TOTEM POLE

Lately the screenwriting blogs seem to be obsessed with pleasing the script readers. Those all powerful gatekeepers who manipulate our destinies with a single utterance of the word PASS.

Make no mistake, we do have to please the readers. But keep in mind that they’re at the very bottom of the film maker totem pole. Getting by them is only the first step. We’re going to have to, at some point, impress actual movie makers not some frustrated wanntabe writer.

Nothing against the readers. They’re doing the job (for little pay) that they’re hired to do. But someone higher up the food chain, with a little more experience making movies, may not be so impressed by our narrative voice or extensive vocabulary. They’re looking for something that they can film. Something that shows up on the screen.

So, yes we certainly have to please the readers. You can’t get a home run without stepping on first base. But we have to do more. We need to make our scripts a cinematic as possible and make actors, directors, producers, etc., fall in love with our scripts too.