I’ve been watching a William Goldman interview from 2010. Like many other established screenwriters, he contends if you don’t believe in a script idea/topic or don’t give a damn about it, you won’t succeed in crafting a good script. I don’t completely agree with him and have written a few scripts for producers where I wasn’t mad about the concept. Forum dwellers, where do you stand on this topic?
Screenwriting : Do you have to believe? by Phillip E. Hardy, "The Real Deal"
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I think you have to believe in some part of it. Either it will succeed, that it is worth telling or that you can improve it.
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To add to my other comment. I can write anything. But if true success comes from doing great work. I couldn’t do my best, aspiring to be great, if I didn’t believe.
So I have to agree with the Great Goldman.
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Craig: It sure helps to believe in what you're writing about or drawing from personal experience. I've done it the other way and it's worked. But it isn't as much fun.
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It comes down to passion for the project beyond that I think it's like phoning it in.
I frequently turn down jobs when I don't care about the story and can't find a personal "window" into the story.
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When you're first getting your foot on the ladder and can't afford to be too picky, you have to find an angle on the story that gets your juices flowing. Injecting personalities/quirks/world-POVs into the characters based on people I know is one way I do that.
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William: I just turned down writing a movie for a producer doing a Netflix project because he was married to a really crappy treatment a non-writer drafted. I've also walked away from producers that want to be writers. Often times, they're not very good at it.
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In my humble opinion, I think it depends on what you're working on. If you want it to become a work of art, you'll put in the sweat and love it. If you're just working on a run-of-the-mill, it's-been-done-5,000,000-times-before flick, then you'll only care as much as you need to. I've seen it happen at 9-5 jobs too, where people can put in the effort whether they actually give a damn or not.
My advice would be to try and be an artist as much as possible. As for success, it depends on your approach.
I agree with Phil Parker. I always customize a story to fit my world. If I'm writing about Ninjas (which I am) I know I'm not from that culture but I've had many experiences that I can feed off of to flesh out the characters. Belief in a script idea/topic upon hearing it is not important. The key for me is to understand the idea and then make it make sense in my world. Once the characters are established the writing flows like water.
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Yeah, if belief in a script was a factor in writing a successful script, all those Hollywood remake and sequel writers wouldn't be able to do their jobs. In the end they write for the cheque, and a part of their soul dies every time it comes up in a Q & A session that they are the writer behind that soul crushing sequel.
Phillip - I have to agree with Goldman on that. You can always get a job in the Writer's Room for a ho-hum series. Hey, it's a paycheck.
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Think of it like marriage: If you're not fully invested, you're just going through the motions. And if you're just going through the motions...
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If you can' "sell" it to yourself and be excited about it, then you sure as hell won't get anyone else excited about it.
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Speaking for myself, I live, eat, breath my screenplay. It's the first thing I think about when I wake up, it's the last thing I think about before I fall asleep. I believe in it so much, I'm passionate about it and it's been two years of pure joy to write and I'm still working on it. I'll talk about it to anyone who will listen and show it to anyone who wants to read it. I'm hoping to have it finished by early next year and then take it to the next step. It's a story I've wanted to tell from when I was 11 years old, I tried everything, writing it as a short story, trying to write a novel, which didn't work out, but once I discovered screenplay writing, I got to it and it's working. I think you have to have a little bit of passion for what you're writing, you have to have some belief in it. Having a personal investment in the characters you're writing for gives them more scope, more depth when you crawl into their personalities and traits. I think of it like acting, if you don't believe in the character you're playing, anyone watching the show won't believe in them either. You've got to write as though you're acting :)