CrashDaily at 2011-10-21 16:04:28:
It can get tricky too when you are writing for a studio or producer and the director is attached. You get "creative" notes that push their individual agendas, and you are stuck in the middle. We just finished writing an action movie that was given a small five million dollar budget (so budget becomes a huge issue). The director had really specific notes, like for example, he wanted us to put an actual squib count within the description of a big shootout. He wants to get as much production value detail into the script as he can so he can point to it ("look it's right there in the script") in some future debate about what he can or can't have. We want to keep him happy since he pushed for us to get the job and we want to keep working with him. But the studio is signing our checks and we definitely don't want to bite the hand that feeds us. Studio wants to spend money on recognizable names for the poster, a component they can calculate on a spread sheet. Director wants all that money on screen and to blow more shit up. Meanwhile we're just trying to write a really good movie and concentrate on that but, like it or not, there are political land mines that you must recognize and avoid.
Scott at 2011-10-21 16:27:02:
Crash, first off, good luck with your project. Screenwriters often get stuck in the middle. I remember on one project I wrote, a sequel to a successful cult film, where the original director [now producing] essentially wanted to do a remake with one fairly significant twist, while the studio kept pushing to make it a legitimate sequel. That was pretty hellish and didn't end very well, a case of getting stuck in the middle of a power struggle. When you say "political land mines," that's exactly right, as a lot of what we do is non-story related, and just dealing with individual egos and agendas, sometimes more psychologist than writer. Again good luck on that project!
CrashDaily at 2011-10-21 16:43:30:
Thanks Scott!