Screenwriting Quote #156 (Chandus Jackson)

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Screenwriting Quote #156 (Chandus Jackson)

May 28, 2011 by Scott W. Smith

“One lesson I’ve learned in Hollywood is that right out of the gate a screenplay will be judged solely on its concept or premise…I test the market every time by pitching my premise to a group of trusted friends. If these friends seem confused or even lukewarm, then it’s back to the drawing board.”
Screenwriter Chandus Jackson
Howard University grad & University of Michigan (MBA)
2007 Walt Disney/ABC Writing Fellow
(And former finance manager, investment banker, Army Captain)
Quote pulled from Now Write! Screenwriting
Edited by Sherry Ellis & Laurie Lamson

Posted in Screenwriting Quotes | 5 Comments

5 Responses

on May 28, 2011 at 5:11 pm Screenwriting From Iowa » Screenwriting Quote #156 (Chandus Jackson)

[...] “One lesson I’ve learned in Hollywood is that right out of the gate a screenplay will be judged solely on its concept or premise…I test the market every time by pitching my premise to a group of trusted friends. If these friends seem confused or even lukewarm, then it’s back to the drawing board.” Screenwriter [...] Original Source… [...]
on May 31, 2011 at 3:02 pm Ted

This is right out of the Blake Snyder/Save The Cat handbook. To me, it means giving up my right to create my own stories and giving that power to “trusted friends” who are unlikely to be named Tarantino. What the hell to they know about what I should write?

If I’m seduced by a story I write it down. Then I let others give me their opinions.
on May 31, 2011 at 9:49 pm Scott W. Smith

@Ted—One of the great things about reading different writers, is discovering how different everyone approaches their work. One writer says work in the morning, another says write at night. One writer says don’t tell anyone about your story or you’ll lose the magic, and another says test it on people.

And the great thing is people find success with opposing philosophies of writing. But everyone’s read screenplays that some writer has spent two or three years working on, only to have it been a weak concept.

Both of the two newest screenplays I’m writing have been pitched to my friends. Being a storyteller in that sense, you really can tell if people are with you or not.
on September 30, 2011 at 4:03 pm CJ

I like your site. Wondering how you’d answer this… If you’re one of those writers that feels like they’d lose the magic after telling people your story -but you tell them anyway- could you still plow forward?
on September 30, 2011 at 9:49 pm Scott W. Smith

Every writer is different and has their own twisted set of rules that work for them—until they change them. I like bouncing story ideas off people and seeing how they react. But it’s something I only do in broad strokes.

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