“The Death of Good Screenwriting in Hollywood" is a bold title of an article (see link below) designed to grab the reader's attention, as it successfully did with me. UK writer Tom Jolliffe offers a reasonable thesis about the mindless dreck Hollywood is gleefully continuing to make, while also stating even independent films are losing their flair and originality. He points the finger at companies like Millennium Films of being in the game only to make money… well yeah! They call it the film business for a reason. Movies cost a lot of money to make and more often than not, don't make any.
We've all heard the sobering statistics about the tens of thousands of spec scripts spewed out into the ether every year, adding to the endless piles collecting dust. And like the many contests and film festivals I've entered, probably ten to fifteen percent of the work the judges have to read passes the sniff test and maybe five percent are truly exceptional; maybe even less. But there are great scripts and occasionally I get to read one. Case in point, yesterday my esteemed S32 colleague Dan MaxXx sent me a PDF file for one of this year's most celebrated spec screenplays.
Recently, one of my screenwriting buddies wrote a post about how he's following the 12 steps of the hero's journey in writing his new screenplay. I've read two of his scripts and he's a very capable writer. However, I choose to never worry about those kinds of parameters and find it inhibits my creativity. And when I truly unleash my original, inventive juices, I find I'm much happier with my results then if I restrict myself with formulas. In telling a story, I try to bear one thing in mind, keep it moving forward with conflict, obstacles and an original voice.
Though I think Mister Jolliffe presents a reasonable case for his assertion good screenwriting is dwindling, I will counter that argument by stating I believe there's a writing renaissance happening on cable networks like AMC, FX and Netflix. These networks have facilitated the work of some true geniuses like Vince Gilligan and Matthew Weiner. For example, "Madmen" produced seven seasons of bold work that not only offered great stories and stellar performances, but also pushed the boundaries of conventional storytelling. Vince Gilligan did extraordinary things with opening scenes in "Breaking Bad" that were awe inspiring and changed the way I thought about writing screenplays. And, there are plenty of other great shows on cable right now that should provide plenty of inspiration to screenwriters seeking to make their mark.
Personally, I don't want to go to my grave thinking I didn't give my best effort in attempting to write creative, entertaining and in some cases, meaningful material. I've written weighty scripts and formulaic ones. I've had people tell me I'm wasting my time with certain types of material. And that may certainly be the painful truth. But I write various scripts for different reasons. And, these scripts will most likely never see the light of day. However, I write a lot of material and these works are just a few steps along the road of my creative path. And, I use them to show people that I'm putting no limits on my imagination. The ultimate objective is when someone wants to pay me for the use of that ability.
I would love to hear your thoughts about this article.
http://www.flickeringmyth.com/2017/01/the-death-of-good-screenwriting-in...
A.S.
I like that description too. I will Definitely check out first few minutes of "Sabotage" too. Great post by the way.
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Man.....I don't like to waste my time bad-rapping stuff.....but Tom Jolliffe has to be a real idiot to believe that - or as my Brit friends would say, a "dim", a "git", or a "wanker." But everyone is entitled to their opinions, I guess.
John H:
Definitely. There's a lot of luck and timing involved even with great work.
Bill C: Perhaps as Ian says, "He's thick as a brick?"
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All BS. Who is Tom Joliffe? Some UK online blogger. Worry about the failing & racist UK filmmaking Industry that makes Brit Actors (see Idris Elba & Benedict Wong) leave and come to America for work.
So unless Mr Joliffe is a member of WGA, PGA, DGA, or an Academy Member, he has 0 creditibility.
Now if a legit journalist like NY Times Manohla Dargis wrote "Death of..." I would pay attention.
But folks have been shouting "Death..." of something for generations: Theatre. Opera. Musicals. Film.
"Hamilton" shattered broadway ticket sales.
Theres a reboot of Autuer Filmmakers for Oscars 2017: Jenkins, Chazz, Logohan(?). All 3 filmmakers with their own styles.
Probably the best time to work in the Industry is right now. Wealth of new platforms and players: Apple, Sprint, Wanda, Alibaba. The money and opportunities are there. Lots of fresh diverse voices.
There are film & TV deals every day. Mickey Fisher just got $$$ for a new pilot.
Reality- if you can't get a deal or work in the American Hollywood Industry, Then Go search for another platform. Lots of great talent on youtube and indie world.
Checking Mr Joliffe's IMDB credit and he has a cheap $13K indie movie. Cmon! You're gonna listen to him? I got a higher Starmeter on IMDB than him.
I got an "A" term paper in college when I compared J Campbell's Hero myth influences on Mad Max/Road Warrior movies. Movies have always been formulas. It s Show Biz. Sell tickets. Turn tables like restaurants. Every generation you get a George Lucas, Nolan, Ava Devernay or Tarantino who can reinvent Myths & Save the Cat structure and make it appear fresh.
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Danny me lad:
I post articles like this for a reason. To get a passionate response like yours. I looked at Mister Joliffe's IMDb record too. And a corpse has a higher rating. That doesn't mean the guy doesn't have some valid points. But my main goal is to get good discussions going on something other than "You think my logline is good?"
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Lol Hardy I hear you, sir "Rate my logline" is bingo at Whiskey Pete's casino.
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Hardy
Budd Schulberg said the same thing About Hollywood back in the 1950s & 60s and his dad ran Paramount Studios.
Danny me lad:
Budd wrote on the waterfront and face in the crowd. He can say whatever he wants.
A.S.: Personal taxes aren't that much different in Europe versus the U.S., when you add the state income tax rates and hundreds of other various taxes, fees and surcharges added on by taxing districts like cities, counties, school districts, water districts, etc. etc.
The U.S. corporate tax rate is a killer compared to European countries, too, which kinda explains why so many U.S. corporations move to places like Ireland, where the corporate tax rate is 1/3 that of the U.S. corporate tax rate.
But we're talking individuals, and more and more.....the average American citizen is getting taxed, fee'd and surcharged to death....and probably pays more when all of those are added up than their average European counterpart.
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Referring back to the original article one thing struck me that may be correlation and that is that due to screenwriting software, online resources, etc. the avenues for bad screenwriters (not claiming my @#$% don't stink as well) and crappy scripts to be put out and produced has increased exponentially. I'm not that old but before word processing software it was a typewriter and just the knowledge you had to have of format kept people who wanted to "give it a shot" from undertaking the endeavor. You wouldn't just sit down and start typing because you couldn't just "backspace" or "delete" and you didn't want to spend all the time getting the the format right to write a piece of dialogue that was crappy and you'd have to "white out". You had to be SERIOUS bordering on sadistic about wanting to be a screenwriter. We're talking taking college courses/getting a degree type stuff. It weeded out all the people who approached it from a "why not?" perspective. Now there's no excuse to NOT try to screenwrite (or self publish novels, etc.) because all the obstacles to writing a screenplay have all been removed. That has led to an influx of people who don't know how to write a proper screenplay or tell a proper screen story through a screenplay (I'm just as guilty). Just a TON of people (me included) who can use software and think we have a story worthy of "celluloid" or rather disk space now. Sadly just because you give someone an easel, paints, brushes and a paint by numbers canvas and a book on different art styles, doesn't mean that person will be able to paint a masterpiece. I think we see this in modern screenwriting attempts. And again, I'm just as guilty and no better than anyone else with the desire and the tools. But I realize I need to learn the craft AND the art. It's a skill that has to be developed. But I think it would be safe to say of 20,000 completed screenplays written today vs. 20,000 completed screenplays written 30 years ago, the quality of those 20,000 from 30 years ago are probably higher due to the amount of time, effort and obstacles that existed just to get one completed.
Chad:
You're coming at this from an interesting angle. I suspect you're right. Screenwriting software has definitely made it easier for anybody to write screenplays. And if you had to do it old school, that probably would be a deterrent. I remember typing papers when I was in college with a IBM typewriter. I was definitely a Liquid Paper user.
A.S: You're absolutely right. Technology doth not a writer make. I read crappy scripts every week and as a recent contest judge, only like about 3 to 5 percent of what I read. The rest was mediocre to god awful. And the highest percentage in the mediocre range. I posted a thread recently about talent being either innate, by education or a combination of both. However, most writers are not great storytellers and don't even begin with a compelling idea. If someone doesn't grab me in five to ten pages, I won't continue unless they're paying me. A great example someone sent me Blonde Ambition, the Madonna biopic script the won top honors on this year's Blacklist. The writer is a twenty-something named Elsye Hollander and it's really good writing. I'm almost pissed that someone under thirty is already such an accomplished scriptwriter. But she did some things I've never seen before and that impressed the hell out of me.
I thought it was a good article. It's fine that the writer is not a grizzled veteran of the industry - if he were, I doubt he would have the courage to pan it. There's a difference in using a formula and being formulaic, and a lot of the films of the past decade or so have been the latter. Part of it is due to the fact that producers and readers are pressed for time, so they're looking for familiar beats; part of it is due to the fact that they know what works best for a healthy ROI; and part of it is that the scripts aren't that good.
My biggest criticism has to do with the gimmickry of newer movies - they're still reboots and remakes, but with stuntcasting, or in 3D (not so much 3D nowadays, but the point stands). That's the biggest reason so many reboots/remakes are in the pipeline: They appear to be drawing audiences (although I don't know anyone who watches them, myself included), and they're easier to market. Thanks for sharing!
AS: I agree with you as well however I think the tech. has made it so some people who don't know the craft or the art of storytelling using a screenplay software can "fake it". I've worked in software for too long and I've used the analogy multiple times that the more tools/features and power given in software is equivalent to a 1000ft. of rope. If you don't know what you're doing, you end up tying yourself in knots or worse hanging yourself. I'm guessing that when we see numbers of tens of thousands of screenplays entered for competition, how many in the first 3 to 10 pages can be written off as bad because they fall into the "I used screenwriting software and learned how to use it, voila! screenplay!" At the same time I think it's opened up avenues for more people who may very well have a good mind for screenwriting and visual storytelling to be able to more easily enter that medium.
Am I the only one who feels up for a good traditional brawl in an Irish pub every time Phillip calls someone "me lad?" I'm telling you...Phillip sure knows how to evoke those warm and fuzzy kinda feelings in readers of his work!
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I love you, Phillip. The stories of now have lost their touch. Its not what it is anymore. Executives and producers just spend their time shooting budgets not stories, if I can quote Colin Morgan of Merlin...
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Billy baby:
Dan M and I are like Britain and the United States, we have a special relationship.
There's a lot of conflicting advice on what makes a good screenplay - or, more specifically, what makes a MARKETABLE screenplay. The "Rule of 10" is one of my pet peeves for the simple fact that it appeals primarily to producers/financiers, and doesn't always serve the story well. I've heard two producers say recently that they abide by the Rule of 10, but they optioned a script based on the ending even though they couldn't specify what it was about the script that made them read it all the way through. They then reminded us that "A great ending makes a great movie." So, that seems conflicting to me.
My biggest problem with it is the show-as-flashback - where you see the climactic scene at the first, then there's a freeze frame with a record scratch before a Narrator says something like, "Yeah, that's me - you must be wondering how I got here..." No, I'm not; I'm wondering what else is on.
Goodfellas, Fight Club, and a lot of good movies have done this - but that was 20 years ago, and most of the films and TV series that use this setup are mediocre, at best. A lot of things pique my interest - good dialogue, interesting characters, good cast - but it seems most producers want a Big Bang at the start. I don't know if that's true for viewers, but you obviously have to sell a producer before you get your material in front of an audience, so... I can't fault them for wanting a return on their investment, but they can definitely be faulted for overlooking better stories just because they don't necessarily fit the current market.
Likewise, while ticket sales for blockbuster rock-em-sock-ems - for example - may be strong, few people (if any) can quote a single line from last summer's HUGE GARGANTUAN MEGA-HIT, or even recall a truly memorable scene that wasn't a big reveal. That's definitely a screenwriting issue. Since it can take years for a movie to be released, Hollywood seems to continue making similar material long after the audiences' attention has waned, but that's because they were already in production when market tastes changed.
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Plenty of great storytellers and great stories. The next wave of visionary filmmakers are working in Hollywood. Chazz Damien, B Jenkins, Ava Devernay, Denis Villeneuve. Ryan Coogler is 30-years old and he's directing a $200mil movie, just 4-years removed from film school. The successful filmmakers at Sundance 2017 will migrate to Hollywood, jump-start careers
The sky is not falling.
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Dan: There's just one missing name on your list...Me. ;) But that's the challenge. Work hard, have thick skin, be amenable and never give up and keep optimism alive.
I agree, Chad. I think it's good to discuss the shortcomings we see from our perspective (whether as screenwriters, or hopefuls, or hyphenates, et. al.) because it's difficult to know what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong. Like I say, it's easy to lay blame but everyone has a job to do, and knowing more about how they do it, and what we can do to make it easier, is a good thing because it helps everyone be more successful.
I've read enough bad scripts that eventually got made to wonder what goes on in those boardrooms, but I've also written a lot of content that I thought was good until I reread it later and saw all the ways it could be improved. I also feel that we're being critical from a viewer's standpoint moreso than as creators, it's just that we're more familiar with certain processes than others, so we feel more comfortable dissecting those. I could point-out numerous examples of stilted dialogue, lack of character development, etc., but I have no idea what was cut between the pitch and the table, or left on the editing room floor, so my criticism may be aimed at the wrong parties.
Dan Maxxx: So glad that is coming from you.
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I believe in the "Double-Up/Triple-Up Rule." Double-up on your writing.....triple-up on your alcohol consumption....or other time-tested favorites.....and BOOYAH!!!....sagacity, profundity and brilliant writing converge!
Or are audiences getting dumber? That's the real question
I think Fight Club was amazing, but I agree - it's 20 years old. I was not a fan of Breaking Bad, either - actually, there are probably a dozen current, "MUST SEE," "BEST THING YOU AREN'T WATCHING" TV shows I could list as sub-par, or just not particularly good. Like AS said, the audience continues moving but because the industry takes so long to get projects to market (not a complaint, just how it works), audiences tire of the trends long before the products are released, so a lot of good product gets overlooked.
Personally, I think the biggest problem is that PR has overtaken the filmmaking industry in all regards, and it just isn't possible for most product to live-up to the manufactured hype - especially when it isn't that good to begin with, and they try to "save" it with viral campaigns. IMO, Goliath is one of the best things to hit TV in years, yet I've heard next to nothing about it - whereas three or four truly mediocre shows are CONSTANTLY getting pushed online, despite the fact that no one outside of the industry seems to watch them.
Leon Reaper I don't think audiences are getting dumber, I believe they're simply being conditioned. It's like I said about producers having been conditioned to expect certain things from scripts at certain times, and it goes back to marketing being depended on more than the quality of the product. A lot of people have noted that much of the current industry is actually B-product with A-quality casts and budgets, and they rely instead on effective marketing campaigns to push that to viewers. The success of franchises like Friday the 13th, Jason Bourne, and others set the market in that direction, and it's easier - and less expensive - for them to promote than for them to make better product.
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I believe crap films start as good films and get killed by 'collaboration' along the way. 'The Postman' for example, started off about a bad man that came good as the world recovered from an apocalypse. Then Kevin Costner said what about if I start as a good guy and help the world change. Tada, a flop is born.
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Speaking of Costner, I saw "Hidden Figures" today, matinee show. People applauded at the end of the movie. Audience appealing and the Box Office $$$$ proves it. Word of mouth marketing.
We shall see if Hollywood Shot Callers invest $$$ on diverse characters. Personally, I'm tired of "Kennedy Clan" or gangster Al Capone type movies.
I started working in the Industry 20 years ago. Must have read about 1000++ scripts by WGA writers. Out of 1000++, probably 50 scripts had a Black lead character. Maybe 10 scripts had a Person of Color female lead. 0 scripts had an Asian, Hispanic lead character. Those were the stats I saw as a Reader. That type of unequal playing level filters down to Casting Directors, Distributors, Directors, and Studio Executives- all males. I worked for a Big Shot Producer and his rolodex of financiers had surnames ending with "Stein" or "Berg" & French names. So imagine the stories that gets made then and present day. There are plenty of quality stories. It's up to big Money people and Corporations wanting to change the Show biz model. So go support and buy tickets for indie American English language movies like Hidden Figures, Lion, Moonlight, Xander Cage 2- lots of talent in front and behind camera.
Dan MaxXx That's what the other dude was saying about horror flicks. ;)