script question

[belovedmonster]

I seem to remember reading in a book months ago that when writing a script there was different levels of script.

If i go download a "Final Draft" script for a movie online, is that going to differ from the one that got sent to the agent in the first place? I mean yeah its gunna differ from the first draft in that it will of been improved, but is everything else the same? Or does more detail get added to flesh it out.

I guess im asking cos at the mo im writing what could be described as an epic. And at the start its got all this backstory, and im writing all this dialogue to tell the story and sorta adding bits of description here and there but really i think it needs more detail.

FEMALE NARRATOR
The rebellious marines fought viciously for their war-master Horus, but were unable to break the Imperial line. Hours became days, and days became weeks as a deadlock of siege ensued. It was the great siege engines of Legio Mortis which were eventually responsible for the crumble of the outer wall which saw hundred upon hundred of Chaos Marine pour into the city. The casualties on both sides were vast. In places the dead warriors lay so thickly that thousand year old corridors were blocked in the space of an hour.

Thats probably abit of a distorted view of the script cos thats one of the biggest chunks of dialogue i have written. But do i need to write the different scenes that would correspond to that description, or is that dialogue alone enough at this level of the writing process?

[GREATwarEAGLE]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> If i go download a "Final Draft" script for a movie online, is that going to differ from the one that got sent to the agent in the first place? I mean yeah its gunna differ from the first draft in that it will of been improved, but is everything else the same? Or does more detail get added to flesh it out. </font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

You're sort of answering your own question. It will be different, but not necessarily better. If you mean an original script sent to an agent. As in, the writer came up with the idea entirely on his own (spec). Or, he/she was hired to write a certain script.

I assume you mean spec.

Once it's sent to the agent, bought by a studio (independent or not) re-written a million times (probably by someone other than the original writer) it will usually be different. It may have been altered drastically. That's the nightmare that is very much a reality. Once you sell a screenplay, you sell the rights. Meaning the new owner can do whatever they want to it.

Of course the dream is - they buy your spec script, film it exactly as you've written, and even ask what your intentions were in some scenes, in an attempt to honor what you wrote.

Unless you're an established, respected screenwriter, that will not happen. And even if you are, you're still not guaranteed a faithful production of the script you slaved over for months.

However, I do believe that Tim Burton shot the first draft of ED WOOD. And Scorsese pretty much shot TAXI DRIVER verbatim of the script. But these examples are extremely rare.

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><table border="0" width="90%" bgcolor="#333333" cellspacing="1" cellpadding="0"><tr><td width="100%"><table border="0" width="100%" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="2" bgcolor="#FF9900"><tr><td width="100%" bgcolor="#DDDDDD"><font size=2 face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif"> But do i need to write the different scenes that would correspond to that description, or is that dialogue alone enough at this level of the writing process? </font></td></tr></table></td></tr></table></BLOCKQUOTE>

I don't know what you mean by that.

[belovedmonster]

ive got a narrator talking about a seige and then the eventual assualt by the enemy, but i have not written any descriptions of this beyiond what the narrator has said. i.e i havent written anything like....

Ext. Outer wall --day

A seige engine beats rythmicly against the fortified walls.


What im asking is am i expected to write every little thing that happens on screen or just enough to actually tell the story?

[emjen]

What you DON'T want to do is your characters to EXPLAIN things that happened. Nor TALK about it. You've gotsa show it. Show, don't tell. I've read it in every book I've read about screenplays. (two books) and in many tips on other websites.

So, you probably want to show the bits and pieces of those marines killing each other, with the narrator going over it and (this is the tricky part) NOT explain what we already see on screen! There's no point in a narrator explaining everything on screen if we already see it on screen.

NARRATOR
The woman stabbed her to death.

A woman stabs another woman to death.

You see? THat is ridiculous. You want to give the narrator something extra, something more abstract what you don't see on screen but adds more value to the audience.

NARRATOR
The woman didn't like her purse, because her mother wore the same when she kicked her cat when she was young. So she told her to wait.

The woman stabs another woman to death.

You see? I'm talented.

[Patriarch]

Ive always wondered when a Warhammer 40.000 fil would be made... I hope you get it done