Oh, this would be once in a while, not weekly.

Quoted from James McClung So am I to understand this would essentially be a subjective discussion of a script's story elements with less of an emphasis on actual screenwriting?

Exactly.  Quite frankly, the only damn thing I got out of that "Breaking the Rules" thread is that there is room on this board for conversations not inolving politics or gas prices.

There are actually people here who it seems would like to engage in passionate debate about scriptwriting.  Who knew?

So, yeah -- it will be a thread to discuss a script the same way a group of friends would meet to discuss a book.  What works?  Who was a good character?  What direction should the plot have taken but didn't?

The first person to mention typos and "unfilmables" will be automatically ejected.

Quoted from James McClung Also, how exactly would we go about choosing the scripts to be read?

Those who intend to read could suggest a couple, and it would be consensus.  I already have a couple in mind.

"Quite frankly, the only d*rn thing I got out of that "Breaking the Rules" thread is that there is room on this board for conversations not inolving politics or gas prices."

Sorry for starting the election thread. It may not have anything to do with screenwriting, but it was a slow week and I thought this election was important and I was curious what people in other countries thought about it.

Regarding features vs long shorts. I probably agree, but take offense to it taking no effort to write a short. I'm also wondering how many will participate in this excersise if we have to read features only. I don't care, I read features all the time. I've read two in the last week...

Quoted from bert I would also suggest that the author not be allowed to participate in the discussion for the first week or so.  See where the discussion leads without them, you know?  The author will probably get more from the conversation if they do not interfere.

I don't know about that aspect.  The writer of the script being discussed will get 7, presumably in depth, critiques as well as the boatload of conversation that will pile up over the course of a week.  It could be hell to catch up with that.

Also, will the discussion take place on the actual thread for the script, or will there be a separate thread?  What if someone not in the "circle" decides to read the script?  Can the author respond to them in a timely fashion?

Just giving you guys some things to ponder.

It's not like those threads are a problem, Pia.  They're not.  Even though the "Rules" thread eventually spun off into weirdness, it was just refreshing to see that a script-based thread could rack up a nice post count.

And Mike, it would be a seperate thread, probably on the "Screenwriting Class" board.  Formal reviews could still go on the script thread.

This would just be a discussion (debate?) of how the actual story was crafted.  Or whatever the discussion evolves into, I suppose.  That is tough to predect.

I just thought if the author got involved, it would be easy to get hung up and obsess over trivial points.

And anybody who has read the script could participate.  I just did not want to bother unless there were at least a handful of people who would be willing to give it a try.  

I would agree with Bert that the writer should not take part in the discussion because frankly he or she would or could get defensive and take the thread off topic and in anger filled rant.

I also believe that each script genre and synopsis should be taken into the process because if someone is pre disposed to hating the genre and they read and hate the script before they even went in would be a poor opinion.

Same thing could be said about the author. If you dislike the author and just want to discredit his or her work to stroke your own ego you should not take part in reviewing.

Features seems like the best way to go. Short scripts are not suffering for reads on this site and features are. Series is also suffering terribly.

I like this idea a lot.  One possibility for scripts is that authors interested in having their work critiqued like this could submit their title and then every time one of these discussions is to take place, the title can be drawn at random out of a hat or something.

Just a thought.  But this is something I'd be interested in doing every once in a while.

I like the idea and would enjoy participating if I liked the genre and/or premise.

I'd be up for reviewing as long as it's text based as I don't have a mic.

It could be interesting sure, look forward to how this pans out!

I'm in.

I like the idea that the author can't be involved in the conversation for the first week or so.  Just like in creative writing class.  

Okay, lets do it then!

Bert, will you sort of be in charge of this?

What script do we start with? I was trying to think of an active member's scripts, but I'm not sure what to suggest. I know James has a couple of them I haven't read yet, Shelton has one too I think. Maybe MikeP? I don't think I've read anything by him yet... I guess I'll read whatever you guys chose.

Quoted from Grandma Bear Bert, will you sort of be in charge of this?

I don't think it will require much more than starting the thread, but sure.

I was also thinking of letting MikeP select the one that he most-wants looked at from his his own library.

Alternatively, Cindy has been struggling with "Halloween Games" since before I was even here, and not too many have looked at the newest draft.  She might appreciate the help.

For a third, I have always intended to read "Demon Beach", which Cornetto posted a long, long time ago but got few looks on.  That one looks like fun -- now that we know him a little better haha.

Any others to toss into the hat -- that is quite literally what I intend to do, I guess -- from those who actually intend to participate?


[edit:  I think Shelton and James, and a few others I probably do not need to mention, have a large enough fan base to take care of their own reads.]

I read Halloween Games not long ago and one of Cornetto's not that long ago either, but never a feature by MikeP. I guess I'll vote for one of his.

I'm a little swamped right now to say "I'm in" but this is a great idea and I hope it works out well.

I'll be keeping an eye on this.

Good luck, guys.

Quoted from bert [edit:  I think Shelton and James, and a few others I probably do not need to mention, have a large enough fan base to take care of their own reads.]

I agree.  The features I have on here aren't going to be worked on anytime soon and there are a ton of others that could benefit far more than I at the moment.