Intelligent

Screenplay Development

by Barbara Schock in Filmmaking, Screenwriting on Jan 19, 1995

This article originally appeared in our Fall, 1995 print edition.

Development is a dirty word in the film business. To screenwriters in Hollywood, it

means toiling under the tutelage of a team of business people, endeavoring to give
them what they want, all the while realizing that there is little chance that their
script will ever get made. To development executives, it means finding an idea,
novel, or original screenplay and then having to work with a writer who can be
alternately moody, recalcitrant, or even lazy – and then being disappointed with the
results. For the studio executive, development is a necessary evil in order to stay
ahead in the idea-production factory game of Hollywood.

Although the lucrative screenplay development deals of the ’80s are no longer
easy to come by, Hollywood still spends an enormous amount of money hiring
writers to develop screenplays from novels, plays, old films, treatments, magazine
articles, concepts, and news stories. Occasionally studios find what they consider
to be a good original screenplay and pay a considerable sum of money for it –
usually after a frenzied bidding war.

A large number of scripts that Hollywood develops are shelved or put into
turnaround, but, as filmgoers are well aware, many poorly developed scripts are
put into production too. A typical Hollywood development scenario: a producer gets
enthusiastic about an idea, sells it to a powerful studio executive, and lands a deal.
A high-priced writer is contracted to write the standard two drafts and a polish. The
first draft comes in and, in most cases, the producer is disappointed. Something’s
wrong – it just doesn’t sing off the page. The producer, his or her development
person, and the studio executive prepare critical notes for the writer which are
usually inadequate to help the writer make the changes that they feel are
necessary. The writer makes a second pass, but sensing their lack of enthusiasm,
has difficulty mustering feeling for the rewrite. When the second draft comes in, it’s
still not that home run the producer was looking for. The project is dropped, or,
depending on how commercial the producer believes the idea is, another writer is
brought in.

There is a general awareness that the screenplay development process in

Hollywood is terribly flawed. Screenwriters are paid more than ever, but at great
artistic cost. One wonders what Ben Hecht or Raymond Chandler would have
thought about a young screenwriter being paid $4 million for a violent actioner that
includes a gunfight in which splattered brains land on a griddle and are fried next
to a hamburger?
Fewer and fewer films with complex characters and original storylines are being
produced in Hollywood. This is because Hollywood’s values have changed, largely
due to the advent of the blockbuster. When a film with a slender, uninteresting
screenplay like Jurassic Park makes more money than any film in history, who
cares if films make narrative sense? On the other hand, botched, misconceived, or
badly developed scripts like Last Action Hero, Flesh and Bone, and I Love
Trouble have produced financial flops which have cost people their reputations, if
not their jobs.

Why does so much screenplay development fail, both in Hollywood and among the
smaller independent companies? Why aren’t better screenplays being developed
and filmed?
People don’t recognize true writing talent or know how to develop it. Writers have
been historically undervalued in the film business, but today they are simply not
included enough in the filmmaking process. Too many people have the notion that
they can write themselves and don’t value the art of writing enough. This is partly
due to the proliferation of word processors which make the physical part of writing
easier.

There is currently an abundance of “made” writers in the business, people who

have very little creative ability but have flourishing screenwriting careers. These
so-called writers have managed to fashion and sell what is perceived to be a
successful screenplay and may continue to get work off it for a number of years.
Often, they are people with aggressive personalities who can navigate the world of
film development – a world of pitch meetings and conversations with agents –
more effectively than their more sensitive creative writer colleagues. There have
always been hack writers in the business – the problem today is that people don’t
seem to know the difference between a good writer and a hack. And too many
third-rate scripts are being produced.
To write a good screenplay takes not only an understanding of narrative and
character but a knowledge of cinema. The ability to write a good screenplay is
developed over time by writers who are fortunate enough to collaborate with
talented directors, and the best screenplays are usually written by writers who are
a little older. Unfortunately, many of the best writers are never given the motivation
or the context in which to hone their creative writing skills.

Not enough people in the film business understand what constitutes a good
screenplay. Most people who work in film development – and by this, I mean
anyone who develops a script, i.e. producers, company presidents, directors, and
actors as well as development executives – do not know how to judge whether a
screenplay would make a good film or not. Of course, this is a highly subjective
matter and the question of what a good screenplay is is difficult to answer. But
company presidents and people in development seem less confident than ever in
their opinions about screenplays. Or, at least, they seem unwilling to risk their
opinions, fearing the result may reflect badly on them. And typically, to protect their
job or investment, people tend to put their stamp of approval on safer, more
generic scripts and are scared off by scripts and ideas that are more original and
less easy to categorize.

People who work in development do not possess screenplay editing skills. There
are many intelligent people trying to develop interesting material in the film
business but few of them know how to edit screenplays. To be a good script editor,
you must know something about how films are made, and you must have an
understanding of the writing process.

One of the biggest impediments I’ve encountered in the development process is

the widespread belief in clichéd rules of story development. Consider the almost
universal belief in the old Hollywood adage that some writers can write only
“character,” and others can write only “structure.” It’s important to debunk this
adage because it’s a way that people developing scripts try to minimize the writer’s
role in the creation of the film.

The roots of this belief are in Hollywood where an obsession with the mechanics of
plot and action have to do with a desire to devise a formula for screenplays so they
can imitate and repeat prior box office successes (although they usually don’t). It
comes out of a misguided notion that action and plot are somehow separate from
character. But the best, most psychologically interesting narratives are informed by
character. In fact, the writers who are supposedly poor at structure but good with
character are often the best writers, for it’s impossible to have interesting stories
without believable characters and situations. In the end, what the audience
remembers most are not the car chases but the characters, their relationships,
what they were struggling with, and how the audience identified with them.

Scripts are developed for the lowest common denominator. Anyone who has
worked in development has heard the line, “The character isn’t sympathetic
enough!” Writer Bill Hauptman remembers first hearing the line from actors in a
play he had written: “My character is not sympathetic enough. My agent doesn’t
want me to play him!”

By sympathetic characters, most development people mean stereotypes that

filmgoers can easily identify with, role models rather than roles. All their
protestations about characters not being sympathetic enough have to do with their
fear that the script may not be perceived as being a commercial star vehicle by
financiers or stars. Certainly it’s important to be interested in the characters and to
care about their dilemmas but the notion of creating “sympathetic” characters is a
form of social engineering that denies the writer the chance to create characters of
real distinction and depth.
Insisting that all characters be sympathetic leads to homogenized, boring
screenplays. For independent filmmakers, it’s particularly important to leave behind
these pedestrian notions of characters because people expect something more
original from independent cinema.

Too many people have a voice in the development of a script. Until you get to a
certain point, development works best with one writer and one editor (preferably
the director). This is how it works in the book publishing world, where authors work
repeatedly with the same editor. It is difficult to create this kind of protected
environment in film companies, where often even beginning assistants and readers
are asked to critique scripts and give the writers notes on how to improve them.

Screenwriting is the only form of writing that’s often done by committee. The
beleaguered writer is asked to incorporate multiple – and often conflicting
viewpoints – in his work. The material then becomes attenuated and the ideas
diffuse. If the work ceases to be the writer’s own, he or she will cease to care
about it and will write just for the paycheck.

The process of writing the script is usually too tightly controlled. If you try to over-
control and structure a writer (through strict outlines, long sets of notes,
treatments, etc.), you will miss out on the magical things that come out of a good
writer’s head when encouraged to improve on his work in a more constructive way.
Independent producers need to rethink the actual process of screenplay
development. (The best ones already have.) If the art of intelligent story editing
were learned or allowed to be practiced, it would help independent producers
come up with well-developed scripts that both challenge Hollywood paradigms and
offer something distinctive for the marketplace. I believe that the best way to
achieve these goals is to let the artists have the strongest voice in the
development process.

Good script development insight takes more ability and experience than people in
the business fully appreciate. It’s not enough to be bright and have opinions. The
very best editors can offer ideas about how to improve material through the
addition of a character, a change in tone, a plot idea, whatever. This is a skill that
comes from experience and instinct and an understanding of dramatic narrative,
and it can’t be taught. All the best directors have it.

A good editor gets in sync with the artist’s vision, or else the collaboration will be a
waste of time. The talented editor does not provide wild riffs on the writer’s (or
director’s) ideas but tries instead to do a more naturalistic type of development,
one that serves the idea and doesn’t try to impose an outside, impractical vision on
the artist’s work.
The following is a discussion of my own style of screenplay editing, a style which,
when I’ve been able to employ it, has yielded the best results.

Treatments and outlines are usually a waste of time. I find it impossible to

understand from a treatment how the writer will actually realize a script. This is
because a good writer doesn’t quite know what the story is about until he’s written
the first draft. If the idea already exists – if the writer is adapting a book, or the
script is a remake – then a brief outline to get in sync with the writer about the story
can be helpful. Some writers like to outline their ideas in advance of writing the
script but beware the outline that is mapped out by anyone other than the writer or
the director.

First Drafts. People have unrealistic expectations about what they can expect
from a first draft. It should be considered very raw material.

First drafts come in a variety of shapes and sizes. There is the first draft that is so
off the mark that one doesn’t even know where to begin to criticize it. It may
appear that all is lost, but a completely wrong first draft can sometimes be useful. It
can help you define what you want from the script, by seeing in print what you
don’t want.
There is the first draft that starts out well and then falls apart quickly, where the
writing is thin, and it’s clear that the writer didn’t muster much feeling for the idea –
and may never be able to.

The sort of first draft one hopes for is a little unwieldy but contains exciting
elements – a memorable character, a handful of usable scenes, a plot which holds
together even though it’s not perfect – or, my favorite thing, a good ending.

Call the writer as soon as you’ve read the first draft, before you talk to
anyone else about it. If you’ve ever known a writer personally, you know how they
suffer when they turn in a script and no one calls them. If you value a good working
relationship, which you should if you want to get a good script, don’t keep the
writer hanging fire. He or she would rather hear from you right away, even if you
think the script is terrible.’

How to talk to writers. To be a good editor, you must be fairly egoless and not
expect a lot of thanks from the writer, whose ego is always at the forefront of any
discussion. Your suggestions should be merely suggestions, which the writer can
follow or discard, and they should only be made once you are clear about what the
writer is trying to accomplish.

Rave about the good things in the work. No matter how many compliments you
give a writer, it’s usually not enough. However, writers shouldn’t be coddled. In
fact, they usually require a fair amount of pushing to do their best work. But the
most talented writers are usually sensitive people who need a lot of support. A
good editor must allow for the personal equation in the development of scripts,
which many people on the business side of film simply do not understand. You
must allow for it if you want a good script, because the best writing is the projection
of a unique personality.

Pages and pages of notes do not help the writer, usually. Development people
are often required to write lengthy critiques of screenplays to justify their jobs to
their employers. In my opinion, a few written notes to articulate a point of view are
fine, but I believe in general that writers hate long sets of notes and do not refer to
them when making their revisions.

Editing a screenplay is a little like a puzzle – you change something, it throws

everything else out of whack. I believe you have to be deeply involved in the
process to edit a screenplay, and you get involved through discussion, reflection,
and then more discussion. To really know the problems is to sympathize with them;
this reflection will bring you closer to being able to help the artist solve the
problems.

Editing the first draft. The most important thing to do after reading the first draft is
to talk to the writer one-on-one. I make few notes before this discussion, unless
they are for myself (to clarify my own ideas) or if I have to (the writer is in a
different town, or is terribly defensive or uncommunicative).

I mark up a draft with questions and comments which I then go through and
verbally share with the writer. In this discussion, you need to determine what the
writer has been trying to achieve with the scenes and characters that aren’t
working.

In my experience, a first draft often lacks shape, and you need to provide fairly
broad comments about how to improve it. (However, it is important to let the writer
know that your editing will probably become more specific in subsequent drafts.)
Let the writer know what characters aren’t working, which narrative threads aren’t
fully developed. It’s important to not be too picky about specific scenes or dialogue
on a first draft. You’re trying to find a broad way to encourage the writer to keep
and strengthen the best elements, and to leave the weakest ones behind.

I very often change my mind about some of my criticism after this initial discussion.
A good writer will usually intelligently and truthfully defend the ideas he strong
believes in, and I am often swayed by this defense.

Over-writing in first drafts. Most people do not understand over-writing, and this

is a particular problem in the editing of screenplays. Many of the best writers
overwrite and people complain, “The story doesn’t take off!” When a script is over-
written, which many first drafts are, people have difficulty realizing its potential. For
many writers, over-writing is an important part of the creative process.

Editing the second draft. Second drafts are often inspiring. The script begins to
take shape. And then for the editor, the real work begins. It becomes necessary to
talk through the script scene by scene with the writer.

After the discussion, I go through the script and provide a fairly heavily marked up
draft for the writer, with suggestions for changes in the margins. I find that marked-
up copy is the most useful editing tool for a writer, rather than separate notes.

It’s very important in this marked up version to make note of every moment you
like, for two reasons: for the writer’s morale, and also so that they won’t cut it from
the next draft (although they might have to anyway).

In the second draft, I ask the writer to clear away some of the underbrush and will
ask him or her to cut scenes and dialogue more specifically than I did in the first
draft revision.

Always listen to what it is the writer intended to do with a scene. If you know what
the writer’s intentions are, then you may be able to explain what he or she is failing
to achieve, and provide an idea of how to achieve it.

The subsequent draft can be disappointing. Sometimes it seems that less work
has been done on the third draft. The writer seems stuck, unable to improve
things. You might even prefer things from the previous draft.

Get right to work – don’t take time off. Don’t be afraid to be repetitive. You may
need to push and prod the writer a bit. The writer gets cranky (particularly if he or
she has tried something at your suggestion and you didn’t like the effort.) The
writer may worry that he will never be able to improve certain aspects.

You must admit your own mistakes as an editor up front.

Sometimes it’s necessary to work on only a few things at a time.

It’s important to let the writer know you believe in the script, that you’re in it for the
long haul.

It may take a few more drafts or polishes before you hit that breakthrough
draft.If you hang in there, there is usually a draft that will come in that is a
breakthrough draft, and it’s very fulfilling when it comes in.
Get another opinion before you show it around widely. If you’ve succeeded in
getting deep inside the process with the writer, you’ve also managed to lose
perspective. Give it to a couple of intelligent readers. You and the writer both will
have overlooked a few key things.

Solicit a few opinions, but don’t believe everything you hear. Protect the writer a
little bit from the feedback, but if you keep hearing the same criticism, consider it
and share it with the writer, make a few adjustments and then send it out more
widely.

Never rewrite dialogue or scenes and give them to a writer. For some reasons,
writers have their work tampered with more than any other film artist. I believe it’s
because so many people are frustrated writers.

There is nothing more offensive to a writer than to have their work rewritten by
non-writers.

It is a mistake to use terms such as “character arc” and “character journey”

when critiquing a screenplay. The catch-phrases that development people
sometimes use are clichéd and the rules they follow are too general. Using
language like this only serves to alienate a writer. It’s not beneficial to the creative
process to try to reduce screenplay writing to a formula.

Be careful of the egos of writer/directors. Of course, many of the best scripts in

the history of film have been written by the directors themselves. For an editor, it’s
much trickier to try to edit a director’s script, because if the director is any good, he
often has the film in his head and it may be that you simply do not understand from
the written word how he intends to shoot a scene.

Still, I believe in the importance of a well-developed screenplay, and if it’s not on

the page, then I strongly doubt that the film will work. To me, a script is much more
than a blueprint; it is the very lifeblood of the film. I tend to tread more carefully
with writer/directors, but will risk their displeasure with my criticism because I feel
their perspective is sometimes skewed. It’s important to speak up if you believe
some things in the script aren’t working. Editing a director’s script can be a
minefield to negotiate, but you try to get through the process with grace and at the
same time stay true to your opinions.

Directors should be aware that once they take on the writing process, they must be
open to the same type of criticism that writers are.

Thoughts on How to Run an Independent Development Operation.

After having spent almost two years as the head of a development company run by
independent producers in New York, I spent a great deal of of time reflecting on
how I’d do it myself:

Pick projects and filmmakers that you believe in. Many independent producers
will put a script into development because they desperately want to announce that
they have a project in development. It’s better to wait so that when something
comes along that you really want to develop, you can afford to do it.

Often, a producer will try to come up with an idea of his or her own and try to
develop it with a writer. But it’s difficult to develop an idea from scratch if the idea
belongs to the producer or film executive. Developing speculative ideas is always
risky, and it’s better if the idea belongs to an artist who has the skill to write it.
Talented producers know their artistic limitations, and spend their time trying to
help directors choose viable projects to develop.

Develop relationships with directors. Too often, producers (and companies) try

to develop projects without a director. There are not many truly creative producers
or film executives. Most writers polled will tell you they prefer to develop a
screenplay with a director rather than a producer or executive.

The producer-director relationship has deteriorated in the film business (an article
in itself could be written on this subject), and films are suffering for it. The most
successful producers have ongoing creative relationships with directors.

Develop writing talent. I believe that too many directors are allowed to take on
the sole responsibility of the writing in independent films. A creative producer
understands how key the writer is to the filmmaking process, and can help a
director understand that he or she is not always capable of fashioning the script
alone.

It’s important to be aware of good writers and to bring them together with directors.
A few things to keep in mind when choosing a writer:

Try to pick a real writer. As noted earlier, there are many fake screenwriters
working in the business. In my experience, the difference between a “made” writer
and the real thing is that a creative writer can improve on his work, can rewrite and
give you something special with each new draft. Fake writers are generally one-
shot idea people.

Find a writer who really wants to do the project. It’s best if it’s the writer’s own
idea, or if they want to work with the director – it rarely works if the writer is doing it
for the money.
Beware the writer who has too many commitments. You wouldn’t try to direct
more than one movie at a time – it’s also difficult to write more than one script at a
time well.

Beware the overly-enthusiastic writer in initial meetings.Some of the writers

who can dazzle people in a meeting are the worst at delivering a good screenplay.
(Many of the best writers are not all that good at social interactions.)

Never hire a novelist to adapt their own book. As Raymond Chandler said
when he was doing an adaptation of his novel The Lady in the Lake: “It’s just
turning over dry bones.”

Don’t pigeonhole writers; it leads to boring screenplays. Writers are more

versatile than people in the film business give them credit for.

Commit to making what you develop. Don’t go into the process without fully
believing that you will make the scripts you are developing.

Producers and companies put too many things into development, hoping they will
hit on one good thing out of ten. They would do better to choose more carefully,
and to give more time to each project.

If all the creative parties involved understand that you, as the producer or head of
the production company, are determined to get the film made, everyone will work
harder to create something of quality.

Fully develop scripts before taking them to financing entities or actors – or

before making them into films. By thoroughly developing a script before showing
it around widely, a person will increase his or her chances of maintaining creative
control and deflecting interference. Heads of companies should not even allow a
film to go into pre-production unless the script is well developed – but they do, over
and over again.

Employ scouts and editors – but not development executives. Development

executives have a very bad reputation in the film business. This is because
unqualified people are often placed in development positions, and they’re not
taken seriously by either their employers or the artists. And they’re often in an
impossible situation, finding themselves with one ear tuned upstairs and the other
– often with the volume considerably lower – to the writer sitting on the couch.

Development positions as they exist now cover two separate activities: scouting
and editing. Film companies should consider separating the functions – and the
world “development” should be eliminated from any job title, since it has such a
negative connotation.
The heads of companies should do most of the scouting themselves, using their
own taste and judgment to choose who they want to work with. Some scouts
should be employed, people who share both similar and different tastes from the
executives.
But scouts should not also be required to do story editing. It takes a lot of time to
properly edit a screenplay. It’s impossible to edit screenplays if you’re attending
screenings, spending hours on the phone, and wading through piles of reading and
viewing material.

The best story editors are talented directors, but a handful of gifted editors do exist
apart from directors. Film companies would do well to find and foster the talent of
people who can help film artists edit screenplays, much in the way a publisher
develops the talents of good book editors.

If you employ story editors, give them some autonomy. It is impossible to edit
a screenplay if you don’t have any true voice in the matter. If you choose to employ
a story editor, employ someone you believe in, foster their talent and give them
authority.

Be patient, and understand that good screenplay writing is a layering

process.Producers and production executives often lack the patience needed to
develop a good script. I believe that it takes three or four full drafts to get a
screenplay in decent shape. (I don’t believe that the standard two drafts and a
polish deal is adequate, and if I were in a negotiating position, I would try to work
out something else in a preliminary deal). Film scripts must work on many levels:
dramatically, cinematically, narratively, and all within a time limit. The producer has
to be patient, and to understand that it’s difficult for a writer to achieve everything
in two drafts.

Beware of overdevelopment. Try to avoid it at all costs – it leaves everyone

feeling deflated and bitter. Overdevelopment happens often when a producer has
trouble setting up a project and thinks that by adding certain more commercial
ingredients it will magically make the script work better. A producer often panics
and asks the writer or the writer/director to change something after hearing one or
two negative things about the script. This is very unbecoming and unproductive
behavior.

Stick with the same writer. Many times, film companies lose patience and fire a
writer without good reason. When something isn’t working, people love a fresh
horse – it makes them feel active to fire someone, and it postpones the result so
that they are not yet responsible for the outcome.
Also, because producers or company executives often don’t have the strength of
their convictions, I’ve seen them capitulate too easily to a director-for-hire, allowing
him or her to revise (and make worse) a script that already works quite well. One
could write endlessly on the subject of the amount of money wasted in
development, about power and egos, about how writers are often scapegoats. And
of course, sometimes it is necessary to replace a writer. However, I consider it a
sin to remove a writer from his own original screenplay. And as often as not, the
problem lies with the development process and not the writer.

Keep abreast of good writers and films – but don’t over-do it. If you’re
constantly chasing after the new hot thing, you won’t have time to develop what’s
in front of you. (This is my pet peeve in the world of development – the “grass is
always greener problem,” the short attention span on the part of film executives.)
I find that most people in development don’t see enough films or live performance.
They waste a lot of time reading bad screenplays. Don’t clutter your head; you
need time to reflect on ideas.

Pay artists reasonably. You can pay modest but adequate fees to parties during
the script development stage. Agents and writers and directors have become more
realistic about development fees for independent projects, but producers must stop
trying to get something for nothing. Writers always work better when they feel they
are being decently compensated for their time.

Create an environment which allows art to happen. I believe development fails

so often at so many companies more because of the producers and production
executives than the artists. A truly creative producer understands the necessity of
long-lasting creative involvements and the patience and risk that this often
requires.

It is impossible to manufacture art, but you can create a place where it can thrive.
Such an environment would allow filmmakers to do their work according to what
they think is right.

This doesn’t mean that artists should be given free rein; many talented artists are
extremists who need a balancing viewpoint. It is the executive or producer’s role to
be artistically intelligent and at the same time to maintain a sense of what is
practical and possible.