We live in a world of truly marvellous stories. It is a poignant tale, for example, when a troubled youth realises his mathematical genius with the help of a mourning psychiatrist. It is a fantastical adventure when rebel troops clash with the empire over the domination of the galaxy. It is a heart wrenching moment when our hero says to the love of his life, that beautiful line, “here’s looking at you, kid”, acknowledging that he alone must sacrifice his own happiness in order to aid the Allies’ victory against the Nazis. The above are all brilliantly composed, fabulously written and wildly entertaining stories that have become unflinchingly significant in the last one hundred years. Though they are all incredibly different, contextually referring to genre, time period and the setting, they all have one very important thing in common. They can be found as written word, buried within the pages not of a novel, not of a short story, not even of a play - but of a screenplay.
The screenplay is a unique and widely unappreciated form of writing, especially in the literary world, which overtime appears to have formed some unfortunate opinion that the craft cannot be classified as a true form of writing. Screenwriters, however, are quick to defend it, arguing that screenplays have just as much capability to evoke emotion and meaning in an audience as other forms of writing. Though there is some level of recognition for screenwriters out there, largely at the Academy Awards which offer a “Best Screenplay” Oscar, screenwriters still struggle to bring their craft away from the world of cinema and increase an awareness of screenwriting as important literature.
However, due to a long running distrust of cinema, and in some cases, snobbery of “mainstream entertainment”, many conservative figureheads of the literary world are somewhat reluctant to appreciate screenplays as entities within themselves. It is an almost traditional idea that cinema is “low art”, showing no intellectual stability, using slapstick humour and finding meaning in gross sentimentality in order to attract a larger audience. In 1986, The Pulitzer Prize struggled to find any play worthy of its most prestigious, literary award. However, when Woody Allen’s, ‘Hannah and Her Sisters’, was optioned as a liable choice, it was declined on the basis that it was a screenplay, a script for film, rather than a novel or play. Those on the board of directors for the Pulitzer failed to recognise the cultural significance of the screenplay, citing that it was nothing more than a blueprint for the finished product rather than a beautifully structured, witty and touching piece of writing.
Of course, it would be difficult to debate the idea that a screenplay acts a blueprint for a film. Filmmaking is a collaborative process, with many different stages to complete until a finished film can be distributed to the public. A screenplay acts as the very first stage, like a housing plan to construction workers or a musical score to a composer. Without it, the separate arts of: camerawork, direction, set production, acting and make up would be obsolete. Even on set, the screenplay is continually referred to in order for guidance and direction. The fact is, without a great screenplay, there would not be a great film, spawning the old Hollywood saying “The writers are the most important people in Hollywood, but don’t ever let them find out!” The argument stands then as to where to place a screenplay on an unformulated hierarchy of value and whether a screenplay can still be appreciated as a separate entity to the finished film. As Todd Lippy, editor of ‘Scenario: the magazine of screenwriting art’, wrote in its first edition “too often, it seems, screenplays are regarded as having an almost utilitarian function; they serve as the raw material from which the real players of cinema – directors, actors, producers – make films.” It seems obvious that those passionate about screenwriting feel some resentment that neither Hollywood nor the literary world treats them with due respect when they perceive themselves as a large presence in the creation of the finished film.
Immediately, one thinks to the “authorship” of the film. As it has always been, it is the director who soaks up the vast majority of the glory, films often being tagged with the label “a film by...” One should realise that a screenplay is formed on the understanding that it will be interpreted as a physical performance, the director working as the ‘artist’ who must then take the written word and transform it into something visual. However, when considering theatre, it is a very different story. After all, it is the playwright, not the director, who gets the acclaim. Yet surely a stage play has an almost identical purpose as a screenplay; to be interpreted. Both are written simply, lacking description, with an emphasis on dialogue. Why then is it then that the works of Shakespeare, Brecht and Tennessee Williams are studied so fervently in our school’s English class rather than, say, the work of Charlie Kauffman, John Milius or Woody Allen? After all, it would be difficult to debate the opinion that cinema is now a larger influence on society than theatre and yet even today, writers for the screen are perceived as hired hands rather than artists within their own rights. In fact, the reality of the matter is, the film industry is growing both financially and in popularity every day. Whether or not this is good thing is up for discussion, yet one cannot deny that the popularity surge in cinema has strenuously affected people’s interest in reading novels or watching a piece of theatre, especially among the younger generation. In a way, it could be suggested that the quest for the “Great American Novel” is fast becoming the quest for the “Great American Screenplay”!
In fact, to truly understand the importance of screenwriters nowadays, one only has to look back to the writer’s strikes in 2008. Over some, small financial dispute, many writers across America refused to write for many popular shows, throwing huge, entertainment giants such as ABC and NBC into peril. Millions of dollars were lost as hugely successful shows such as “Scrubs” and “Lost” were pulled from the air until the writer’s demands were met. Though they were television writers, it was one of the few times that Hollywood was forced to recognise how important screenwriters actually are, rather than treating them like “schmucks with typewriters” and not giving them the profits which rightfully belonged to them. So though Hollywood seems to disdain screenwriters on financial terms, offering them, at the most, a couple of million while directors and producers are paid up to twenty million a film, it seems that the academics have somewhat of a deep, inset snobbery of the craft. This is probably due to a screenplay’s reliance on the visual. After all, it is the screenwriter’s job to direct from the page, writing in a very literal style that gives the director specific instructions on narrative and character. This differs enormously from say, novel writing, which largely communicates meaning through beautiful description and the internal thoughts of its characters. However, a screenplay must evoke the reader’s thoughts and feelings through subtext, action and symbolism, in many ways leaving far more to the readers’ imagination and allowing a wider range of material for the director to interpret. It is indeed a very different style of writing, but does that automatically make it less important than it’s more literate counterparts? Despite this, screenwriters are beginning to get the respect they deserve. A few years ago, Cheltenham hosted the first ever International Screenwriting Festival, a festival long overdue seeming as the craft has been around over ninety years. Not only that, but many classic screenplays are beginning to be published in book form, though they are rare and can only really be found at film intuitions such as the BFI (British Film Institute) in London. If one really wishes to read screenplays in their original format, however, they must look to the internet, where there are a number of websites which act as virtual libraries, storing thousands of screenplays, produced and unproduced, for the reader to peruse at their own leisure.
If one wants to take screenwriting a step further and actually try their hand at writing a screenplay themselves, the importance of actually visiting these websites and reading already written screenplays cannot be emphasised enough. The only way to learn how to write screenplays is to read them. Unlike novels, screenplays have to be contained within strict formatting guidelines, using technical jargon such as INT. (interior) and EXT. (exterior) and transitions like CUT TO. Also, it is important to realise that a screenplay must, generally, be limited to 90 – 120 pages, each page translating to roughly a minute of screen time. For those truly serious about screenwriting, one should consider purchasing some industry standard, screenwriting software such as Final Draft, though this can be expensive, often tallying around the £150 mark on shelves. For the cheaper option, go to www.celtx.com, where you can download Celtx, free screenwriting software that is excellent for beginners, teaching aspiring writers extensively about formatting and structure.
Be under no illusion, screenwriting is a tricky business, often taking years to master the craft. Following that, actually selling and making a profit from it can be a strenuous task. Though it is unlikely to sell an original screenplay without the help of an agency, it does happen and can be one of the most profitable mediums for aspiring writers, sometimes selling for thousands, even millions if placed in the right hands. But for all of those ready to take up the challenge, remember that screenwriting can be one of the most fun, rewarding and stimulating formats for writers, offering them the chance to explore new dimensions of writing while capturing them in the fascinating world of cinema.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave a comment!