Film Crit Hulk - Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk!

- PREFACE -

SO YOU WANT TO WRITE A SCREENPLAY?

BEFORE YOU DO, KNOW THIS: IT REQUIRES A GREAT DEAL OF EFFORT ANDDEDICATION. A LOT OF THESE SCREENWRITING BOOKS LIKE TO FILL YOUR HEAD WITHFALSE PROMISES AND EASY TRICKS. BUT ITS SO DAMN FAR FROM THE OBVIOUS TRUTH:BECOMING A TALENTED WRITER TAKES A LONG TIME AND A LOT OF HARD WORK.

THEY ALSO CONVENIENTLY FORGET TOMENTION THAT THE ODDS ARE AGAINSTYOU. THERE ARE OVER A MILLION SCRIPTS ALREADY FLOATING AROUND HOLLYWOOD. HULKHAS READ, OH... A COUPLE THOUSAND OF THEM. AND NEARLY EVERY SINGLE PERSON HULKMEETS IN THE FILM INDUSTRY ALREADY HAS A SCRIPT OF SOME SORT. NOT ONLY DOES THESHEER VOLUME OF SCRIPTS MAKE IT DIFFICULT TO DISTINGUISH ONESELF IN THISCLIMATE, BUT SO DOES THE FACT THAT THERE ARE ALREADY A VAST NUMBER OF TALENTED,PROFESSIONAL WRITERS IN NEED OF WORK.

SO GIVENALL THESE CRIPPLING ODDS, WE SHOULD ALL JUST GIVE UP, RIGHT? WELL, NO. YOURENOT HERE READING THIS BECAUSE THAT REALITY BOTHERS YOU. AND THATS THE THINGABOUT THE MOVIES: THEYRE WONDERFUL. THEYRE THE IMAGINATION OF STORYTELLINGMADE TANGIBLE. THEYRE OUR DREAMS MADE REAL. WHO WOULDNT WANT TO BE A PART OFALL THAT?

BUT WITH CINEMA BEING SO POPULAR ANDWITH THE OMNIPRESENCE OF TALENTEDWRITERS, YOU WOULD THINK HOLLYWOOD WOULD BE KNEE-DEEP IN GREAT SCRIPTS, RIGHT?WELL, THE OBVIOUS PROBLEM IS THEY MOST DEFINITELY ARE NOT. THUS , HULK WILLAUGMENT THE PHRASING OF THAT PROBLEM AND ASK A DIFFERENT QUESTION OF YOU:

WHY DO MOST MOVIES HAVE MAJOR SCRIPT PROBLEMS?

QUITE FRANKLY, THE ANSWER LIES IN A LOT OF INDUSTRY BULLSHIT. NOW, HULK ISNTHERE TO PARSE OUT AN UNDERSTANDING OF THE STUDIO SYSTEM, BUT JUST UNDERSTANDTHAT THERE IS A GOOD DEAL OF PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE SO TO SPEAK. SOMANY MOVIES PRESS ON BEFORE THEY EVEN REALLY HAVE A STORY, JUST HOPING THEYLLFIGURE IT OUT LATER... BUT LIKE HULK SAID, THIS BOOK IS NOT ACTUALLY ABOUTSUSSING OUT INDUSTRY PROBLEMS. NOR IS THIS BOOK ABOUT WRITING SCREENPLAYS THATSELL, OR POP, OR TELL YOU HOW TO PITCH TO A STUDIO. HULK WOULD NEVER FALSELYADVERTISE TO YOU IN SUCH A MANNER. WHILE THESE ELEMENTS ARE CERTAINLY IMPORTANTTO BEING A SUCCESS IN HOLLYWOOD, THEY ARE NOT AN IMPORTANT PART OF BECOMING AGOOD WRITER , SO THEY WILLONLY BE A TANGENTIAL PART OF WHAT WE SHALL DISCUSS HERE. IN FACT, HULK WOULDARGUE THAT IF YOU ONLY POSSESS THE ABILITY TO SELL, POP ANDPITCH, THEN YOU CAN ONLY HAVE THE KIND OF SUCCESS THAT DOES NOT LAST.

MEANWHILE, KNOWING HOW TO WRITELASTS.

SO THE FOLLOWING GARGANTUAN SEVEN-PART BOOK IS HULK'S HUMBLEATTEMPT TO TRY AND SHED SOME LIGHT ON HOW TO BECOME A BETTER WRITER ANDSTORYTELLER. THE FIRST HALF OF THE BOOK DEALS WITH IMPORTANT CONCEPTUAL ISSUESAND TAKES A GREAT DEAL OF (NEEDED) TIME TO WAX PHILOSOPHICAL ON THE STATE OFMIND AND PURPOSE ONE NEEDS TO APPROACH STORYTELLING. THERES JUST TOO MANYCONCEPTS TO BOTH LEARN AND UNLEARN BEFORE YOU ARE READY TO REALLY START. BUTTHE LAST HALF OF THE BOOK IS (THANKFULLY) RATHER PRACTICAL IN TERMS OF HOW TOAPPLY THOSE CONCEPTS TO CREATE A METHODOLOGY FOR YOURSELF AND HONE THE CRAFT.

STILL, HULK HAS TRIED TO MAKE THE STRUCTURE OFTHIS BOOK AS EASILY DIGESTIBLE AND SIMPLE TO NAVIGATE AS POSSIBLE. MOST OF THESUBJECTS ARE LISTED BY CHAPTER NUMBER, WITH EITHER LETTER OR ROMAN NUMERALSUB-HEADINGS. IT MAY ALL SEEM LIKE A LOT. IT MAY EVEN SEEM TO DIVE HEADLONGINTO NUANCE AT THE COST OF DIRECT CLARITY, BUT THAT IS VERY MUCH THE POINT: TOOMANY SCREENWRITING BOOKS PARSE OUT OVER-SIMPLICITIES THAT DO NOTHING BUT MAKEYOUR WORK FEEL MORE RESTRICTED AND MORE LIKE EVERYONE ELSES. THIS BOOK ISABOUT LEARNING THE WAYS TO CREATE ANY KIND OF STORY YOU WANT BY USING STORYMECHANISMS AND CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING.

AND WHATEVER SHORTCOMINGS THIS APPROACHHAS IN TERMS OF PONTIFICATION, THE BOOK WILL CERTAINLY NOT HAVE SUFFERED FROM ALACK OF EFFORT. AND LIKE MOST HULK PIECES, THE BOOK'S HULK-SIZED-NESS ISINFORMED BY THE SHEER MASS OF THE SUBJECT ITSELF; FOR THE ART OF STORYTELLING,WHETHER WE DISTILL IT IN TERMS OF THE IDEAS, THE KNOW-HOW, OR ITS EFFECT ON THEAUDIENCE, IS AN ART THAT IS AS VARIED AS OUR OWN LIVES, AND AS EXPANSIVE AS OUROWN UNIVERSE.

BUT PLEASEKNOW THIS BOOK IS NOT MEANT TO BE SOME AUTHORITARIAN RANT ON HULK'S PART. HULKIS NOT AN IDEOLOGUE AND THIS IS NOT ABOUT HOW THINGS SHOULD BE DONE. IT ISMEANT TO BE HELPFUL TO YOU. NOTHING MORE. NOTHING LESS. THE MOTIVES FOR WRITINGIT ARE BORN FROM A GENUINE SENSE OF CAMARADERIE, FROM KNOWING THE SAME STRUGGLETHAT ALL WRITERS GO THROUGH. AND IF YOU'VE BEEN THROUGH THAT STRUGGLE, THEN YOUKNOW THAT IT IS A SHAM FOR ANY WRITER TO REPRESENT THEMSELVES AS AN AUTHORITY.THERE IS ONLY THE SAME LONESOME STRUGGLE TO EXECUTE ONE'S IDEAS.

IT IS TRUE OF ALL OF US. AND IT IS CONSTANT, PERVASIVE, ANDEVER-LASTING. HULK BELIEVES THIS STRUGGLE IS TOUGH ON WRITERS BECAUSE IT MAKESFOR A SOLITARY LIFE AND TRYING BATTLES WITH ONES OWN MIND. IT FOSTERS ASOLIPSISTIC SENSE OF INDEPENDENCE, WHICH CAN ALSO BREED A SENSE OF CONTEMPT. SOAS MUCH AS ANYTHING, HULK WRITES A BOOK LIKE THIS IN AN ATTEMPT TO CONNECT. TOSHARE. TO NOT FEEL LIKE WE ARE SO ALONE IN THE PURSUIT.