Go, Team!

I recently mentioned to a producer that I like the collaborative side of screenwriting — my words on the page take on new life once others weigh in and shape what I began. “All the inspired words of God are gone,” I said. “I’m not going to write any of them.”

I meant it.

So I appreciated reading something similar from the amazing Richard Walter, chair of UCLA’s screenwriter grad program. In the terrific ISA Insider Q&A, “Character Is Story,” he said:

“If you get precious about what you’ve done you are your own worst enemy. Many will tell you the downside of writing for the screen is that so many people come between you and the final work, the movie, you are creating. I say, that’s not the downside, that’s the upside, that’s the special nature of writing for the screen. You are part of a family of creative artists and craftspeople, collaborating and working together on a common and seamless enterprise, if it’s any good. You should rejoice. Don’t merely tolerate changes they make.”

Richard Walter

Go, Team!