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So the "script readers" are driving the evolution of screenplay format. Versus those at the top of the profession that are actual screenwriters. Because CUT TO and WE SEE/WE HEAR and longer blocks of description and CAPS for effect, etc etc are standard to one degree or another. Which these readers would know if they read Milius, or Gilroy, or Sorkin, or Abrams, or Tarantino, or Kasdan, or Goldman, or the Coens... and the list goes on. If it's bad writing then why are the best writers in the business doing it that way? And please don't say they've earned the right, unless you actually believe they started writing this way after they made it...

And btw-- thanks for taking this on Scott because it is an issue, and if I'm taking a spec out I'm probably making some of these tweaks just to be safe. But not for the right reasons. Not because the writers' and screenplays I love, and that I hold in the highest esteem do it that way.

Brendan, I'm not saying it's right, and I'm certainly not saying it's good. What I am saying is it IS. It's just there. If you're a Milius or a Gilroy or a Sorkin, any of those you've listed, they don't have to worry about ANY of this stuff. But for aspiring writers who do not have an 'in' to Hollywood, you have to be aware of these kind of expectations. Fortunately for the more picayune items like "we see" or CUT TO's, there are easy ways around them that generally accomplish what you want, fit a more 'literary' style, and don't raise yellow flags with readers. We'll explore those next week. But honestly, these only become an issue if the writer turns in a script that is written poorly or they completely overdo something (like "we see"). And as I say, if they write a kick-ass Consider Plus script, none of those 'rules' will likely matter.

[…] Script 3. The Evolution of Screenplay Format and Style 4. There are no screenwriting ‘rules’ 5. There are expectations 6. We See / We Hear 7. Unfilmables 8. Action Paragraphs – 3 Lines Max 9. CUT TO (Transitions) 10. […]