Here's the Real Reason Most Scripts Fail

TRUTH!!!
http://coreymandell.net/blog/screenwriting-advice/the-real-reason-most-scripts-fail/

Hey Lisa,

Great find, I actually know people who continue to buy two gallons in everything they do.

While compelling conflict is the foundation that holds interests in any story, I don't see that as exactly news. I'd be interested in hearing how compelling conflict is achieved, or attempted, by some of the writers here in one of your scripts.

Well I believe there are a lot of films that get made with compelling conflict, but the writer has no idea how to resolve the conflict, making for a bad film.

I agree with Calvin -- that's not really news about the need for conflict.

Most scripts fail because they suck on more levels than that, and because there's no "there" there.

Who says you need conflict for a script? I'm writing a screenplay about flowers.

The failure process usually starts with the concept. Far too many writers out there don't properly vet their ideas. They rush into writing something without talking to anyone else about it....without stopping to think, gee, is there REALLY an audience for this kind of idea? Will it be a tentpole/event movie, or something only marginally appealing?

Not every script needs to be high concept...but if you're just starting out, coming up with a great high concept can really open doors for you. Prove your script worthy of reading by hooking the reader with a dynamic premise. Even if the execution of the script isn't up to par, the prodco might buy the script based on the premise alone...because they know a good premise can be DEVELOPED further.

Luke:

Of course there is truth to what you say. Seems to me though that often the key to success to a script is not what it's about, but the quality of how the story is told.

I have gas.

In the car, or, um...

That's it young man no more cheese pizza for you.

You know what's really remarkable? I ate cheese pizza tonight.

I love where this conversation has gone.
It's the epitome of where mosts scripts head to after the title page with WGA number on it.

Now seriously. Stating the obvious in vain of "mosts scripts fail, because they are bad" is counterproductive. I want to know why most GOOD scripts fail, but SOME bad scripts make it. That's the real question.

And don't give me any of that lactose intolerance thing.

Concept...

Talent...

Timing...

Too much lactose can create fantastic comic relief.
I once rated a script 2/5 just because protagonist farted, shat and puked in the first 15 pages.

That makes me think bad digestive system might compensate for lack of concept, talent and timing.

for you, calvin and other skeptics

CONFLICT: http://www.scriptsecrets.net/tips/tip356.htm

lauri -- just b/c there are other reasons for failure doesn't lessen the validity of this fact.

eric your comment has now conflict...


thanks for illustrating the point, kudos, keep up the great work ;)

...or no conflict... or was it "compelling".


Kidding, most people seem to think "premise" is conflict, or theme is conflict, or conflict is the structure or foundation...

Compelling conflict in every scene regardless of overarching momentum of plot. I remember reading a great critic of THE SIXTH SENSE and how every scene had conflict... in particular, the scene where Dr. Crowe and Cole meet in Cole's living room...

INT. DEN - AFTERNOON

The den doubles as a playroom. Boxes of old toys sit in the
corner. A small, plastic, multi-colored table sits on the rug.

Cole appears in the doorway. Malcolm sits up and smiles.

He points to the chair on the other side of the coffee table.

MALCOLM
You want to sit?

Cole nods very softly, "No."

MALCOLM
Don't feel like talking right now?

Cole nods again very softly, "No."

MALCOLM
How about we play a game first?

Cole looks a little more interested.

MALCOLM
It's a mind-reading game... Did I
mention I could read minds?

Cole nods, "No."

MALCOLM
Here's the game. I'll read your
mind. If what I say is right, you
take a step forwards the chair. If
I'm wrong, you take a step
backwards the doorway. If you
reach the chair, you sit. If you
reach the door, you can go. Deal?

Cole tilts his head, then nods, "Yes."

Malcolm presses his fingers to his temples like a vaudeville
magician. He closes his eyes tight.

MALCOLM
Just after your mom and dad were
divorced, your mom went to a doctor
like me and it didn't help her.
And so you think I'm not going to
help you.

Beat. Cole, surprised, takes a small step forward.

MALCOLM
You're worried because she said she
told him things. Things she
couldn't tell anybody else.
(beat)
Secrets.

Cole takes a step. Malcolm opens his eyes. He looks right at
Cole.

MALCOLM
You have a secret. But you don't
want to tell me.

Beat. Cole takes another step. The next step will put him at
the chair. Malcolm lowers his fingers from his temple.

MALCOLM
(whispers)
You don't have to tell me your
secret if you don't want to.

Malcolm smiles. Returns his fingers to the mind-reading
position. Malcolm looks to Cole's arm. Cole is wearing A LARGE
SILVER WATCH. It swims on his thin wrist. It could probably
slide up to his shoulder. Malcolm closes his eyes.

MALCOLM
Your father gave you that watch as
a present before he left.

Cole takes a step BACK. Beat. Malcolm lowers his hands
surprised.

COLE
He forgot it in a drawer. It
doesn't work.

Beat. Malcolm puts his fingers to his temple. This time a
little bit slower. He gazes at Cole's school uniform.

MALCOLM
You don't like to say much at
school. You're an excellent
student however. You've never been
in any kind of serious trouble.

Beat. Cole takes a slow step back. Beat.

COLE
We were supposed to draw a picture.
Anything we wanted... I drew a man.
He got hurt in the neck by another
man with a screwdriver.

AN UNCOMFORTABLE SILENCE OVERTAKES THE DEN.

MALCOLM
You saw that on T.V., Cole?

Cole answers by taking a small step back. Beat.

COLE
Everybody got upset. They had a
meeting. Momma started crying.
(beat)
I don't draw like that anymore.

MALCOLM
How do you draw now?

COLE
I draw people with smiles, dogs
running, and rainbows.
(beat)
They don't have meetings about
rainbows.

MALCOLM
(soft)
I guess they don't.

Malcolm looks down at Cole's feet. They're almost at the
doorway. One more step and he's there. Cole is very still. He
doesn't move at all.

COLE
(whispers)
What am I thinking now?

Malcolm takes his time before speaking. He just stares. No
fingers to the temple. No games. He just stares. Beat.

MALCOLM
You're thinking...
(beat)
I don't know what you're thinking,
Cole.

Cole quietly takes a step back into the doorway of the other room.

COLE
(whispers)
I was thinking... you're nice.
(beat)
But you can't help me.

Cole's tiny figure steps away. Malcolm stares helplessly at the
empty doorway where his client used to stand.

THE DEN IS SUFFOCATED WITH SILENCE.

just a great example of compelling conflict...

Eric, how about this 'slight' tweak?

"A pair of FBI murder investigators uncover a conspiracy to cover up proof of human cloning that date back thirty years. The partners struggle to find the root of the conspiracy before falling victim to it themselves."

All the best, Jim.

The problem with the logline, in my opinion, lies in the second part of the sentence...the undefined "it." WHAT, exactly, are the partners falling victim to? The conspiracy, the cloning process, or something else? If the answer is "conspiracy," then what does it mean to fall victim to a conspiracy...to die? To be silenced or blackmailed? To be brainwashed? If they fall victim to the cloning process...does that mean their clones are going to replace them, and thus keep the conspiracy alive and well? Are the agents, in fact, clones of other people from 30 years ago?

If the answer is something else...then what is "it?"

You don't have to give away the ending of the story, but you do need to reveal more about the complication.

Tony, you wanna know why some bad scripts make it? Easy. Favoritism. Nepotism. Politics. Getting signed to a multi-picture deal and then coasting on that deal.

I won't name names, but at one of the places where I used to read scripts, the development execs would sometimes produce "vanity projects" from above the line talent that they wanted to work with, even if that vanity project wasn't up to snuff. The line of thinking was, if we produce this stinker that the talent wants to do FIRST, then the talent will agree to do OUR project NEXT. A trade off, and a potentially expensive one at that...but it's a way of reeling in the big fish.

Why do GOOD scripts fail? Any number of reasons, but chief amongst them is...the good script got rewritten to the point where most, if not all, of its good points are now gone. There are some great articles written about the watering down of scripts like ROBIN HOOD (2010) and the upcoming WORLD WAR Z (which is also a case of favoritism with Brad Pitt/Marc Forster). Too many cooks spoil the soup...usually, by pissing in it.

And in some cases, a good script fails because what works on paper (or PC, or Mac) doesn't always work on the big screen. Many graphic novels, for example, lose something in the translation from page to screen. Even when the translation is fairly faithful (WATCHMEN), the net result isn't always so even. Adaptations of Stephen King's works are, more often than not, sub-par. King relies so much on interiority and identification with the protagonist to spook the reader, but interiority can be difficult to pull off onscreen. Why is the book so much better? Because the book isn't limited to the visuals or the audibles, by story linearity, or time and space, for that matter.

Tony, you wanna know why some bad scripts make it? Easy. Favoritism. Nepotism. Politics. Getting signed to a multi-picture deal and then coasting on that deal.

I won't name names, but at one of the places where I used to read scripts, the development execs would sometimes produce "vanity projects" from above the line talent that they wanted to work with, even if that vanity project wasn't up to snuff. The line of thinking was, if we produce this stinker that the talent wants to do FIRST, then the talent will agree to do OUR project NEXT. A trade off, and a potentially expensive one at that...but it's a way of reeling in the big fish.

Why do GOOD scripts fail? Any number of reasons, but chief amongst them is...the good script got rewritten to the point where most, if not all, of its good points are now gone. There are some great articles written about the watering down of scripts like ROBIN HOOD (2010) and the upcoming WORLD WAR Z (which is also a case of favoritism with Brad Pitt/Marc Forster). Too many cooks spoil the soup...usually, by pissing in it.

And in some cases, a good script fails because what works on paper (or PC, or Mac) doesn't always work on the big screen. Many graphic novels, for example, lose something in the translation from page to screen. Even when the translation is fairly faithful (WATCHMEN), the net result isn't always so even. Adaptations of Stephen King's works are, more often than not, sub-par. King relies so much on interiority and identification with the protagonist to spook the reader, but interiority can be difficult to pull off onscreen. Why is the book so much better? Because the book isn't limited to the visuals or the audibles, by story linearity, or time and space, for that matter.

Ooops. Sorry about the repeat.

"A pair of FBI agents uncover a human cloning conspiracy that dates back thirty years, then race against time to avoid falling victim to it."

(just my attempt to tell it with as few words as possible.)