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Most producers, agents and readers I've spoken to over the years have told me the same thing over and over again--that 90-95% of all material they read has a weak premise and probably won't sell. When you begin with a weak premise, countless rewrites can only improve the execution. What you end up with is a weak story, well told. If you start out with a strong, compelling, original premise and execute it poorly, you still may be able to sell the script because the idea at its core has so much potential and can always be improved upon.
I subscribe to the high concept school of creating and writing. High concept ideas are fresh, succinct, commercial and immediately grab the listener or reader. Ask yourself before you start on your next screenplay if the 2-3 sentence logline of your script is a grabber or not. If so, you'll be beginning from a position of strength instead of weakness. |
