Every screenwriter has had a moment like this.
You're watching something on a streamer or on YouTube, and you think, This is kind of mediocre. Maybe you're not even trying to be mean. But you think about the scripts sitting in your drawer that are tighter, smarter, and funnier. How did this get made, and yours didn't? It's maddening.
But it's also not random.
Screenwriter Jacob Michael tackles that question in a new video on his channel, Big Red Stripe. Michael earned an MFA in screenwriting from USC in 2009 and spent several years teaching screenwriting and filmmaking at Pepperdine University, according to his site.
His answer to this screenwriting conundrum may sting a little, but it's practical. He believes that good writing is not the only thing that gets your script picked and your movie made.
Dive in with us.
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What Is the "Best" Script?
You might believe that Hollywood is a meritocracy. All you have to do is keep putting out your best work, and someone, somewhere, will eventually notice. Because you're plugging along and you're doing well, right? Someone will see all that work!
Well, that can happen, but not often, Michael says.
"The best script wins. If you believe that, then the logical conclusion is that your job is to get better at the actual writing. Tighter scenes, sharper dialogue, nail the formatting, and if you do all of that well enough, eventually someone buys your script."
It is absolutely important to get better at the basics. That definitely still counts for something. But it doesn't count for everything.
"Craft absolutely matters. But in the hierarchy of important things, it's not the most important thing."
To "write better" is certainly a goal, but if everybody is writing all the time and always getting better, then everything would always get picked. And, Michael says, this premise is in operation in college writing programs and screenplay contests. But, he says, it's not how Hollywood works.
I'd add that who you know also matters. We talk a lot about networking, and it's important at any level. Often, who you know matters just as much as how good you are. Knowing someone can open doors and get your scripts into the right hands, even if it's one of those rough-around-the-edges scripts.
Studios Are Investors
Michael is talking about the traditional Hollywood system here, but it applies to some degree at the indie level, too. If you're asking anyone for a large sum of money, there's a good chance that person will want to recoup that cash.
So if the best script doesn't always win, what does?
"It boils down to one simple question. 'Can we sell this?' That's it. That's the filter."
He compares studios to stock buyers. You might love a company's products, but you don't buy the stock unless you think it'll go up. Studios work the same way.
"Studios are investors. They are not buying scripts because they love great writing. They are buying because they think they can get their money back and then some. And that calculation starts with one thing—a marketable idea."
When I was a script analyst, this was certainly a factor in every one of my reads. What were the comps? What were the budgets? What did the box office look like?
And even if a script was a little rough around the edges, executives and producers would still get excited.
Michael says, "If a script has a marketable concept and the story is working, it gets bought. Even if the writing is rough, because great writing is a bonus, it's not a prerequisite."
It's not too expensive, in this case, to just hire someone to do a punch-up. But if the writing is beautiful, and execs think no one will see the film, the chances of getting a "recommend" from anyone are lower.
"Take a beautifully written script, gorgeous prose, sharp dialogue, clean scenes, all the stuff you aspire to in your writing, but the concept is not marketable. There's no obvious audience, no clear hook, no one knows how to sell it. That script is dead."
'Trumbo' Credit: Fox Searchlight
Idea, Story, Craft (In That Order)
If you care deeply about a traditional path through moviemaking, Michael gives a path to follow.
"First, a marketable idea, a concept that someone can sell, something with a clear hook that makes a producer say, 'I can see the poster for this.' Without that, nothing else on this list matters."
The poster or trailer is one way to come up with a high-concept idea.
"Second, a complete story. All the structural elements working together. Not a collection of good scenes, an actual coherent narrative with the pieces in the right places. This is why I harp so much on story. A dialogue punch is easy. Fixing a broken second act is hard."
It's only after you tick these two boxes that you should focus on the nitty-gritty, he says.
"Third, tell the story well. And yes, craft matters. If you have a marketable idea, a complete story, and you tell it well, that is when scripts can go for real money. That is when careers get launched."
By Michael's estimation, if you're polishing dialogue on a script with a fuzzy premise, you're fixing things out of order.
How to Test Your Idea
The good news is that if you stumble, it's fixable, and you can fix it really early. Michael's instruction is to build a process for generating good, marketable ideas.
"Before you write page one, you need to know that the concept is something someone can sell. Learn to think like a producer. Ask yourself honestly, 'Can someone sell this?'"
Come up with as many ideas as you can.
Think about the poster one-sheet. Think about the trailer or the commercial. Think about how people would talk about it on social media. You can't predict everything—sometimes organic virality is weird and unpredictable.
Think about your comps. What are two to five similar films, and how did they do?
Write your logline.
Once you know you can sell it, you're ready to move forward.
