Screenwriting : Script to screen by Mike Heff

The script for Shane Black's Predators leaked online well-before the movie finished production. I couldn't help but be a curious cat and spoil myself. The script had me smirking and grinning and laughing. I wish I could say the same for the actual movie when it premiered. Some actors were miscast. Some scenes were changed. Some well-written imagery was cheaply-shot.

Yeah I know what you mean! Maybe some stories just work better on paper. It seemed that way with Death Proof. I can’t wait to read the Tarantino novels he writes after he’s done with filmmaking.

i'm the opposite. I read scripts that read awful to me, crappy formatting, plain vanilla writing but the finished movies are fantastic! Ex Machina script is a terrible read on the page but the finished movie is special. Some folks know what they're doing with a camera & cast/crew :)

The Cellar, which became 10 Cloverfield Lane, is a fucking amazing script and a meh film

I know exactly what you mean.

The writer is not the only person involved in the making of a movie. I've read some pretty poor scripts that have led to some pretty good movies and I read some top notch scripts that have been made into garbage movies. Filmmaking is a team event and just one bad player can destroy the whole thing.

Like Doug, I have seen a little of everything. Some scenarios were good, but ended up being bad movies, some bad scripts ended being good movies. The script may be the foundation of a movie, but there so many people and so many factors involved, it can change dramatically during production.

Wonderful to meet you.

I remember reading 500 Days of Summer and thinking that it took a masterful director to really find its pacing and tone. There are scenes that break up that pacing, but the director/editor really figured it out.

Did you ever hear what Tarantino said about his scripts? It is really interesting. He said (paraphrasing) that he wants to write his scripts in such a way that even if the movie was never made that a reader could enjoy the experience of reading on its own. Meaning, he puts things in the scripts that are just for the reader and meant to be just for the reader - which an audience will never see. I loved that when I heard it.

Oooooo, I LOVE that, @JasonMirch! I feel like that was the appeal of the original Lethal Weapon, too. Something about the writing to help the reader "feel" and not just see.

I have an action thriller that doesn't shed a drop of blood. Good action thrillers nowadays require a dozen or more dead bodies.

Enjoying all the comments here. I am a screenwriter also looking for a Collaborator/Writer for my feature Screenplay. Romantic Drama/Coming of Age.

What a cool idea!