Screenwriting is Rewriting

Jack Epps, Jr.

• Éditeur: Bloomsbury Academic
• Année: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781628927382
• Édition: 1
• Sujet: Médias et arts de la scène
• Sous-sujet: Scénarios de films

If there is one skill that separates the professional screenwriter from the amateur, it is the ability to rewrite successfully. From Jack Epps, Jr., the screenwriter of Top Gun, Dick Tracy, and The Secret of My Success, comes a comprehensive guide that explores the many layers of rewriting. In Screenwriting is Rewriting, Epps provides a practical and tested approach to organizing notes, creating a game plan, and executing a series of focused passes that address the story, character, theme, structure, and plot issues. Included are sample notes, game plans, and beat sheets from Epps' work on films such as Sister Act and Turner and Hooch. Also featured are exclusive interviews with Academy Award® winning screenwriters Robert Towne ( Chinatown ) and Frank Pierson ( Dog Day Afternoon ), along with Academy Award® nominee Susannah Grant ( Erin Brockovich ).

Part One

Foundations and Fundamentals

1

Notes

Receiving and Organizing Notes

I am very aware having worked in TV for so many years that other people can have other ideas and a lot of time they’re going to be better than mine, and it’s just going to make it work better and that’s what’s really important.

Alan Ball, Screenwriter, American Beauty, Six Feet Under, True Blood

You’ve finished your first draft, and you are probably feeling like the entire script is a disaster. You are not alone. We all feel that way. No one writes perfect first drafts. The best screenwriters in the world will tell you their first drafts are a mess. So, help yourself out and admit to yourself there are flaws that need to be addressed. First drafts are sort of like first dates. Sometimes they work out, but most times they are a train wreck.

The point of getting notes is not to validate you as a screenwriter, but to make your screenplay better. If you are looking for validation then you will be disappointed. The very nature of getting notes is to be criticized, so you need to get a tough hide as soon as possible. Notes sting. No one likes getting notes, but there is no avoiding it if you want to be a working screenwriter. The art to getting good notes is to be able to listen and find the note behind the note.

Getting good notes is essential to having a successful rewrite. The entire process can be disorienting and confusing for the writer. The more systematically the writer can approach the process, the less confusion and the better the results. Your job as the screenwriter is to listen and look for the areas you need to address that will improve your screenplay. If you are resistant to criticism or you feel you must defend your screenplay, you will not get good notes, and the process will not be productive. You need to get good notes, and it’s in your best interest to make sure you get the best notes you can.

Create A Touchstone

Before you embark on your rewrite, take a second to reconnect with what inspired you to write your screenplay in the first place and use it to create a touchstone. It can be an image, a title, a scene, a character, a song—whatever it is that inspired you to write your screenplay. Once you are deep into your rewrite, it’s not unusual to find yourself unsure of what you are even writing about anymore. A touchstone can help you stay centered. When you feel lost, go back to your touchstone and reconnect with your original spark of inspiration.

With Top Gun, my original inspiration was a photograph of a pilot in an F-14 with his reflective face mask, and two F-14’s on either side of him. Modern day warriors at 28,000 feet in sleek jet fighters. My goal was to capture the excitement of that photograph in a screenplay. I continually went back to that photograph for inspiration and guidance. As you go deeper into the rewrite process, stay connected with the touchstone that inspired you to write your screenplay.

Choose Your Readers Carefully

Try to get notes from at least three different people, but limit the feedback to five sets of notes. Any more than five sets of notes will drive you crazy and drain your creativity. People will be telling you what you did wrong and too much negativity becomes overwhelming. Three good reads will help you identify the main problems you will need to address on your next pass. You are looking to find consistent notes that need to be addressed. If several people say you have a character problem or a plot problem, then that is a problem that needs to be addressed.

Pick and choose the people you give your first draft to very carefully since their reactions will play a huge role in your revision process. Your parents, siblings, girlfriend or boyfriend are not good sources for story advice. They love you and want to support you. They don’t want to hurt you, and even if they hate it, they won’t tell you. If they do tell you they hate it, it could impact your relationship. Keep your professional life and your private life separate.

There is an art to reading a screenplay and it does take practice. After you read about fifty screenplays, you have a pretty good idea of how they work, and how a good one should read. Lay people usually don’t know how to read a script and their notes will probably not be valuable—in fact, they could be counterproductive. Find thoughtful, experienced readers to give you notes. Their comments and criticisms will affect every aspect of your next pass. You need to trust the people giving you notes.

Writers Group

You should be in a writer’s group. If you are not, then you should find a writer’s group or create your own. Trying to give yourself notes is like doing surgery on yourself. It’s going to be painful and not very effective. A good writer’s group will offer a lot of creative and moral support, and help you stay in the game. There are many successful professional screenwriters that are still in their writer’s groups twenty years later. You want to surround yourself with likeminded people who understand the challenges of screenwriting and have good critical skills. There is a brotherhood and sisterhood between writers. We all share the same challenges of the blank page and the difficulty of writing compelling screenplays. Be part of a writing community.

Paying for Notes

There are many online sources that will read scripts and give notes for a fee. If you are going to pay for notes, make sure you know what they are offering. Ask to read a sample of their notes so you will understand what you will get for your money. Find out if their service includes a phone consult. It is always better to have a conversation with the reader so you can put the notes into the proper perspective.

Don’t Talk—Listen

Do not argue with the people giving you notes and do not try to defend your work. You are there to listen. You cannot talk someone into liking your screenplay. Either they get it or they don’t. The reader doesn’t care how long it has taken you to write this draft or how hard you have worked on it. They only care about whether it works or not. The rest is none of their concern, and in the room, none of that can be your concern either. Your job is to figure out why they are interpreting your screenplay a specific way, and what you need to do to get it closer to your original intention.

Readers can sometimes be reluctant to give tough notes. You want to assure them you have a thick skin and can handle tough notes. You need tough notes. Do not take it personally. They are not criticizing you. If you project a defensive attitude, the reader will hold back and just give you notes they think you want to hear. That will not help you. Keep your blood pressure down and your ears open.

Record Your Note Session

During a note session, make sure you are taking notes. It’s a sign of disrespect if you do not take notes. You will not remember them, and the person giving you notes knows that. So, if you are not taking down notes, you are basically saying: “I don’t really care about what you have to say.”

Better than taking notes, record your note session. As a courtesy, always ask permission to record the session. You want to be part of the meeting and not just a note taker. You want to make eye contact, listen, and interact with the reader, and you can’t do that with your head down taking notes. You want to be able to follow the reader’s logic, and ask pointed questions to help you better understand and clarify a note.

After the meeting, transcribe the notes. You will be surprised how much you will pick up by transcribing the notes. Often in the room, you react emotionally and may be unable to see the wisdom in a note. Later, once your adrenaline has gone down, you might be able to hear a difficult note more clearly. When I review the notes, if I missed the original context of the note, it helps me put it into a larger context.

What Worked?

At the very start of any note session always ask the person giving the notes, “What did you like about the script? What worked for you?” This is very important. Just as you want to know what is not working, it is essential to know what is working. You may think you know what is working, but you really need to hear from your readers what they liked. If you don’t ask, they may not tell you. People are so intent on critiquing that they often forget to give positive feedback. One of my basic tenants of rewriting is to make sure you know what is working and to protec...