Screenwriting : How do you make your script attractive to A- list talent? by Sydney S

Sounds exciting!!

Thanks, Sydney S! I just ordered the webinar! I've heard great things about Christopher Lockhart's webinars. Looking forward to this one!

Maurice Vaughan I love to hear that, please let me know your thoughts after!

Ok, I definitely will, Sydney S.

Looking forward to returning to Stage 32 for this webinar!

What's the first thing you look for when you pick up a script?

When writing a spec feature, should I keep budget in mind or put in all the eye candy and assume that if someone is interested in the script they'll tell me what to take out?

Q: On average, how many pages do you read before you decide to keep reading or put the script down?

What's the commercial viability of turning premise tropes on their head? i.e. crime DOES pay, or love DOESN'T conquer all?

What is name of author of the book with the 36 dramatic situations?

Is it better to have just one clear antagonist, or would many antagonists (to create more conflict, for example) work too?

If you think a script can be fixed in a revision, will you make an offer on it?

Does the protagonist have to be introduced before the antagonist?

What about writing with specific actors in mind? Sometimes it's helpful to have a face for a character, or a reference. Black hole, or good idea? Thanks, Chris!

What turns you 'off' the most when reading a screenplay?

We see that movies still utilize flashbacks. What makes a flashback necessary or effective?

How do you make your script attractive...? Guessing sending strippers with donuts to the A Listers house is NOT an option, right?

Thank you for this great talk....and my teacher, Marc Cushman says, "Hi', too

Fantastic webinar, Chris! This will be so helpful as I'm now rewriting several scripts!

Brilliant webinar, Chris! Thank you so much - insightful, informative, and I'm desperate to start looking at my work now to see the pitfalls! Have a great evening! :)

Thanks for teaching this incredible webinar, Christopher Lockhart! Thanks for hosting it, Sydney S (I think you hosted the webinar -- sorry, I missed the intro)! One tip that really stuck out in the webinar was, "Your concept must be ripe with conflict" (paraphrased).

Thank you everyone for attending and for these great questions!

You're welcome, Sydney S.

Here are some answers to questions above that I didn't get to answer:

In regard to FLASHBACKS, they can often be clunky when not done well or misplaced within the structure. If a flashback is utilized to move the story forward, it's much stronger than simply using it for expository purposes. Some scripts are designed with a flashback structure (CITIZEN KANE, TITANIC, THE USUAL SUSPECT, as examples), which is great. Others just stick a couple in here or there to spend a page on info that could have been revealed with a line of dialogue - which is not the way you want to use flashbacks. If your script is not using a flashback structure, try to find more creative ways to reveal the past before you resort to a flashback. Flashbacks can be effective, but most new writers abuse them and use them poorly.

What makes a script attractive? Good writing. :) Yes, attachments make a script attractive. But if you're trying to sell the script (rather than producing it yourself), attachments are a bad idea. Winning a prestigious contest can make a script attractive. Getting a recommendation from someone in the business can make a script attractive. But the easiest thing to make a script attractive is to have an attractive concept. Something that piques the curiosity of execs, reps, buyers.

What turns me off in a screenplay? Probably unfulfilled potential.

Writing for specific actors? Sure -- if it helps you visualize and makes the writing process easier. But don't get hung up on the actor when you're marketing the script. Don't say it was written with "Tom Cruise" in mind - and it cannot be made without him. (Sounds stupid - but a common cry.) If the script goes into production, you can certainly make the first offer to Tom (or whoever was in you head). But writing with an actor in mind should be, firstly, a creative process.

I tend to use flashbacks when trying to explain what happened in dialogue will just take too long and an audience might get lost in a maze of words. It should seem natural to go into a flashback, not imposed.

Amy, I think you should spin tropes around and upside down. But in a commercial screenplay "crime does pay" and "love doesn't conquer all" might not be the best examples - especially if the script ends on a downer. However, if the character learns that SELF-love conquers all - over love with an unfaithful (or whatever) partner - that would be positive.

Or find a familiar concept and inject it with something different. CODA does that. We've seen the likes of CODA a million times - a story about someone who wants to be a singer. (in other movies it might be a dancer or fill-in-the-blank.) Often, the character is repressed by a loved one who doesn't support the dream. These are tropes of this sub-genre. CODA simply found a new spin on it: An aspiring singer living with a deaf family. The juxtaposition of opposites creates a simple and nifty concept that conjures up instant conflict.

Thanks for the answers and advice, Christopher Lockhart. I really like the "I think you should spin tropes around and upside down" advice. I'm trying to do that more in scripts.

Christopher Lockhart Thank you so much for all the advice and answers! I love taking things and making them pretzels, it's a lot of fun to play with the norm and make it not-the-norm! It's really invaluable, as a new writer, to get such good constructive information to work on. Love it! Have a great evening!