John August

QandA

Surviving development hell

Producers, QandA

I just signed my first option agreement for one of my spec
scripts and am starting work developing and rewriting the screenplay with the
producer’s development personnel,
which is all very exciting, but also a bit scary, as I’m wary of them damaging
the script. Any tips on how to survive the process or any good
stories from development hell?

–Jay

The best advice I can give you is to keep an open mind as you’re talking with
them, and not to commit to any changes during a meeting. Remember that they
can only offer suggestions about what they’d like to see changed, not how to
actually do it. That’s your job. Any damage done to the script will be your
doing, not theirs.

A lot of times, I’ll encounter a note that seems idiotic or unworkable. But
the more I talk with the note-givers, I begin to understand what they’re really
getting at. Maybe something that I think is obvious simply isn’t clear, or
the problem isn’t with the scene itself, but how much it’s ultimately going
to cost to film.

Try to make every meeting a real conversation, rather than a session of attack-and-defend.
The ability to look at your work objectively and impassively takes a lot of
time to develop, but it’s a skill that will ultimately make your scripts stronger.

Ratio of pages to screen time

QandA, Words on the page

How do you (roughly) calculate the ratio of script length to screen time?
Would you use a different calculation for different genres?

–Rebecca

The very general rule is that a page in the script should equal a minute of screen time, which is one reason the industry has standardized around 12-point Courier for the font. Since most screenplays are around 120 pages, the movie should work out to be 120 minutes, or two hours, assuming every scene in the script makes it into the movie.

Of course, a page full of action would likely take longer than a minute, just as a page of rapid-fire dialogue would be a lot faster. That’s why before a movie goes into production, the script is often “timed” to estimate how long the movie will be, so the director and producers can plan accordingly.

A “script timer” is a professional reader who estimates how long each scene will play, and thus, the length of the overall movie. Generally, the script timer will take into account the director’s vision and style when timing the scenes; the David Lynch version of a scene would tend to run longer than the Michael Bay version.

Many script timers are in fact the script supervisors, who will be set during the entire production helping the director, actors and editors maintain continuity and catch mistakes. From the screenwriter’s perspective, this is one of the most important people on the set, since he or she always has the director’s ear, and will be the person correcting actors who mangle their lines.

Are characters based on people you know?

Go, QandA

As a writer, do you worry about everyone in your life thinking characters
are based on them?

–Dari

Surprisingly, the issue almost never comes up. I guess that means either,
(a) everyone in my life has already accepted that something they say or do
might someday end up on screen, or (b) they’re angry and repressing their rage.

A writer is inevitably going to borrow ideas from real life, both consciously
and unconsciously. With me, it’s dialogue. I’ll hear somebody say something
perfect and immediately jot it down on one of a hundred tiny slips of paper.
(Probably half of the time, I’ve actually misheard what they said, the same
way song lyrics seem much more poetic when you can’t quite make them out.)

But I’m pretty careful to never completely base a character on somebody I
know, especially not a close friend or family member. It’s just not worth the
potential grief.

Of the scripts I’ve written, GO was closest to using actual true people and
events. Tiny (played by Breckin Meyer) was inspired by Anthony Satariano, the
sports editor of my high school paper, who was a white kid talking black way
back in 1988. The food poisoning from shrimp at a Las Vegas buffet happened
to my friend Wende in 1993, while the hotel room fire is a possibly apocryphal
story related to me by my friend Tom
Smith. (No, it didn’t happen to him.)

It’s worth noting that of all these incidents, the only one I asked permission
to use was Tom’s, probably because he’s a writer himself, and might have been
saving it for one of his own projects. He was gracious enough to let me have
it.

Another factor which reduces the "Is-That-Based-On-Me?" tension
is that a lot of the projects I work on already have some form of source material,
be it a book, a TV show or whatnot. For example, my screenplay for BIG FISH
involves a lot of my experience watching my father die, and my frustration
at trying to get to know him. But the fact that it’s ultimately based on Daniel
Wallace’s book makes it easier for my family and everyone else to get some
emotional distance, and differentiate the movie-dad from my actual dad.

Do I show my scripts or my short?

Film Industry, QandA

I have just finished my first feature APPLESEED LAKE which
I wrote/directed/produced on a very low budget. I am now at the stage where
I am preparing
to show it to people whilst at the same time writing my follow up script. Would
it help me get (writing) representation by showing agents the finished film?
Or should I just stick to showing prospective agents scripts that I have written?

–Peter

If you’re interested in both writing and directing, you’ll obviously want
to find an agent who handles both fields. Both your screenplay and your feature
will be important at some stage.

Because of the time commitment involved, not many agents are apt to pop in
a videotape to check out a low-budget movie from someone they’ve never heard
of. The odds of suckage are just too high. They are, however, more likely to
crack open a script. Your instincts are right.

If your film gets into some festivals, however, that can be a great way to
get the process started. Say an agent sees your film and introduces herself.
That’s a tremendous opportunity to talk about the scripts you’ve written and
offer one to read. Most writer/directors at a film festival don’t have representation
going in, and smart agents will always be looking for new talent.