Excuse the typing, I am nursing an injury and so am one handed. Bloody hard!
Feedback is in and makes intriguing reading. I canvassed two directors, a writer, an actress and a producer (one director I am yet to hear from but he is currently pulling 16 hour days so I’ll let it slide). The first interesting thing is the way that their feedback plays to their area; the director has not just provided notes (mostly visually based) but has sent me an annotated script, the producer provided some marketing advice, the actress spoke to character and the writer had comprehensive opinions on where the story should go.
So where am I? Well, on the face of it, I’ve done all right, all offered suggestions but 3 out of 4 loved the script; they loved the idea, they thought it was funny, well told and with strong characters (mostly). And their criticisms were good too; Director pointed out that the initial meeting between lead boy and girl did not work. I was concerned about this, it’s never worked, I’ve re-written it five times and it still doesn’t. But director knew why! It’s pretty obvious now she’s pointed it out and, joy of joys, it’s an easy fix. Actress pointed to an unecessary scene; it’s been there since the start and I had got used to it, but she’s right. Producer noted a character in need of developement, and again, it had been troubling me, she has confirmed the problem. This is just the sort of feedback you dream of; broadly optimistic (even eulogistic) but with useful advice on how to improve, t make a good script better.
The writer, I think it’s safe to say, didn’t like it. Not that he wa without useful insight, again he has confirmed worries I had so they need attention. There’s also some stuff I just flat out think he’s wrong about so that I’ll just ignore. But the basic story he feels is wrong. On the one hand this is worrying but on the other there’s nothing I’m going to do about it. As I have said in this blog m,ore times than I can count; you can only write your own story. Whatever else this script is, it is the story I want to tell and I will live and die by it. It may be that the writer is right; that my story will appeal less to an agent than his. But my writing of his take on the story will never work, because I don’t want to write it, it’s not my story, and you can’t write welll for a story you don’t want to tell. Time may prove that my story is of no interest to anyone (although 75% of feedback in it’s favour is not to be sniffed at).
Not that writer’s feedback is worthless. It’s important to consider every angle. As it happens I had already considered and rejected the take on the idea that my writer proposed, it didn’t speak to me the same way. You have to consider these things, you have to know and accept that even if you write the best story in the world, not everyone will like it; Irving Thalberg (greatest producer ever) rejected Goen with the Wind.
I will plough on with my vision and make the changes that I agree with in the feedback i recieved. Is it scary? Of course it is. I’m going against the opinion of someone I respect tremendously, and there’s no reason to suppose that agents won’t agree with him. On the other hand I going along with 3 other people who’s opinions I also respect and for all I know agents might agree with them. In William Goldman’s ecellent book ‘Adventures in the Screen trade’ he faces a similar situation with a short film which all the people he sent it to loved ecept director george roy hill. I can’t do better than to quote him ‘…when someone very smart gives you the benefit of his wisdom, you better listen. Hill was alone in much of what he felt. but that doesn’t make him wrong. And if the others had agreed in part or in whole with his insights, that wouyldn’t necessarily make me wrong. but it just may.’
Or to put it another way; who the hell knows? To my mind the only thing you can do is serve your own vision as best you can. This is the only time in the film-making process that one person is in charge; enjoy it. Also, to paraphrase Meatloaf; 3 out of 4 ain’t bad. And my other directopr could still make it 4 out of 5.


