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Things I’ve Learned as a Moviemaker
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| Buffalo Soldiers |
Don't show anything until it's ready
They always want to see something sooner rather than later, but I've shown something early to a producer and I've regretted it. They're not your co-writers, they're your producers. The last thing you want is them barraging you with bad ideas to fix something you already knew you should have fixed in the first place.
Learn how to listen to criticism.
Just because a producer does give you a bad idea, that's no reason to dismiss it. It's sometimes their way to fix a very real problem with the script that 1) they haven't been able to clearly identify, or 2) they have identified it, but they're just too polite to say, "your opening scene sucks."
Keep looking for ways to improve the work
The old adage about writing is rewriting-is so true. That's the mark of a professional. To be able to return to a piece of material, not to lose your perspective, to always keep your eyes on the prize and always looking for ways to make it better. There's always a way to make it better, you just have to find it.
You will be rewritten.
A script is not an end in itself; it's a blueprint. During production, locations may fall through, necessitating last minute changes in the script. Actors, in the moment, may ad lib lines to enrich a scene. In the editing room, more discoveries are made by the director and editor. It's a collaborative process, with the material being constantly rewritten and re-examined at every stage of the production.
You never finish a script?
You surrender it.
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It’s Official—Pre-production Begins
“I never ask people for permission to make a film. Instead, I present them with the fact that I’m making a film. If they’re wise, they’ll get in on it early.”
—Francis Ford Coppola
Last week our unit production manager for Rufus Rex officially started work and I paid UPS an astounding amount of money to deliver a letter to the Republic of Georgia officially inviting our lead actress to the United States. We’re also officially in pre-production on the grassroots (my preferred term, since I dislike “microbudget”—no art should be defined by its budget) movie Rufus Rex, which my 15-year-old son, Nick, and I wrote together last winter.
Posted 07.8.08 | Grassroots Moviemaker | No comments yet...
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