In my opinion, "Frost/Nixon" fails the question you raised in your post, Scott. And in my opinion a movie like this ONLY has wings because it got the support of a visionary like Ron Howard. Don't have a Ron Howard in your corner? Well-p, then good luck trying to win a sale to make a movie like "Frost/Nixon."

I find the question you raised, "Is my script big enough to be a movie?" TOO VAGUE.

Maybe the real question is whether or not you, as a screenwriter, can sucessfully build a case that your script would make an interesing movie that people would be willing to pay money to see.

Just a thought.

Love, your good buddy from jolley good Bonney Lake, WA

- E.C. Henry

Great post, Scott ...

Great post, Scott -- this is a question I always pose to screenwriting students (who often don't think in these terms and have no sense of how hard it is to get ANY movie made), and one that I wish more working screenwriters would continue to ask themselves!

I'd agree that Frost/Nixon would be a difficult sell - were it not for the fact that it was an award winning stage play already. That presumably helped enormously.

How to gauge if my script is 'big enough' to be a movie?

Simple.

Look at your protag. Look at the act breaks. What crucial decision/s are forced upon the protag at these story points? More importantly, how IMPORTANT is the decision? What's at stake? If the protag zigs are there dire consequences? If the protag zags are there equally dire consequences? (Horns of a dilemma.)

If you have pebbles weighing down both sides of your Scales of Decision then forget it. Your Protag is not playing any pivotal role in your story.

But, metaphorically, if you have an African bush elephant sitting on one side of those scales and a Killer Whale sloshing about on the other side then you've got yourself a helluva decision point, and that means you've got yourself a cinematic movie.

I love this post, Scott. It's a question a writer MUST pose to themselves and it's one that's dangerous because it can potentially "hurt." I've begun many scripts that are quite meaningful to ME but, in the long run, have no place on the big screen. I either found this out from one of my faithful readers or by myself but either way is the HARD way. It stings.

In fact, it's a question that looms over my current project even as we speak. My main characters become involved in a crime but it's a small crime, barely a misdemeanor. My "big screen stuff," the compelling stuff, lies (hopefully) in the subtext.

Is that enough to warrent a full blown MOVIE?

Time will tell, eh?