I am working on the screenplay for Rocketboy today, and
going over my notes from the reading last weekend. Two further things have
since struck me. I can’t express just how valuable it was to hear my dialogue read
out loud. It really does take on a new life – on the page and in my head, it’s always
performed perfectly, BUT on the day, it’s re-interpreted by humans, and sometimes
it just didn’t work as well as I hoped. What I thought were meaningful and
sincere lines sometimes turned out to be clunky and unwieldy. Rewrite! Rewrite!
Rewrite!
Another point which really took me off guard – which is obvious if you think about it – is that there is a dog in the story which is often used for comic effect. This went down very well. So well, I need more of it in the third act. I am reminded of the old Hollywood maxim of adding an animal to an average screenplay to turn it into a better script with a better trailer.
Onward and upward!
Chris Jones, Film Maker and Author
www.livingspirit.com
[email protected]
