The Screenwriter's Corner

One thing that I've heard about endlessly since I started writing scripts is The Rules. Those things you MUST NOT do if you ever plan to have your script read/taken seriously by a production company's reader. I say, to a point, that it's bullsh*t!!!

You're script shouldn't read like a shooting script (i.e. there shouldn't be camera directions in every line telling what angle to shoot from, etc). It shouldn't read like a novel (more on this below), and it should subscribe to standard formatting (margins, etc), but the rest is pretty much crap.

If you have a few asides to the reader (see Shane Black's Lethal Weapon script among others) it's okay. If you use an occasional "We see" or "POV" don't worry about it. The Rule Police will try to shoot you down, but here's the thing they don't seem to understand. Pros do these things all the time. And a production company's readers read Pro Scripts ALL THE TIME! They are used to seeing these types of things. As long as you don't over do any of it and your story is good they aren't going to pass over your script for these reasons.

Could you imagine trying to explain to your boss (the producer) that he missed out on the Franchise of a Lethal Weapon because Shane Black made comments to the reader occasionally in the script? "I'm sorry I cost you millions of dollars, but he made a joke on page 5 that was directed at the person reading the script." "Yeah....you're fired!!"

As for writing like a novel. The best advice I ever got on that was to think of your script like a telegram. You're paying for every word sent. Now write it to use the least amount of words needed to get your point across. For example it's not:

INT. Victorian House - Day

There are wood floors, purple curtains, yellow furniture.

It would simply be something like.

INT. Victorian House - Day

Nice furnishings.

Because how it actually ends up looking on film will be up to locations available, set designers, etc. No need to describe too much detail.

Now go forth and write. Tell a couple of jokes to the reader. Even a few things that are in the character's head if it fits (see the script Tonight He Comes: Shot as Hancock after about a million changes) for examples of this being done well. You can also check out my scripts at www.HawkProd.com. I've broken these rules myself. It's gotten me to the edge of being produced (The Key www.hawkprod.com/thekey.pdf) was in a development meeting at Numeroneon Films but was slightly over the budget they were looking for (maybe I should have bought their Line Producer lunch before they had the meeting) and Knight of the Dark Cross (www.hawkprod.com/knight.pdf) got me a meeting with Zide/Perry when they still worked together.

The rules. The rules. The rules. Forget the rules and just write!!! Write a good story. Entertain your reader. That will get your film made. That's the way to do it.

Good Luck and Good Life,
Jerry W. Hawkins
President, Hawkins Productions
www.HawkProd.com