Let's say you want to write movies. Sounds awesome right? A pretty inexpensive way to make a name for yourself. Especially if you have a distinctive vision where you can SEE the movie inside your head from beginning to end. And once you get that vision out in writing, you can find the right person who will love what you wrote every bit as much as you do. They'll understand your intentions with the story. They'll tell you with rabid fervor that, "This movie needs to be made now!"
It's your dream come true! This is amazing! Then once you give it a little bit of time, producers will finance your phenomenal script, a highly regarded director will sign on to helm the project, and your vision will be translated to the screen without any alterations!
Then the movie is released, and audiences love it! Widespread critical acclaim will point out how exceptionally well written your work is. How the dialogue flows like an immaculate stream of clear water, which adds authenticity to the impressively detailed world of your story. All of a sudden, you are a scribe in demand! Studio executives will plead for your next masterpiece. Assignment offers explode your phone with infinite opportunities!
Then one day, you're nominated for an Academy Award, and against all odds, you win! You thank all the people that made this moment possible. You look forward to your golden future. You are set for life! All because of one brilliant script...
Doesn't that sound fantastic!? Isn't that the reality that all aspiring screenwriters hope for?...
Well, guess what. It's all a gigantically elaborate lie.
And if you believe it, you'll toil in obscurity for the rest of your life. You'll develop an inconsolable depression that cripples you beyond all hope. You'll keep telling yourself, "I thought I was special. I heard the stories of struggling screenwriters in the business, but I didn't think it applied to me because my vision is much more clearer than theirs."
You are not the exception to the rule, no matter how talented you believe yourself to be.
One does not simply walk into Hollywood.
Even if your work was well received enough to be bought by a studio, the final result on screen will more than likely be so unrecognizably altered from your original script that you'll wonder why you ever wanted to be a screenwriter in the first place.
This points out the most confusing aspect of the industry for me. Why does a studio buy a script if the producers are just going to change everything anyway?...
I'm not prepared to answer that question, but I am prepared to figure out how to cope with that reality. Because at their core, screenwriters are artists, not Dictaphones for directors and producers. However, that's the way screenwriters have been treated since filmmaking became a moneymaking enterprise.
I personally believe that the underlying motivation for writers strikes is the unspoken philosophy that states, "If I have to sacrifice my creative integrity to appease a bunch of studio fat cats, then I demand to be paid more for my services."
That sounds fair, right? Screenwriters are flesh and blood human beings who are passionate about what they do. They aren't office equipment whose sole purpose is to print out pages in order to match the bloated vision of executives. If a producer proposes a change to your work, it's akin to saying, "Dance for me monkey! But do it the way I WANT you to! Or YOU'RE FIRED!!!"
So with this truth in mind, what am I to do as a screenwriter myself? Of course, the most obvious answer is to go direct my own scripts. That's perfect if I had access to the money, equipment, and time-- which I don't. What else is there?
Oh, I can write a book! Brilliant! Wait-- why would I expect anyone to read that? People don't like reading books-- even the ones they WANT to read. It takes too much effort to get through. And besides, I've written too many screenplays over the years to turn around, and write novels as a backup. There's gotta be a better way.
Wait a minute, this is the internet! Entire worlds are created everyday via websites and blogs. So why not create my own network? A platform to promote, and distribute my own work as if they were actual movies.
Imagine for a second, if a screenplay wasn't a mere blueprint for a movie to be made in the future, but a final written representation of the movie itself. Complete with an ideal cast for the principal characters, a specific music soundtrack, and a planned release date for when the script would be posted on the site. It would be like fantasy football, but with filmmaking!
Hence the purpose for this blog. I believe the interpretation of screenwriting needs to be reevaluated. What is a screenplay anyway, but a strange hybrid of movies and books? The combination of those two mediums can turn an unproduced screenplay into a complete document that stands on its own.
Screenwriting can be an industry that exists apart from its association with movies. A high minded ideal, for sure. After all, how can screenwriting exist without the screen?
Obviously, I have a lot to say on this subject. I've spent the last twelve years of my life studying the craft, learning the rules, and absorbing all the advice I could get my hands on. And honestly, I have various conflicting views on screenwriting that I'm trying to put into a clearer perspective. And one of my major goals with this blog is to attain that perspective.
It is my hope that I can keep up with this blog Monday through Friday. Because apart from posting my own work, I also plan to use this platform to analyze-- not criticize-- the work of others. And hell, maybe I'll chime in on other issues affecting the world too, and how they can motivate the writer within.
Because if you open your mind to what's going on, you'll realize that inspiration is everywhere. Inspiration lives in sadness, happiness, tragedy, comedy. Every little thing, from the flavor of a cup of coffee, to the relief of urination can breed a detail that can make your story magical.
Even if no one reads this blog, I can take comfort in the fact that everyone could-- if they wanted to. And that's good enough... for now...
STAY TUNED TOMORROW where I chronicle the experience that inspired this forum.
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