Writers: A Room of Our Own

by Polly Whitney

Home Forums Fade In: Movies and Screenplays Introduction to "Fade In: Movies and Screenplays"

This topic contains 2 replies, has 2 voices, and was last updated by  Polly Whitney 9 years, 8 months ago.

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  • #117

    Polly Whitney
    Moderator

    Good news: Now, more than ever, there is a great demand for scripts, given the increasing number of distributors and given the web. So, how do you get started? What are the elements of a marketable screenplay? What characterizes appropriate dialogue? What’s the difference between a screenplay and a director’s script, and why you MUST know. Good movies must be ABOUT something – so it’s fair to ask “what is AMERICAN SNIPER about?” Is the “about-ness” crucial to the worthiness? Is that Oscar-nominated film about being cooler than anyone because you can shoot the iris out of a man’s eye at a thousand yards? Or is it about patriotism? Or something else? THE INTERVIEW, by all accounts an incredibly lesser movie, seems to be about two American comics making fools of themselves and fools of us when we’ve seen the film. Do THEMES elevate movies over comic chaos. Is seriousness of purpose the mark of greatness? Does farting qualify as dialogue? It’s difficult for me to answer even that small question because BLAZING SADDLES is on my list of favorite movies.

    • This topic was modified 9 years, 9 months ago by  Polly Whitney.
  • #316

    davidsmith
    Participant

    Does a screenplay ever end up written by just one person?

  • #324

    Polly Whitney
    Moderator

    I know what you mean, but there are some screenwriters with enough clout and talent that they can actually, in a very real sense, lay claim to finishing the project and enjoy “creative ownership” of the film. Example: Dalton Trumbo and EXODUS.

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