dreamscale
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 9:58am Report to Moderator
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Sorry, Ray, I don't have time, and I don't think it matters.  My words are falling on deaf ears.

SS is a site of writers (obviously   ).  You'd think that would mean that well written scripts would be praised, coveted, and encouraged.  For some reason, the exact opposite seems to be true.

So few SS'ers really know how to write.  If I were to grade the OWC scripts, I'd bet 90% would fail miserably in terms of High School English mistakes.  That's sad, IMO...really sad.  It's even sader, considering all the online resources available, as well as spell check right on everyone's screenwriting software.

I don't get it, and it's becomming more and more apparent I never will.

People continually praise ehat they see as "great story", when the reality of the situation is a few minutes or maybe a few hours of thought was put into it.  That's not much, and actually, that's very, very little.  It's because of this that if one really examines these "great stories", gaping plot and logic holes stare back blindly through empty eye sockets of grinning Jack o Lanterns (a little Halloween analogy for ya'll).

I watched Hostel last night for teh 2nd night in a row and this time, pulled a Ray, and listened to the commentary track.  Very enlightening in some ways, kind of a waste in others.  But, a few great points were made from QT and ER that I agree with 100% and always employ myself -

It has to do with asking questions (either to yourself or out loud in a roundtable) about details that aren't addressed in the script.  You'll find once you address these various questions (which can and should be about literally anything and everything), your script will be so much stronger and make so much more sense. When you don't do this, chances are great that your script will be ridddled with holes you don't even realize are there, and that "great story" you think you have isn't really that great at all and all your left with is the premise.
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RayW
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 10:11am Report to Moderator
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Fair enough.

BTW, Eli Roth's commentaries (there are many) on CABIN FEVER are some of the best.



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Dreamscale
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 10:21am Report to Moderator
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Yeah, ray, I agree.  I think ER is pretty smart and very good at what he does.

It was him who brought up the point I made above.  He was hanging out with QT and Scott Spiegle, discussing Hostel.  QT kept drilling him over and over about stuff that, at teh time, seemed very random and nitpicky, but as it played out, it made sense, and made the script as strong as it turned out to be, as opposed to things happening to further the plot.

It's a true journey that both the characters and audience are put through.  It's so far from classic 3 act structure or anything any of the so called Gurus preach to the masses.  And, I guess it's no suprise that it's a philosphy I follow on my work.  And even cooler, it's a process that I've done from Day 1, not even realizing some of my SR heroes do as well.
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Scar Tissue Films
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 1:56pm Report to Moderator
Of The Ancients


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Damn Jeff, whatever sense you were making kind of flew out of the window when you mentioned Hostel. That film is full of plot holes, coincidences and illogicalities.

The point you're missing is that this is a OWC...yes the stories have literally taken a few hours to write. They've gone from premise creation to final product in a tiny amount of time. Most people have to work for the majority of the week, have other commitments...etc.

These aren't scripts that are being sent to festivals, competitions or studioes...they are first drafts.

Ultimately, from my point of view, the questions: Is this a good story and would this make for a film that I'd want to see?...are more important to me than whether it's perfectly written. Especially with a short.

It works that way with professional novels as well. They are all "well-written" to a degree...but some stories just don't affect you emotionally, or excite you in the way others do.

It's imperative if you want to sell a script to Hollywood that they are perfectly written, and in actuality it's THAT that results in the poor films you see, not the other way around. It's style of writing over content that wins out in the present system.

The premise is of killer importance though. It's the thing that gets people in the seats..."Have you heard about that new film about...?". If the premise doesn't grab you, you aren't going to pay your money...which is why so many of the films that are critically acclaimed don't tend to make as much dough as "high concept" films.
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Dreamscale
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 4:26pm Report to Moderator
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Rick, I completely disagree with you about Hostel, but we both know that we have different opinions on the film.  It will confuse me forever how anyone can say it wasn't a solid film that opened the door to a new sub genre, and brought in boat loads of cash to all involved.

Another subject I completely disagree with you on is your statement about "perfectly written" scripts being sold and that being the cause of poor films.  IMO, the opposite is true.  The scripts that are selling are very poorly written scripts, that are filled with unfilmables, asides, and "clever, hip" writing that does not transfer to film, and thus, these "awesome" scripts in these knucklehead's opinions don't turn out to be the films they thought they'd be, based on the scripts they read.  In other words, they are very poor readers and can't tell what will make a good film and what won't.

Your "great premise" ideology is humorous to me, as in theory, you're talking about reiventing the wheel, when in reality, all you need to do to make a successfull and "good" movie, is create a nice round wheel that rolls along comfortably.

For instance, if someone would just write a nice, solid, realistic werewolf script, and someone put some money into the FX, it wouldn't matter one bit what the premise was.  Instead, Universal wasted $150 Million on the crapfest known as The Wolfman, last year, and the results were no surprise whatsoever.

Same goes with any premise, old or new.  Write a good script, pay attention to detail.  Write beleivable dialogue and engaging characters, adn you're good to go.
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Scar Tissue Films
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 4:53pm Report to Moderator
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That's kind of fine for features.

For shorts however, it doesn't really work. There are literally millions of them, so they need that something extra to be remembered. In any given festival there will be hundreds of films you are competing against. You need something that makes it stand out from the crowd, something that people remember after they've all been seen and the lights are on...maybe something they'll remember for weeks afterwards.

As for the great premise...I'm not talking about re-inventing the wheel..just a fresh twist on a standard genre. That's really all it is.

Without an inventive premise, you make it a very tough sell indeed.

Name some of these solid wheel type films that have been successful. They are probably few and far between without large marketing budgets or without impressive marketing hooks.
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Dreamscale
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 5:30pm Report to Moderator
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OK, Rick, I wasn't talking just about shorts...probably more about features in general.

Sorry...thought that was quite clear.

There are very few solid wheel type films.  That's my point. That's what's missing in teh film industry.  Everyone's trying to find the next great whatever and they're failing miserably.  Just give us a good movies...well written movies.  That's all we need.  Movies nowadays mostly suck ass,a dn it's because of poor decisions from people who think they're smart, but actually don't know what the Hell they're talking about.
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Scar Tissue Films
Posted: October 30th, 2011, 5:54pm Report to Moderator
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I really don't know how you'd sell an "ordinary" premise to anyone to be honest...especially in your example of Werewolf films.

http://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=werewolf.htm

They just don't seem to have much draw. The only real hits have been the fantasy type ones...it's a stretch to call Underworld or Twilight Werewolf movies....and they both have novel premises in their own way.

This last decade has seen something of a revival of werewolf stuff at the cinemas, but I'm far from convinced a standard werewolf flick, with no discernible selling point is going to do well.

You're going back to the eighties to find a real hit with the likes of American Werewolf...made famous largely because of the special effects...everyone was talking about the transformation sequence. Even if you do it even better now...it's not got the marketing hook it did then.

Teen Wolf was exactly the thing I'm talking about...take the old and re-invent it. Telling the trad. Werewolf story in a high school context. That's where the gravy is.

On a side-note: There's never been a great werewolf story told in all of history. "Darker than you Think" is probably the best...but it's more about "Witch people" who can transform into anything...including Dinosaurs. Or perhaps "The werewolf of Paris"..which was adapted into "The Curse of the Werewolf"...one of the better werewolf films.

"Just another" werewolf story isn't going to cut it, I don't think. I think you have to push the bar personally.

The big problem though is what Brett's talking about:

The Producers need a marketing hook. If you don't have one, then the film becomes 100% "execution dependent"...everything has to go right for anyone to want to see it. Actors are off the game, the FX don't quite come off as planned...you've got no selling point. It also means you're relying on word of mouth...but "good" doesn't get tongues wagging...and OK certainly doesn't.

Basically, I just have to disagree with you. You can't go on the lookout for just "good" scripts, because the chances are they'll end up mediocre as a film...and you're out to sea. You've got to find the great ideas and then hope for the best, knowing that if it doesn;t turn out, you've still got that marketing hook.
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michel
Posted: October 31st, 2011, 4:24pm Report to Moderator
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Can people still vote?


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Scar Tissue Films
Posted: October 31st, 2011, 4:43pm Report to Moderator
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Congrats on your win, Ryan!!!

Bit of a shock after this thread, but well done.
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Dreamscale
Posted: October 31st, 2011, 5:13pm Report to Moderator
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Rick, sorry for the delay, but seeing yuor recent post made me realize i didn't respond back to you.

My Werewolf example was a generic example, meaning any subject, and genre, and story can be well done and a good, popular, money making movie...if it's indeed well done, well written, well thought out, etc.

Problem is that almost nothing these days is.  That's what I'm saying.  That's my point.  Good scripts - good in every single way - should be given a real chance as opposed to concepts that rarely if ever pan out.
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