Screenwriting Script to Screen Paul Kooperman
Published by Insight Publications 219 Glenhuntly Road Elsternwick Victoria 3185 Australia. Tel: +61 3 9523 0044 Fax: +61 3 9523 2044 Email: books@insightpublications.com.au www.insightpublications.com.au ABN 57 005 102 983 First published by Insight Publications in 2009 Text copyright Paul Kooperman Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, any fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review) no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner, Paul Kooperman. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the above address. Cover design: Carmelina Heberle Text design: Susannah Low Editing: Robert Beardwood & Timothy Roberts Printed in Australia by Hyde Park Press National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-Publication entry: Kooperman, Paul. Screenwriting : script to screen / Paul Kooperman. 1st ed. 9781921088810 (pbk.) Includes index. Motion picture authorship Handbooks, manuals, etc. Television authorship Handbooks, manuals, etc. Dialogue Handbooks, manuals, etc. 808.23
Contents Introduction: the screenwriting community 1 1 Can writing a film make me rich? 4 2 How do I get started? 11 3 What if I m not really a writer? 27 4 What if I get writer s block? 31 5 How do I get a good idea? 35 6 I ve got an idea, now what? 41 7 How do I actually write a film? 57 8 What happens after I ve written it? 91 9 What happens after I ve rewritten it? 97 10 Can I make a living from screenwriting? 103 Index 107 Acknowledgements 108 About the author 108
Introduction: the screenwriting community Screenwriting: Script to Screen is about the community of screenwriting its terms, truths, models, myths, people, places, websites and the idea that anyone who writes films, makes films, watches films or likes films is a part of a community that is continually growing and changing. Reading this book confirms you as a member of this community. Each chapter is a chance to further explore its various aspects, meet other members from all over the world and contribute to it in your own way. Writing a screenplay is a puzzle, an adventure, a journey with limitless paths and options. All writers, from beginners to experts, struggle with the same issues and experience the same difficulties when making their own choices. Being aware of the community allows you to draw strength from knowing that others are experiencing exactly what you re experiencing each time you confront the blank page and sit down to write. We re all in this together, attempting to complete a coherent, well-written screenplay with the aim of getting it produced (or at least read and understood). This book welcomes you to the community of screenwriting and aims to share experience, suggest avenues, offer advice and help you narrow your choices as a
2 Screenwriting: Script to Screen screenwriter by exploring how to start writing, where ideas come from, strategies for setting goals and dealing with writer s block, and the art of crafting the screenplay itself. The structure of the book is based on some frequently asked questions about screenwriting: 1. Can writing a film make me rich? 2. How do I get started? 3. What if I m not really a writer? 4. What if I get writer s block? 5. How do I get a good idea? 6. I ve got an idea, now what? 7. How do I actually write a film? 8. What happens after I ve written it? 9. What happens after I ve rewritten it? 10. Can I make a living from screenwriting? To start exploring the community of screenwriting, check out William Goldman s Adventures in the Screen Trade (see en.wikipedia.org/wiki/adventures in the Screen Trade) and the Coen Brothers story: www.coenbrothers.net/coens.html Christopher Gist on screenwriting as a community One of my writing teachers, John Powers, said in my first writing class that You are all insane get used to it and start writing or start therapy. Over the years I ve since found writers can also be like tele-evangelists: always trying to talk others into getting down their stories or into becoming writers in some other way. Every writer I know who has been asked for help from a beginner has willingly given it, so it can be as easy as contacting a writer you like and asking for advice. The kinds of advice I got from the community when starting out included an anecdote from a publicity agent. She said she had once demolished a writer
Introduction: the screenwriting community 3 over the way he interviewed her client. A decade or so later, that writer was an Australian TV network executive who cut her company out of all of their publicity. The toes you step on today may be kicking your bum tomorrow, she said. She then admitted she still crushed the occasional foot, but was getting better. If you do decide to go for writing rather than therapy, things you may hear as you go along: say what you think or raise your dissenting point so that it s heard if it s dismissed, let it go gracefully; be humble when you first start any new role (by which this producer meant be professional, settle in, earn your place); avoid send the limo syndrome after a few early successes; be motivated by the writing and not by the position or pay. If you can manage all of that at least 40% of the time, you re going to be an impressive success. Christopher Gist began writing for the theatre, but moved into screenwriting and has since written, edited or story edited for numerous programs, both in Australia and internationally. In New Zealand, Chris was Head of Drama for TVNZ where he executive produced a wide range of adult, teen and children s series. He is currently the Head of Development at South Pacific Pictures in New Zealand. South Pacific Pictures is based in Auckland, New Zealand and does accept unsolicited ideas and scripts. Find out more at www.southpacificpictures.com
1 Can writing a film make me rich? There are plenty of success stories where unknown writers have written a film, had it made and released and become millionaires. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck were thrown into the international spotlight after winning the Academy Award for their screenplay Good Will Hunting. Castle Rock bought the script for $675,000, but balked at the idea of the writers acting in it. The script was put into turnaround, until Miramax bought the rights and made the film with Damon and Affleck in the lead roles. James Wan and Leigh Whannell were two Melbourne guys with stars in their eyes when they wrote a script called Saw. Through their Melbourne management, the script was sent to several producers and production companies in Hollywood where it eventually found a buyer. The script was made and the film quickly became an international box office smash. It is now one of the top-grossing horror films in history. The idea that screenwriting will make you rich is a myth, which doesn t mean it s not true. It just means it s not simple and shouldn t be expected.
Can writing a film make me rich? 5 Here are a few other myths and home truths about the profession: Writing a film can make you rich It has happened before and it will happen again. If you do your homework, learn the craft, hit on the right idea and write something that gets noticed and made, there is a small chance that it can make you rich. If that is your goal, then aim for it: write the kind of film which has some chance of appealing to a mass audience, get it to someone who knows someone who knows someone, and persist. Writing a film is unlikely to make you rich Everyone thinks they can write a hit story or film, but there are too many examples of first-time film-makers who manage to fund their films quickly, get them made and released, yet fail to find an audience. In most cases, it s because the script isn t ready. I wrote a feature film, Wil, in six weeks and the script drew enough interest to get financed, filmed and screened in a cinema within twelve months. The film flopped at the first screening, but due to the buzz about the project when it was being made, the get rich quick thought certainly passed through my mind. I was naive to say the least. Even if you can write a script quickly, the art of turning that script into a film that makes sense, elicits an emotional response, excites distributors, appeals to a wide audience and finds a way of reaching that audience is a long process and certainly doesn t guarantee that the writer will become rich. The best writers fail Paul Haggis, Charlie Kaufman and other celebrated screenwriters have had their fair share of rejections and failures. Harry Potter was rejected by eight different publishers before Bloomsbury offered Rowling (a middle-class, single mother at the time) 3000 as an advance for its publication. Failure is learning Learning can often be a process of trial and error, of getting a task or process wrong several times before you get it right. It takes time to develop writing skills. If you don t risk failure, you may never succeed. Your writing is not you It s important to distinguish between you, as a person, and your writing. Your writing is certainly a part of you, but when someone compliments or criticises it, they are merely commenting on the work and not making a judgement about you.
The first thing anyone who wants to write a film should ask themselves, straight away, is, Do I really love this idea?; Is it something I could really see as a movie?... it s that love of the core idea that you ll need to carry you through all the trials of getting that idea... to a finished, final draft. Rick Kalowski