BAD SCREENPLAYS: Captain Scott, who

BAD SCREENPLAYS: Captain Scott, who works in the film industry when he’s not blogging from his swank Electric Love Bunker, has some choice words about them.

And screenplays really have gotten bad. I can’t tell you how many films my wife and I came out of over the past few years where one of would say, “OK film. But it really needed another rewrite or two before shooting started.” I don’t know what it is about Hollywood, where it’s assumed that it’s OK to spend tens of millions of dollars knowing that the screenplay isn’t tight.

Partially it’s the studios’ fault, for greenlighting films before their scripts are ready, and partially it’s the writers’ fault. In the old days, screenwriters looked to books for their inspiration. Today, more often than not, they look to cannibalize, deconstruct, and rewrite old movies–or worse–old TV shows for their ideas.