COMMERCIAL SUCCESS Re: Novel vs. Screenplay

AdamJ said:

No ignorance. This is not something I'm inexperienced at, mind you, just because I recently registered. Screenplays are a blueprint. Yes, they CAN be enjoyable and the best ones often are, but the general public? Nope. They're not interested. Select screenplays may sit on the shelf at your local Barnes and Noble but NO script is put there unless it's already a film - and typically a very, very successful one.

A lot of that has to do with the fact that screenplays are sterilized by nature. They're not meant to be about the words, they're meant to be about the story and the characters and the dialogue and the ACTION.

A good novelist, for example, can rescue a crap story - or no story - by the quality of writing. But Hollywood gatekeepers are not interested in the quality of writing, they're looking for marketable material that won't cost them their jobs when they recommend it. They're looking for an intriguing set-up in the first five pages. They are NOT looking for something that is a great piece of literature, they are looking for dollar signs.

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There's not an entire section of plays at the Barnes & Crap? Really? Some have been made into films, a lot have been staged at one point or another; they're all scripts on a shelf that people buy to read.

cornflake said:

There's not an entire section of plays at the Barnes & Crap? Really? Some have been made into films, a lot have been staged at one point or another; they're all scripts on a shelf that people buy to read.

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A play is not a screenplay. Not by a longshot.

Assuming you have a commercially viable project (high-concept hook, correct story structure, etc.), it's a matter of getting your work to land on the right desk at the right time.

That takes persistence and luck.

brianjanuary said:

Assuming you have a commercially viable project (high-concept hook, correct story structure, etc.), it's a matter of getting your work to land on the right desk at the right time.

That takes persistence and luck.

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The odds are pretty much against you though, with only around 200 movies made each year and 50,000 registers with the WGA. These numbers improve if you add in un-produced sales/options and television, which employs many writers at a time.

But the system is designed to shut you out. Of course, the easiest way is to write the best script but think about this, the best scripts aren't the only ones that get made into movies. Plenty of bad scripts do, awful ones even, aand you ask well why? And then you realize a ton fo the job isnt about writing, it's about networking, and knowing people, and living in LA and getting "lucky."

The whole system in screenwriting is changing. Until recently, a lot of writers were working on the movies most times, in official capacity or not, but now it's ridiculous.

The way it is now: Let's say, we have Writer A/Script A. A writes a script, perhaps sells it on spec to a studio. They hire Writers B and C and say, "Go each write your own next draft." They return weeks later, heavy bags under their eyes probably, with their drafts. Then the studio hires Writer D and says, "Okay, you combine the best parts of these two scripts." Then, depending on how that goes, the process REPEATS.

That's insane. Sure they may give you mid 6-figures, but what for? So you have to weigh the commercial success of writing scripts against the artistic purity it inherently limits.

AdamJ said:

That's insane. Sure they may give you mid 6-figures, but what for? So you have to weigh the commercial success of writing scripts against the artistic purity it inherently limits.

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Artistic purity. I'm unclear on what that means to you. The 'purity' of one particular person's vision for a story? Is this some variation on the "Auteur" construct?

Film making is a collaborative medium. Other 'artists' bring their vision to the creation of what winds up being called "The Movie".

Where is the 'purity'? of vision. The Director's? The Lead Actor's? The Screenwriters? The Producers? It's a constant give and take - compromise and collaborate. Sometimes for the better, sometimes worse.

That's the nature of the beast.

I suppose it's possible, to write, act, direct, shoot, edit, produce and distribute your own short film - featuring only YOU as the star actor. That way only YOUR vision is seen - captured - and distributed. Otherwise, it's going to be filtered by the way you communicate your vision, and how others' perceive your communication of said vision.

"They may give you six figures, but what for?" - Well, if we're brutally honest - they're paying you for the right to alter that vision. Six figures is a lot more than your average novelist get's offered. Especially a first time novelist. And yes - first time screenwriters can be offered that much. (See Amazon Studios)

If the purity of your writing is absolutely important to you - write novels, and self publish them. But keep in mind that even great novelists - get 'edited' prior to publication. Their original 'pure' vision - is altered by the input of their editors. And a good writer appreciates that input to help them 'refine' or hone that vision.

Because, like a diamond in it's pure state... it's not particularly attractive.

That's my thought anyway.