tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post107593572844418314..comments2024-03-07T20:15:45.996-08:00Comments on The Bitter Script Reader: "Do readers read so much that it becomes impossible for anything to NOT seem like a cliche?"The Bitter Script Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-64807913087999646832013-05-11T08:01:37.537-07:002013-05-11T08:01:37.537-07:00Thanks for the well considered reply BSR, much app...Thanks for the well considered reply BSR, much appreciated.<br /><br />I remain convinced it's a problem. Yes, if a writer can bring something new to the table using familiar tropes, that should work. But the problem is that as soon as a jaded reader, maybe a "bitter" one, encounters something he sees as too familiar, he is no longer open to whatever new angle the story might bring. His mind has already shoved things into a category. He is now so busy anticipating "familiar" things that he is unable to see anything new.<br /><br />If the writer is well established, and has earned that benefit of the doubt, then the reader will give it more rope and try to look past the tropes. But if the writer is not established...<br /><br />You mention that the standard is higher now. So the question is...are films better? If the answer is yes, then the burned out critic/reader issue is not a problem. But if the answer is no, that's a sign of trouble. I mean if higher standards are leading to less quality films, then we have to really ask why.<br /><br />Again, these remarks are given with the greatest of respect. I just see an obsession with "tropes", even with relatively new script readers in the field. <br /><br />Look, this kind of thing happens in fields other than film. Two examples: philosophy and art.<br /><br />The demand for originality in the modern art world has evolved into the need for "shock". The "art" that has resulted is something that most people would never consider art...something appreciated only by a tiny group of insiders. Frankly, the art that is mostly produced now represents a serious decline in quality.<br /><br />20th Century philosophy suffered a similar fate. When most avenues of inquiry were exhausted, existentialism and then finally nihilism were the final result. <br /><br />I'm not suggesting that tropes and cliche characters and scenes are not a problem. What I am saying is that possibly the line has shifted too far. I would hate to think that we are moving to a point where only absurdity has value because it involves something not seen before.<br /><br />Thanks again! Great blog!kevin lenihanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12169471123918310360noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-22206662184026490942013-05-06T21:38:39.598-07:002013-05-06T21:38:39.598-07:00Could be mentioned that you "saw" the mo...Could be mentioned that you "saw" the movie.<br />It's not certain that a reader will always "see" the movie.<br /><br />John August once said that the writer is the only person that has seen the movie -- before it's produced. (Yes, it's the writer job to communicate his vision. Just as it's the reader's job to ask if there a movie here.)<br /><br />Writers of bad scripts will continue to use this as an excuse.<br />But also -- good and great scripts will slip through the cracks.<br />Eastwood's reader hated UNFORGIVEN.<br />FIGHT CLUB met resistance from a reader.<br />These movies got make. <br />We don't hear about the ones that don't. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02461573315451618820noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-81087561979423077812013-05-06T09:02:51.460-07:002013-05-06T09:02:51.460-07:00I, too, wonder if script readers do in fact become...I, too, wonder if script readers do in fact become bitter and burnt out. I honestly can't imagine reading for a living. Sounds weird to write that out and see it, especially because I love to read, but the utter crap you guys must wade through to get to the goods... Makes me nervous to even bother writing anything. Sort of.<br /><br />"It was as if the writer had watched a lot of crime thrillers, identified certain beats that occurred in each one, and then duplicated them. But without any motivated relationship between those beats, there was no story. It was a collection of events, none of which seemed necessary to the others."<br /><br />As a noob in all of this, that is a very real fear of mine. It's also a driving force to make sure I don't do that. Glad you pointed *that* out.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-39485385757552495802013-05-06T02:03:43.691-07:002013-05-06T02:03:43.691-07:00Nice Q & A. I've often wondered if readers...Nice Q & A. I've often wondered if readers get script burnout as well as the critics. It's the writer's job to bring something new to the table that fits the story and not forced. General audience patrons don't go see 30 wedding flicks but the pros have to suffer through them.<br /><br />BSR you mentioned tepid plots. When is something replicated or phoned in verses inspired work that doesn't cross over into the absurd? I'm wrestling with this now on a new script. My head hurts!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02678495102538964220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-44905840113116746792013-05-06T01:02:58.959-07:002013-05-06T01:02:58.959-07:00For obvious reasons, I'm not going to elaborat...For obvious reasons, I'm not going to elaborate on this but... yes. It has been known to happen.<br /><br />I hasten to add that it's far more frequent that one's faith in those established writers is rewarded.The Bitter Script Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-87758085479030617802013-05-06T00:59:32.122-07:002013-05-06T00:59:32.122-07:00You mentioned that established writers with good t...You mentioned that established writers with good track records are more likely to get the benefit of the doubt (as they probably should). However, do you occasionally encounter material from such a writer and get the sense that he/she is phoning it in, more or less riding on their previous success?Waves of Grayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17441593487387142147noreply@blogger.com