RULES OF DEVELOPMENT aka HOW TO TALK TO A SCREENWRITER

Rule One
READ THE SCRIPT IMMEDIATELY .

Rule Two
YOU'VE FINISHED THE SCRIPT, NOW CALL THE WRITER IMMEDIATELY AND PRAISE THEM!

Rule Three
BEGIN YOUR PRAISE WITH A VAGUE COMPLIMENT, THEN FOLLOW IT UP WITH SOME SPECIFIC POSITIVE COMMENTS.

Rule Four
SET THE MEETING AND STICK TO IT

Rule Five
THE MEETING - START A VAGUE POSITIVE STATMENT

Rule Six
DO YOUR BEST TO TAKE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE TOWARD THE SCRIPT

Rule Seven
GO THROUGH THE ENTIRE SCRIPT PAGE BY PAGE AND TELL THEM SPECIFICALLY ALL THE MOMENTS YOU LIKE!

Rule Eight
BEING NICE PAYS OFF - AKA THE BENEFITS OF BEING POSITIVE

Rule Nine
WHEN GIVING A SCRIPT CORRECTION BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE

Rule Ten
DON'T PUSSYFOOT ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE.

Rule Eleven
ASK QUESTIONS!

Rule Tweleve
CONVINCE THE WRITER THERE ACTUALLY IS A PROBLEM

Rule Thirteen
SOMETIMES YOU WILL BE WRONG.

Rule Fourteen
THE WRITER IS WRONG AND REFUSES TO SEE IT. WHAT DO I DO?

Rule Fifteen
DON'T OFFER SOLUTIONS. CONVINCE THE WRITER THERE'S A PROBLEM AND THEN LET THEM COME UP WITH A SOLUTION.

Rule Sixteen
DON'T "SPITBALL" IDEAS. (SEE RULE FIFTEEN)

Rule Seventeen
DON'T "SPITBALL" IDEAS. (SEE RULE FIFTEEN)

Rule Eighteen
DON'T "SPITBALL" IDEAS. (SEE RULE FIFTEEN)

Rule Nineteen
WHAT IF YOU HAVE A GREAT SOLUTION?

Rule Twenty
THERE'S A PROBLEM AND YOU'VE DROPPED HINTS AND DESCRIBED YOUR GREAT IDEA VAGUELY, BUT THE WRITER CAN'T GRAB THE HINT?

Rule Twenty One
SUBMIT YOUR IDEA AS A CLICHE THAT SHOULD BE AUTOMATICALLY DISMISSED

Rule Twenty Two
DANGER! HACK WRITER AHEAD

Rule Twenty Three
PREFERABLY HAVE ONLY ONE PERSON IN A ROOM, ONE EXCLUSIVE DEVELOPMENT EXEC FOR EVERY WRITER

8. BEING NICE PAYS OFF - AKA THE BENEFITS OF BEING POSITIVE

But let's say followed the rules to the letter, and let's say you showed the writer all the spots, sections, scenes and sequences in the script and praised the writer for what they done well. You're not only making them feel good about their writing, you're validating specific areas, and the more of these areas you can validate, the more colors the screenwriter will have in their paintbox.

In addition, when you tell the writer what you like - you're giving them a precise roadmap to your taste. So if you want them to write something that you like - they'll have to know exactly what it is that you like. When you validate parts of the script you think is good, you'll just get more of what you like. And everyone's happy.

So if you've found 50 things you liked in the script, then they'll have 50 things to draw from when they have to make changes. If you have 100, or 1000, the more the better and the easier it will be for them to give a corrected and improved draft. Even if it takes you days, it will be time well-spent.

GO TO RULE NINE

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