Abstract
The script development process relies on a series of formal and informal conversations between financiers, producers, writers and other key industry players. Ostensibly, the goal of these conversations is simply to create the best films possible. However, there are often other elements at work, with politics, finances, reputations and ego all playing their part. Dialogue can become complex and multi-levelled as participants learn how best to deal with the personalities involved, and hierarchies, motives and alliances are established. Script editors must often ‘translate’ notes to and from writers; producers protect important relationships and long script development meetings rely as much on what is not said as what is. As such, the direction of a project’s development can be influenced by elements that may not be fully acknowledged. This chapter considers the complexity of communication within the development process, methods of recording this within contemporary practice and the challenges faced by scholars of this subject.
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Notes
- 1.
For the purposes of this article I will use ‘film’ as a shorthand term for any project that results from a finished screenplay. This may include film, TV drama, web series or other.
- 2.
Given the sensitive nature of some of the questions asked in my questionnaire, it should be noted that participants were given the opportunity to remain anonymous.
- 3.
Hughes (2012, p. 240) describes the act of writing on spec as: ‘without anyone actually, asking, much less paying.’.
- 4.
At the time of writing, independent producers in the UK looking for public development funding may turn to Creative Scotland, Ffilm Cymru and the British Film Institute (BFI). Sample awards range: Between £3000 and £50,000 (Creative Scotland, 2019) and similar amounts for Ffilm Cymru, though awards over £50,000 are subject to board decision. The BFI (2019) does not give an amount but states that ‘you can request the full amount of costs needed at your current stage of development, but please note we are usually only able to support one or two stages initially (i.e. a draft and a set of revisions, or late stage costs)’. Ffilm Cymru (2019) reports: ‘We receive in excess of 100 applications for development funding and make an average of 12 development awards a year.’.
- 5.
A recent YouGov report (Smith, 2019), perhaps intended to be humorous, in this instance reminds us of this nonetheless valid point. In particular, the phrase of ‘I’ll bear that in mind,’ mentioned in the report, is something I refer to in lectures to writers and producers as a useful way to indicate that you are willing to listen to a note but without committing yourself to take action upon it.
- 6.
I use that wording very carefully here, for the idea of truth in this context is complex. On the one hand, it can be argued that the fact that a script is necessarily a fiction means that no project can ever be true; but any drama can (especially if it is based on real events) to one extent or another purport to represent what are commonly held to be facts. One only needs to look at the critical furore regarding Netflix’s The Crown (2016–present) (Elbaum and Itasaka 2020) to observe how an audience might be (rightly or wrongly) supposed to take a drama as ‘fact’, and it is in this context that we might consider the role of the consultant in the development process.
- 7.
As well as concentrating on these more entertaining aspects, while finer script points are discussed, it is clear from Hughes’ interviews that these wider financial/strategic packaging decisions have huge impact upon the development of a script. While space precludes a detailed examination of the packaging side of script development within this article, his books provide a strong reminder of how far elements removed from the script can impact on how a project evolves.
- 8.
Vogler does receive one of the eight Additional Story Material credits on the film, after 17 other Story credits. It is not my intention to suggest that his input was not valuable; rather that it is considered in context.
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Bevan-Mogg, W. (2021). Saying What Must Not Be Said: Exploring Communication in the Script Development Process. In: Taylor, S., Batty, C. (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Script Development. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82234-7_7
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