American Wedding (2003) American Pie 2 (2001) American Pie (1999)
The young screenwriter responsible for the crass but undeniably charming 1999 teen romp "American Pie", Adam Herz went from production assistant to well-paid scripter when he brought to fruition his idea to revisit the sex comedy genre so popular in his youth for today's audience. Mixing the "can you top this?" gross-out nerviness so popular in "There's Something About Mary" (1998) with an unexpected old-fashioned romanticism, Herz's treatment for "American Pie" was written over his winter ski vacation in January of 1998 and within months was in production. Having hooked up with screenwriting agents Warren Zide and Chris Bender after impressing them with risk-taking sitcom spec scripts, he was encouraged by his representation to take the feature plunge. Goaded to be his most outrageous, Herz turned in a screenplay that was at once shockingly vulgar and heartwarmingly real. An obvious affection for his multifaceted characters (including a group of fully-realized, empowered females rarely seen in the genre) helped sell the Paul and Chris Weitz-directed film as more than just your average hormone fest thanks to a decided lack of mean-spiritedness and an abundance of heart. Impressive returns at the box office proved that audiences were ready for such a film, even when its cast was comprised mainly of unknowns.
"American Pie" helped to launch the careers of stars Jason Biggs, Chris Klein, Seann William Scott and Mena Suvari, and when the cast reconvened for "American Pie 2" in 2001, the film's status as a hit sequel seemed guaranteed. Again pushing the bounds of taste and going through various trials with the MPAA ratings board to get an R, Herz's and the Weitz's efforts were similarly seedy and sweet, though not quite as compelling as the original. Claiming even he expected better from his sequel script, Herz agreed to tackle the screenwriting chores on the third instalment, "American Wedding" (2003) to close the book on the characters.
With feature projects lined up including a modernized retread of the old "Smokey and the Bandit" car chase comedies in development, he was poised to become a sought-after scripter while a $2 million deal with Universal would offer him the chance to direct as well. The summer-aired sitcom "Go Fish" (NBC, 2001) marked his first foray into television. As the series' creator, writer and executive consultant, Herz painted a portrait of Andy 'Fish' Troutner (Kieran Culkin), a lovelorn ninth grader dealing with the perils of high school and his very eccentric parents (Joe Flaherty and Molly Cheek).
All of us creative types have things we're naturally good at, and things we've learned to do, and things we aren't that good at (yet). This creates a creative trap: when approaching a project, we often work on the part we understand best — the part that scares us least. So if you're good at plot, you write the plot first, and then fill in the characters later. If you're good at characters, you write up the characters and then feel your way towards a plot.
Everyone pursuing a screenwriting career will eventually realize this journey is not for the thin of skin or for those who cannot handle the emotional ups and downs this business brings. If you haven’t yet experienced the soul crushing disappointment of finally having written a script that goes into development, but it doesn’t make it to production and sits on a shelf, I don’t envy you. It’s happened to me a handful of times out of my nearly two dozen paid screenwriting assignments. Learn this early — there are no guarantees in the screenwriting game. You take your lumps, heal, and move on to the next screenplay and the next one.
I love Readers! Yes they are the gatekeepers to the Promised Land and like it or not they do have power. But just how much? Well, I’m here to show you. I got my hands on a classified document folks, the holy grail… An actual copy of a real STUDIO MEMO covering GUIDELINES for their READERS.
Scenes must have a reason to exist in your screenplay. Each scene must advance the plot forward through dialogue and/or visual storytelling. Characters’ journeys drive the script’s narrative, and each scene must steer their journey forward. Although some scenes might not even contain any characters, these scenes must still provide information about your plot, as well as your characters’ lives and actions. There is no set rule as to how many lines, paragraphs, or pages constitute a scene.
The following has nothing to do with wet t-shirts. This entry is actually about screenwriting contests - a subject with little marquee value. One of the most popular category of questions that I find in my e-mail box is about screenwriting contests. As I say over and over, I believe that most are a waste of energy and entry fee. Some - like the Nicholl and Disney Fellowships - are very reputable and have launched a few Hollywood careers. Regardless of how reputable any contest might be, the screening process for most seems tenuous. Low fees for contest readers and a bulk of scripts guarantees a sloppy vetting system.
"Lowtide" writer, director and producer Kevin McMullin has sold his short story "Bomb" and is tabbed to write the script for "low seven figures" and "Gladiator" director Ridley Scott is attached to Direct. According to reports, 20th Century beat out studios Apple, Netflix, Sony, and Warner Bros.
Books are the fastest and easiest way you can learn from an expert. In screenwriting, it’s no different. Some of the best screenwriters and those who have mastered the craft, have created countless books trying to encapsulate all they’ve learned in their work. If you’re a new screenwriter and looking to improve or simply to learn how to create better scripts, these three books will help you out.
Everybody has a perspective. Everybody in your scene has a reason. They have their own voice, their own identity, their own history… But if you don’t know who everybody is and why they’re there, why they’re feeling what they’re feeling and why they’re doing what they’re doing, then you’re in trouble.
What is a successful second act? One that keeps the reader engaged, moves the story forward, and successfully delivers it into the falling action; that being the third act climax and the denouement. A bad screenplay has a second act that simply doesn't keep the narrative trajectory in place and thus the spine of the story sags; meaning rising tension and conflict is not taking place.