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A primer for students who passed Screenwriting 101
and are ready for additional basic information.
1. Have a plot.
2. Special effects are awesome but they are not an acceptable way to distract the audience from the lack of a plot.
3. Two is the perfect number for dimensions in a movie.
4. Fast expository dialogue won't save your script if there are gaping plot holes.
5. Have a plot.
Love,
Barb
I agree with #1 and #5, and am still mulling over the (no doubt deep) meaning of #3. Two-dimensional is flat, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteMovies are a collaborative effort, in a way those who don't make them cannot fathom ever managing to get for A to Z. I think it's miraculous when they turn out well.
MIrka, I recently saw a new movie that used 3-D and special effects to hid the fact that the plot didn't make sense.
DeleteMy favourite movie, Casablanca, had five writers (only three took credit); rewrites were done on the set; and no one was sure about the ending until it was shot. Yet it won several Academy Awards, including screenwriting.
"no doubt deep" - Ha! Good one, Mirka!
DeleteI have to laugh at #2 -- I've seen sooooo many movies/shows which definitely try and use special effects to distract the audience from the serious lack of plot.
ReplyDeleteM and I enjoyed the action while it was happening. But after we left the theatre we found that we were puzzled. "But if..., then how did they...?"
DeleteYour list should be required reading in Hollywood!
ReplyDelete--Lilly Faye Poodle, Occasional Movie Reviewer