In a recent radio interview regarding his work on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Terry Gilliam speaks of his disdain for his own films and how he would rather wait ten years to see his final product then see it right away.
I’ve never seen one of my own movies, not as me.
Using time to distance oneself from a creative project (like ten years) is one way of gaining this objectivity. Stephen King suggests a similar technique in his book On Writing when he discusses hiding a first draft in a drawer for six weeks before starting the rewrite.
Another technique is to use the Dramatica theory of story to help give you that objective view…now. By helping point out the blind spots inherent in every story, this program works as a mental time machine for working writers.
It’s been less than a year since the spec-script review site ScriptShadow appeared on the scene, but already it’s generating some controversy. At first glance, having access to unseen spec-scripts seems like a boon to writers everywhere. Turns out that might not be the case. John August explains in his post on How ScriptShadow hurts screenwriters:
There’s a big difference between reading a script and reviewing it online for the world to see. Not only are you spoiling plot details, but you’re establishing a baseline judgment for a project that’s often still in its fetal phase.
Having read two scripts from the site, I can say that ScriptShadow’s reviews only make it more difficult to figure out what “Hollywood wants.” The first one I read, Source Code, kicked ass. The second, Everything Must Go – which also happens to be on the top of most favored screenplays, was boh-ring. But then again, that’s just my opinion.
While John makes some good suggestions on going forward, it’s this comment by “Working Writer” that seems most disconcerting:
As a working writer in Hollywood, I can verify everything John has said. I had my first big sale in 2009 and my reps have not been allowed to show the material to ANY prospective producers or execs for assignments specifically because of the Reeves site. The script is on studio lockdown for 18 months until the option expires. I’m not some greedy A-list Hollywood player. I live in a small studio apartment and drive a 15 year old car. In a very real way, my career is on hold because of the script-review blogosphere.
