Any Screenwriters On The Board??
- Thread starter LeftyLuchini
- Start date
Did any script/screen discussion happen for those who read the screenplay and caught the flick?
I didn’t want to talk that shit in the main movies and/or weapons threads as it’s a specific screenwriter supporting and filmmaker perspective convo. Focus wise.
(Also to be clear imo - you don’t have to necessarily have done both to chop it up, and have mad valuable shit to offer/gain)
I’ll jump in if anyone kicks shit off - no rush and no pressure of course.
Fruitful writing and career progression to the fam! As always
Did any script/screen discussion happen for those who read the screenplay and caught the flick?
I didn’t want to talk that shit in the main movies and/or weapons threads as it’s a specific screenwriter supporting and filmmaker perspective convo. Focus wise.
(Also to be clear imo - you don’t have to necessarily have done both to chop it up, and have mad valuable shit to offer/gain)
I’ll jump in if anyone kicks shit off - no rush and no pressure of course.
Fruitful writing and career progression to the fam! As always
You can do that. I posted a video in the WEAPONS thread that had a man who read the original script a long time ago and thought it was excellent and and critiques he thought would be fleshed out by the time it made it to screen.
Apparently according to him they were not and he was disappointed slightly with the final product.
I dont like that he is afraid to say SPECIFICALLY what his issues were and are with the film. He kept mentioning a specific character was poorly developed but what say which one.
I thought SCRIPT wise that movie was tight. I UNDERSTAND why many wouldn't like it but I was engaged throughout.
Magazine Dreams... I've heard good things about this movie, but I haven't seen it yet.
Anyway, here's a link to the screenplay for those interested.
Anyway, here's a link to the screenplay for those interested.
Probably didn't want to get into spoilers, but I can guess who he was talking about because I felt the same way. I love genre stories, but for whatever reason, Zach Cregger does not click with me. I liked Weapons more than Barbarian, but not by much. I had the same problem with both films. People seem to love them, so what do I know?
Put who you think it is in a spoiler tag...
The movie been out over a month already.
You good
Sounds like we all about on same page.
@playahaitian I’ll check other thread for vid
but I suppose my connection/interest with this (Weapons) starts with the bidding frenzy over the script — which is a much rarer occurrence these days for screenplays
Ultimately, as far as its specific place and discussion etc in this thread — I’m wondering what if anything the screenwriters (no such thing as aspiring. If you here - you a screenwriter) here may have or may be able to learn from/takeaway from this flick and the experience of reading a script that really is made super faithfully into the exact film that’s on the page. There are only a few very very small but imo significant improvements made in production to up level and streamline etc the screenplay.
The other or related thing I think is more general and I can probably just share this to sum it up - I planned to post it earlier in week but never got back to that —
The goal imo for a screenwriter is - a fully developed in every aspect script that ALSO reads super engaging.
@playahaitian I’ll check other thread for vid
but I suppose my connection/interest with this (Weapons) starts with the bidding frenzy over the script — which is a much rarer occurrence these days for screenplays
Ultimately, as far as its specific place and discussion etc in this thread — I’m wondering what if anything the screenwriters (no such thing as aspiring. If you here - you a screenwriter) here may have or may be able to learn from/takeaway from this flick and the experience of reading a script that really is made super faithfully into the exact film that’s on the page. There are only a few very very small but imo significant improvements made in production to up level and streamline etc the screenplay.
The other or related thing I think is more general and I can probably just share this to sum it up - I planned to post it earlier in week but never got back to that —
The goal imo for a screenwriter is - a fully developed in every aspect script that ALSO reads super engaging.
The bidding is a result of the writer the agent/ agency and the overall quality of the script.
Apparently everyone loved it and thought any issues were very minor they trusted the artist involved and knew that what they read could be translated to screen.
That's a LOT of predetermined good will not many creators gonna get.
And to be fair he did it that and exceeded that so his NEXT one? Woo boy.
He could probably sell a summary for 6 figures
I liked the movie. It wasn't the greatest of all time. But it was ballsy as f**k to do THAT movie inthis climate with those stars and that budget. Salute to him.
The various perspectives is NOT an easy writing exercise at all especially considering you then have to also be extremely conscious about how it will then translate on screen.
f**k it im spoiling so dont read this.
A witch?!!! That looks like Lucille Ball on meth??? Killer kids? Soul sucking?? Voodoo?? Weaponized people? The deeper meaning of how people can be weaponized WITHOUT magic under the proper circumstances?
You gotta give that man credit.
But I also accept someone walking out of the theatre saying WTF did I just watch?!
Because your asking a whole LOT of the audience. A lot aint make sense under a little scrutiny but STILL I had fun.
I know people HATED it and I mean the script specifically
Which is crazy because BEFORE the movie? They LOVED it
@raze
I struggle to think of another instance where the script was incredible the execution on film was incredible but people who loved the script hated the movie? Yet the movie was a hit?
to your last point - you know as well as everyone here — haters gon hate
I may have said this before but there is a difference between a good story and a good script. I def said elsewhere in board that weapons (script) FOR WHAT IT IS* imo is very well written and (film) is very well directed/well made in all aspects….
*the IT IS here ref to the story and any limits in character in plot even in how it’s told - any issues with it at all fall under this “it is what it is” umbrella
Personal shares — It’s much more apparent how timely it is on screen than it was for me on the page. I knew that would be the case bec barbarian was also both a time capsule AND timely and it had the burden of an early pandemic reopening film to deal with. I think that helped it a lot. Again - it was timely and also harkened back to pre pandemic cultural moments ie times up/me too etc, but squarely pandemic issues also eg isolation and reconnection etc, so it as I say had many pros for the times we are in.
All of that type of subtext if you will (you speak to the layers of the story well above) IS - in a much less dynamic imo way - also present in weapons. The two films def have a lot in common and there is both a storytelling interest AND style evident as a writer/filmmaker throughline when you consider both flicks. (I’m sure his sketch show writing reveals a lot of the same interests. Jordan Peeles work def does; and Friendship is insanely consistent with Tim Robinsons sketch work)
All these observations aside — the thing I still wonder respective to our thread is —
Does anyone here feel like they know more now how to practically write a story that works for them AND would work for script readers (so the various industry players) AND would be likely to connect with audiences (so the eventual viewing public)??
Weapons and Sinners have many things in common. But the most relevant similarity for THIS thread is that they are both money making career solidifying scripts BECAUSE of their general popular success as made films. (Granted, Coogler has made it clear that the script and film are very different - mostly in terms of order of scenes is what I’ve heard him speak to most consistently eg Remmick on run from Choctaw in script is first scene/sequence).
Again. Get Out. Us. Also big with Gen Pop. Nope… not so much. And it’s pretty clear to me at least why and how Peeles first two worked for a lot of people who saw it but Nope didn’t.
As far as why I am even posting any of this — The hope for me is that writers here will have some insights. Some realizations. Hopefully things will be demystified a bit. Hopefully the goals will feel more realistic! Hopefully the nuts and bolts of a STORY a SCRIPT and a FILM of that story from that script is a little clearer throughline by studying the many successes of weapons —
Which is limited. Flawed. But has all the elements necessary to be successful on every level of this filmmaking process.
1) It’s a story the writer KNOWS is worth telling.
2) It’s a script that is well executed and VERY professionally polished but that is most evident from how smooth it reads and how accessible it is AS a script.
3) And it’s a film that attracted from its script a great deal financially; great talent (a ton of whom were recast by in many folks opinions even greater talent when schedule issues and/or whatever else forced those og casted out);
4) it warranted a big ad campaign and effective marketing strategy in multiple media spaces;
5) and at the end of all that — it was a fuckin win with paying audiences.
So I ask - did anyone here feel like they learned something valuable in/for moving fwd with their own writing from any/all aspects of this ‘script to screen’ WEAPONS experiment?
I’d love to hear any of these kind of insights/realizations and even questions etc and see what some of our back and forth around this kind of engagement might be
to your last point - you know as well as everyone here — haters gon hate
I may have said this before but there is a difference between a good story and a good script. I def said elsewhere in board that weapons (script) FOR WHAT IT IS* imo is very well written and (film) is very well directed/well made in all aspects….
*the IT IS here ref to the story and any limits in character in plot even in how it’s told - any issues with it at all fall under this “it is what it is” umbrella
Personal shares — It’s much more apparent how timely it is on screen than it was for me on the page. I knew that would be the case bec barbarian was also both a time capsule AND timely and it had the burden of an early pandemic reopening film to deal with. I think that helped it a lot. Again - it was timely and also harkened back to pre pandemic cultural moments ie times up/me too etc, but squarely pandemic issues also eg isolation and reconnection etc, so it as I say had many pros for the times we are in.
All of that type of subtext if you will (you speak to the layers of the story well above) IS - in a much less dynamic imo way - also present in weapons. The two films def have a lot in common and there is both a storytelling interest AND style evident as a writer/filmmaker throughline when you consider both flicks. (I’m sure his sketch show writing reveals a lot of the same interests. Jordan Peeles work def does; and Friendship is insanely consistent with Tim Robinsons sketch work)
All these observations aside — the thing I still wonder respective to our thread is —
Does anyone here feel like they know more now how to practically write a story that works for them AND would work for script readers (so the various industry players) AND would be likely to connect with audiences (so the eventual viewing public)??
Weapons and Sinners have many things in common. But the most relevant similarity for THIS thread is that they are both money making career solidifying scripts BECAUSE of their general popular success as made films. (Granted, Coogler has made it clear that the script and film are very different - mostly in terms of order of scenes is what I’ve heard him speak to most consistently eg Remmick on run from Choctaw in script is first scene/sequence).
Again. Get Out. Us. Also big with Gen Pop. Nope… not so much. And it’s pretty clear to me at least why and how Peeles first two worked for a lot of people who saw it but Nope didn’t.
As far as why I am even posting any of this — The hope for me is that writers here will have some insights. Some realizations. Hopefully things will be demystified a bit. Hopefully the goals will feel more realistic! Hopefully the nuts and bolts of a STORY a SCRIPT and a FILM of that story from that script is a little clearer throughline by studying the many successes of weapons —
Which is limited. Flawed. But has all the elements necessary to be successful on every level of this filmmaking process.
1) It’s a story the writer KNOWS is worth telling.
2) It’s a script that is well executed and VERY professionally polished but that is most evident from how smooth it reads and how accessible it is AS a script.
3) And it’s a film that attracted from its script a great deal financially; great talent (a ton of whom were recast by in many folks opinions even greater talent when schedule issues and/or whatever else forced those og casted out);
4) it warranted a big ad campaign and effective marketing strategy in multiple media spaces;
5) and at the end of all that — it was a fuckin win with paying audiences.
So I ask - did anyone here feel like they learned something valuable in/for moving fwd with their own writing from any/all aspects of this ‘script to screen’ WEAPONS experiment?
I’d love to hear any of these kind of insights/realizations and even questions etc and see what some of our back and forth around this kind of engagement might be
Imma need a few days to process this brilliance.
You need a writing podcast bro.
Aunt Gladys was too underdeveloped for me. I had no problem with a witch being behind the disappearances, but she felt like a character dropped in from a completely different story. When it comes to horror, some writers believe that providing too much information about the monster makes it less scary. I disagree. Imagine how unsettling it would be to wake up in the morning and discover a burn on your arm. Now imagine going through your phone and finding a video of you burning yourself.
I have been torn apart pun intended about this specific movie for weeks now by both contingents - lovers and haters.
My first thought writing AND directing, if you can illicit this amount of honest emotional reactions from all sides?
You did the job exceeded all goals won the championship and can't nobody tell you nothing
I apparently am in a rare position of completely understanding both sides.
Aunt Gladys yes could and probably should have been developed more. But I liked how it was done. It was jarring unsettling a little silly a little unorthodox but once we at the dinner table. We know we dealing with a monster.
Script to screen? Yes you gotta give the audience a little more. They already giving you so much. They are accepting a witch and kids running out into the forest with their arms out and no security footage or tracking dogs or how the kids go to the bathroom etc etc... the audience is willing to forego ALL THAT to go on this ride.
You gotta give them SOMETHING more about her backstory. Or that she was in all the previous POVs, something.
But all that being said? I was perfectly fine as is. Once its a witch? I aint out here looking for further credulity. We in witch season. Just kept me engaged and I was.
That man is one hell of a storyteller. I aint out here picking nits.
His next script will be bought off of one sentence. He earned that.
Cause I couldn't do not better.
Special Guest David Zucker — The Stunt List
www.officialstuntlist.com
Stunt List S4 | 2025 — The Stunt List
www.officialstuntlist.com
The Stunt List
www.officialstuntlist.com
‘Weapons’ Director Confirms Aunt Gladys Prequel Movie: ‘It’s Real. I’ve Been Talking to Warner Bros. It’s Not Bulls—’
"Weapons" director Zach Cregger says a prequel about Amy Madigan's Aunt Gladys is in the works at Warner Bros.
variety.com
@benny_negro
Trying to come up with a good game story so i can justify using these..
Love bgol
I completely forgot Cregger has ANOTHER bidding war over his Resident Evil script
Zach Cregger to Tackle ‘Resident Evil’ Reboot, Igniting Bidding War (Exclusive)
Studios are fighting for a package that will see the 'Barbarian' filmmaker write and direct a new movie based on the horror video game.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
Back during the SAG and Writer's strike, I was ringing the bell something crazy. Director's got language SPECIFICALLY saying only humans can be directors. Fran and the rest of the SAG/AFTRA leadership didn't get the same language in their contract. Now here comes the dumb shit.
Deadline, reporting from the Zurich Summit, has shared that Eline Van der Velden, an actor, comedian, and technologist who has launched AI talent studio Xicoia, said that she was in talks with several talent agents who are interested in singing the AI-generated Norwood. In turn, that has sparked some strong reactions from those opposed to what a move like that could mean.
During a discussion on AI developments in the entertainment industry, Van der Velden said that AI has become something that studios and other companies were beginning to accept, and a major public announcement could be coming in the near future. She was quoted:
Full article:
https://screenrant.com/tilly-norwood-ai-actress-talent-agency-online-backlash/
Hollywood Is Planning To Sign Their First AI-Generated Star
Hollywood talent agencies may be on the verge of signing an artificial intelligence-generated actress, Tilly Norwood. The arrival of AI in Hollywood has been a big story in recent years, including it being a key issue in the 2023 actor and writers' strikes.Deadline, reporting from the Zurich Summit, has shared that Eline Van der Velden, an actor, comedian, and technologist who has launched AI talent studio Xicoia, said that she was in talks with several talent agents who are interested in singing the AI-generated Norwood. In turn, that has sparked some strong reactions from those opposed to what a move like that could mean.
During a discussion on AI developments in the entertainment industry, Van der Velden said that AI has become something that studios and other companies were beginning to accept, and a major public announcement could be coming in the near future. She was quoted:
Full article:
https://screenrant.com/tilly-norwood-ai-actress-talent-agency-online-backlash/
The first of what could be many..Back during the SAG and Writer's strike, I was ringing the bell something crazy. Director's got language SPECIFICALLY saying only humans can be directors. Fran and the rest of the SAG/AFTRA leadership didn't get the same language in their contract. Now here comes the dumb shit.
Hollywood Is Planning To Sign Their First AI-Generated Star
Hollywood talent agencies may be on the verge of signing an artificial intelligence-generated actress, Tilly Norwood. The arrival of AI in Hollywood has been a big story in recent years, including it being a key issue in the 2023 actor and writers' strikes.
Deadline, reporting from the Zurich Summit, has shared that Eline Van der Velden, an actor, comedian, and technologist who has launched AI talent studio Xicoia, said that she was in talks with several talent agents who are interested in singing the AI-generated Norwood. In turn, that has sparked some strong reactions from those opposed to what a move like that could mean.
During a discussion on AI developments in the entertainment industry, Van der Velden said that AI has become something that studios and other companies were beginning to accept, and a major public announcement could be coming in the near future. She was quoted:
Full article:
https://screenrant.com/tilly-norwood-ai-actress-talent-agency-online-backlash/
Lot of good clips from interviews/podcasts about the fluid writing/rewriting “pivots” WITH/from cast input MID/in PRODUCTION - Benicio Del Toro in particular - that may be worth seeking out. Lots to learn/support from Anderson as a writer and there’s 30 years of him in such conversation out and about
Some helpful distillation of the many praises of the film here -
www.criterion.com
Some things writers specifically can consider/may find supportive/inspiring.
Some helpful distillation of the many praises of the film here -
One Rave After Another
So far this year, no other movie has been as enthusiastically reviewed as Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another.
www.criterion.com
Some things writers specifically can consider/may find supportive/inspiring.
There's a lot of bad writing that Hollywood pays good money for.
To me, they should step outside of the traditional ways they gather stories and screenplays together. Too many corny stories are there, but they follow the traditional molds so they get bought. Then we get subpar movies.
Channing Tatum Says Actors are ‘Incentivized’ to Make ‘Bad Things’ for Money Over Making Something ‘Really, Really Good’: ‘
Channing no disrespect but ummm DUH.
actors got paid ridiculous amounts of money to be in bad movies and TV shows and stage shows since we invented fire.
This aint new.
Great players go to bad teams for the same reason.
MONEY.
Very rarely is an artist well compensated for a "good" project.
Also we need to define what our definition of good IS.
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