February 4, 2026 • 36 mins
Christopher Riley is a screenwriter, director, and author with a career spanning award-winning international cinema and major studio assignments. His groundbreaking 1999 German-language courtroom thriller After the Truth earned multiple awards, and his screenwriting work includes projects for Disney’s Touchstone Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sean Connery’s Fountainbridge Films, Mandalay Television Pictures, and the Fox television network.
Chris is also the author of The Hollywood Standard, the definitive script format manual celebrating 20 years as a best-selling reference for screenwriters worldwide, as well as The Defining Moment: How Writers and Actors Build Characters. He has taught screenwriting at the graduate and undergraduate levels for more than 20 years, shaping the next generation of storytellers.
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SPEAKER_01 (01:16):
So glad you could join us on The Art of Film
Funding, where we giveindependent filmmakers the
tools, insight, and inspirationthey need to bring powerful
stories to life.
Today we are thrilled to welcomea guest whose work has quietly
shaped thousands of screenplaysand careers over the past two
(01:39):
decades.
Christopher Riley is ascreenwriter, director, and
author with a career-spanning,award-winning international
cinema and major studioassignments.
His groundbreaking 1999 Germanlanguage courtroom thriller,
After the Truth, earned multipleawards, and his screenwriting
(02:03):
work includes projects forDisney's Touchstone Pictures,
Paramount Pictures, SeanConnery's Fountain Bridge Films,
Mandalay Television Pictures,and the Fox Television Network.
As a director, Chris helmed theaward-winning short No Time Off
(02:24):
for Good Behavior, and recentlymade his featured directing
debut with the family revengecomedy No Reception, now
streaming on Amazon.
Chris is also the author of TheHollywood Standard, the
definitive script format manualcelebrating 20 years as a
(02:46):
best-selling reference forscreenwriters worldwide, as well
as the defining moment howwriters and actors build
characters.
He's taught screenwriting at thegraduate and undergraduate
levels for more than 20 years,shaping the next generation of
storytellers.
(03:07):
And Carol, I'm turning it overto you to dive into this
essential conversation withChris Riley.
SPEAKER_02 (03:14):
Thank you, Claire.
And Chris, we're so honored tohave you today.
SPEAKER_00 (03:19):
Oh, I'm so happy to be here to get to have a
conversation with you, Carol.
SPEAKER_02 (03:23):
Good.
Well, you're you've done amarvelous job because the
Hollywood Standard has been atrusted industry reference for
20 years.
That's fantastic.
So, what originally compelledyou to write a book focused
purely on script format?
And why did you feel that thiswas so urgently needed?
SPEAKER_00 (03:48):
When I first came into the film industry, my very
first job was at Warner Brothersin their script processing
department.
And my job was to proofreadtheir scripts, everything that
was in development and inproduction at the studio, both
features and television, to putscripts in proper format for the
(04:14):
executives, uh, for the cast,for the crew.
And so I accidentally learnedway more about script format
than any person should know.
After I had worked in thatdepartment for quite a few
years, I sold my first featurescreenplay.
(04:37):
And I started seeing that therewas no real reference that made
the information that I hadlearned at Warner Brothers
available to my fellowscreenwriters.
And um, my wife suggested Iwrite down what I know and see
if it could uh get published asa book.
(05:00):
Uh and so there were some otherbooks that touched on screenplay
format, but nothing that wascomprehensive and up to date.
Uh and so the Hollywood Standardended up really filling that
need.
Uh, and I love getting emailsfrom other writers uh saying
(05:22):
thank you so much.
Either this helped me finish myfirst script, or from working
professionals saying I keep thisbook beside my computer as I
write and uh and reference it uhas needed.
Uh so it seems like there was aneed.
It it just happened because ofmy work at Warner Brothers that
(05:46):
uh I had this knowledge that wasum so specialized.
Um, most people would not wantme to talk to them about 40
pages worth of information aboutshot headings.
Uh, but it worked out prettywell in a reference book.
SPEAKER_02 (06:04):
Oh, of course, because I've I've listened to
filmmakers being in thisnonprofit raising money with
filmmakers, say my script wasrejected because the format was
wrong, and they're just I don'tunderstand that is their
attitude.
So it's a very important thing.
People in the industry expect alot from a writer.
(06:27):
So many writers trulyunderestimate how much format
affects perception.
So, from your experience, howoften does formatting alone
influence whether a script istaken seriously or rejected
outright?
SPEAKER_00 (06:44):
I think that the format plays a role 100% of the
time, in the same way that ifany of us shows up for the most
important job interview of ourlife, if we show up in our
pajamas, there's no way thatdoesn't affect the perception of
the person we're meeting.
(07:05):
And uh I format for the writeris as important as focus is for
a cinematographer or keeping theboom out of the shot is in
creating an impression of thisis a this is a movie made by or
a screenplay written by aprofessional.
(07:27):
And so I can have theexpectation that maybe this one
is going to be wonderful, whichis what we're always hoping when
we pick up a script.
SPEAKER_02 (07:37):
Sure, sure.
I agree.
I felt that way many times.
So, but you describe format asthe language of the industry.
So can you explain why masteringthis language is especially
critical for independentfilmmakers?
SPEAKER_00 (07:55):
Well, independent filmmakers are uh, as all
filmmakers, needing to gather ateam.
And that is going to includeproducers, directors, actors,
uh, financiers.
And before the film is made, thething that represents the film,
(08:17):
that creates the magic of thefilm, is the screenplay.
So we have to create aprofessional impression that
communicates our competence.
Once we get to the place wherethe film is being made, we also
want everyone on this reallylarge team of creative
(08:40):
collaborators to understand whatis this movie we're making, what
what is the scene, what's thesubtext, uh, and what's the
imagery?
And professional industrystandard format allows all of us
to have a common understandingof what is the vision that we're
(09:06):
creating.
Uh, and it also allows thewriter to have confidence that
they have communicated in a waythat's clear and professional,
because otherwise, we can spenda lot of our creative energy and
time fretting about how do I setup that shot?
How do I actually describe thaton the page so I don't embarrass
(09:27):
myself?
I don't want writers to bespending their energy on that.
There are far more interestingthings for screenwriters to
think about, like characters andstory.
SPEAKER_02 (09:40):
Exactly.
Um, one of my favorites uh aboutsubtext is Chinatown.
And that that first scene whereuh Jack Nicholson is talking to
someone and uh he goes to get togive, you say, You want to
drink?
They say yes.
So he turns around to open hiscabinet, and we see that he has
(10:03):
two bottles of scotch, expensiveand cheap.
He pours the person the cheapscotch, okay?
So character.
Um so he this guy isn't worththe good scotch.
And then I think it's a woman inthe scene.
The woman starts to cry, and hertears fall on Jack's desk.
He wipes those off immediately.
(10:25):
Like, how could you do that?
He has he doesn't have a lot offeeling for other people, so we
get that.
He's kind of a loner, uh, andhe's uh tight with money, and so
difficult.
I would say a difficult person.
Immediately, you get that.
I think that that's the writerdoing an incredible job to say,
(10:48):
here's the beginning characteryou're going to deal with.
SPEAKER_00 (10:52):
That's exactly right.
So our job is to peel back thelayers of characters and show
you who they really are.
And the the artistry, the geniusof a really good screenwriter is
to find ways to do that, to makethat invisible character quality
visible to the camera so we canphotograph it and show that
(11:17):
character to the audience in away that allows them to
understand who we're dealingwith.
SPEAKER_02 (11:23):
Yes, because it's that's a feeling, you see,
that's telling us the emotionalfeeling that this are feelings
this man has, and you're intothe character right away.
Uh so what are the most commonformatting mistakes that you see
in scripts that immediatelysignal amateur?
SPEAKER_00 (11:46):
I I think probably the most the most common mistake
that I see with newer writers isthat they overwrite.
And that may mean that they usejust too many words to describe
a setting or a character.
Uh the the form of screenwritingis all about economy of
(12:12):
language.
We do so much with so few words.
Um other times writers will addway too many shot headings, and
they're getting way too specificand trying to direct the movie
on the page.
And that ends up making thereader's job really hard because
(12:37):
it's like they have to hacktheir way through a jungle to
get to the actual characters andthe actual story.
And some newer writers will say,Well, but I plan to direct this,
and I can see all the mediumclose-ups and over-the-shoulder
shots, and I want to describeall that on the page.
And I would just say, Well, whydon't you look at the writing of
(13:01):
Quentin Tarantino and Guillermodel Toro and some other writer
directors and see how spare andpoetic their writing is.
Uh, they don't direct on thepage, they understand that
that's a separate stage offilmmaking.
(13:22):
Uh and you want to trust yourdirector, you want to trust your
actors, you don't need todescribe every emotion in
parenthetical direction.
If somebody says, I'm going tokill you, you don't need to
parenthetically say angry.
Um, we get that.
(13:43):
Now, if you're playing againstthe obvious emotion and you
instead say lovingly, I'm goingto kill you, that's a useful
parenthetical direction becauseit otherwise would be lost.
Um if you can say something withthree words instead of five
(14:04):
words in a script, three wordsis always better.
Make every word pull its weightor throw it overboard.
SPEAKER_02 (14:13):
Well said.
That is brilliant.
You know, Slow Horses is one ofmy favorite TV shows.
That is so well written.
And Chris, there was a scenerecently in the last uh uh set
that they uh that was onlinewhere um as uh as he's talking
(14:36):
everybody is listening carefullyto what he's saying because
they've been uh sequestered andthey're under someone's control
and they're not able to leavethe room, they're all being
held.
And he starts talking aboutsomething that happened long
ago, and then all of a sudden,the this happens, that happens,
(14:56):
and they're all set free.
And you it is so well written,and each word has a separate
meaning for a different personin the room.
He's giving them actions, allright?
So that at one point someonethrows something, somebody grabs
it, they light the lighter, anduh they explode fire in
(15:19):
someone's face, the gunsdisappear, they're free.
You have to play that two orthree times to get how brilliant
that was.
That it was maybe only 90seconds of dialogue, but it it
told a whole story andindividually addressed the
people in the room telling themwhat to do.
(15:41):
I I found that was fascinating.
SPEAKER_00 (15:45):
I love that.
I want to go, I want to go watchthat.
The that's a great example oftwo things.
I think one is that we wantevery word to mean something.
And the other thing is there'ssubtext there.
There was something, there wasmeaning below the surface of the
(16:05):
words.
And one of the things that'sbrilliant about subtext is it
gives the audience something todo.
It trusts the audience to workout the puzzle.
We we give the audience cluesand trust that they can put
those clues together tounderstand what's really going
(16:26):
on.
When the audience is able towork out that puzzle, there's a
little pleasure that goes withthat.
And also, we as people don'toften say directly what we mean.
In the case you're describing,he can't say directly what he
means because he's trying tohide it from some people in the
(16:49):
scene and reveal it to others.
Uh, but we're doing that all thetime.
Uh, we're trying to protectourselves from rejection so we
don't directly say, hi, I findyou attractive.
Would you go out with me?
Uh we beat around the bush andcome from some oblique angle.
That's interesting.
And it's it is human, uh, andthat's good writing.
SPEAKER_02 (17:13):
Good writing.
Yes, absolutely.
So independent filmmakers oftenwear multiple hats.
And how does clean professionalformatting help a filmmaker
communicate competence andcredibility when they're
pitching to investors?
SPEAKER_00 (17:33):
If if I'm an investor and I'm going to invest
my money in a film, I want toknow that I'm investing in
someone who knows what they'redoing.
And uh and I certainly, sothat's part of it, is just
conveying the competence.
Another part of it is thatinvestor is going to read the
(17:53):
script.
And like anyone, if they stumbleover what has been written
because it isn't clear or it'sambiguous, and they have to page
backwards, that is death.
You want to always keep yourreader moving forward, and you
(18:14):
want to remove every bit offriction that can get in their
way.
The biggest compliments I'vegotten from uh readers of my
scripts, generally producers, iseither I picked your script up
late at night to put myself tosleep, and I ended up reading
(18:37):
all the way through, and uh I'vebeen waiting for the sun to come
up so I could call you.
I was so excited about it.
Or others just saying, oh, itwas such a fast, easy read.
What that means is you've gottenall the friction out of the way,
and you allow the reader to havethe experience of living inside
(19:04):
the movie that you're creating.
Uh when when we watch a movie orread a really well-written
script, we enter this kind ofdreamlike state.
And the last thing as a writer Iwant to do is wake the dreamer.
I want uh so I don't want speedbumps, I don't want confusion,
(19:25):
and professional clear formatremoves those those speed bumps
and lets my vision really speakwith uh with a strong, clear
voice.
SPEAKER_02 (19:42):
Wow, strong, clear voice is true.
Well, you've worked with thestudios, the networks, and uh
international production.
So do formatting expectationsdiffer across markets, or is
there a universal professionalstandard that writers need to
follow?
SPEAKER_00 (20:03):
With small variations, uh the standard is
really similar around the world.
Uh in the UK, their standardsheet of paper is A4.
It's a little, it's a littlenarrower and a little taller
than our eight and a half by 11page in the United States.
(20:26):
Uh but scripts are scripts.
When I was at Warner Brothers, Ihad access to our paper files of
scripts going back to the silentera in the 1920s.
And I could pull those scriptsout, hold them in my hand, and
see that the format, even 100years ago, was the same.
(20:49):
The only difference between ascript for the silent era and
today was that we've addeddialogue.
But otherwise, it's shotheadings, paragraphs of
description, and then we havedialogue, and then we have
transitions, the cut-to's, thefade outs, the fade ins.
It's those four elements (21:09):
shot heading, direction, dialogue,
transitions.
And that's always been the case.
And whether I'm looking at ascript written by Guillermo del
Toro or someone in Britain orsomeone in Hollywood or Austin
or Atlanta, the form remains thesame.
SPEAKER_02 (21:30):
Right.
And they need to adhere to thatform.
Well, as an educator for over 20years, what has surprised you
the most about resistant orreceptive writers and how they
are to learning a format as acraft rather than a technical
chore?
Because it is a craft.
SPEAKER_00 (21:50):
It really is.
And um your question, talkingabout it potentially as a
technical chore, uh, it doesmake me think sometimes of some
writing I've seen from studentsthat that is so technically
correct, but without theartistry.
(22:12):
Uh, and that doesn't get youthere.
Um, format by itself doesn'tweave the magic spell.
We format is the container, butwe still have to put the wine in
the bottle.
And that's character, it'stheme, it's struggle, it's
(22:33):
connection and disconnection,uh, it's all the emotion that
flows from that.
If we were writing haiku poetry,the the rules of the form of
haiku or the rules of the formof a sonnet are necessary to
(22:54):
understand, but then the humanartist comes to work and does
something that no one else hasever done using that set of
tools.
I find that screenwriting doeswhat an architect does, it knows
how to build a building thatwon't.
Fall down, but it also knows howto build a beautiful building
(23:15):
that we can inhabit and livelife in and find beauty in.
So we need, we need the engineerand we need the mad scientist
going on at the same time.
And somehow format bridges thosetwo things, and we can begin to
use format as a tool in ourartistry to paint the movie on
(23:37):
the page.
And all we have are words.
We don't have performance andscore and visuals.
We just have words.
Format helps us to create thatmagic on the page.
SPEAKER_02 (23:50):
Yes, you're so right.
Well, your book has been calledA Silent Career Saver.
So do you have any stories ofwriters who told you that
mastering the format directlychanged their trajectory?
SPEAKER_00 (24:04):
You know, I don't have a big single dramatic
story.
What I have is a collection ofemails that come to me steadily
from writers who say, eitherthis book helped me finally
finish my first feature-lengthscreenplay.
(24:27):
That's really satisfying to me.
Or more veteran writers who tellme I keep that book beside my
computer and use it every day.
Antoine Fisher telling me thathe he actually keeps three
copies, one beside his computer,one in his book bag, and um for
(24:49):
his own use when he's outwriting, and then a third to
give away to a new writer.
And and so, yeah, that'sincredibly um that's that's the
reward of of the book is knowingI'm helping my fellow writers.
SPEAKER_02 (25:07):
Exactly.
That's a good feeling.
So, how does proper formattingactually support storytelling
and pacing uh when they'rereading the script?
SPEAKER_00 (25:19):
So when we write an action sequence, we want it to
read like an action sequence.
And there is a way to format anaction sequence on the page that
allows the reader to feel likethey are flipping pages really
(25:39):
fast.
This thing is flying by.
There's a different way to writethat action sequence where it
feels like the reader istrudging through cement.
And and I'm so within theHollywood standard, I've taken
the same sequence and shown itformatted both ways.
(25:59):
Um, one way with a big block oftext that's really intimidating
to read, and another way with abunch of white space on the page
that just pulls you through thataction sequence and allows you
to experience it as thiskinetic, fast-moving bit of
cinema.
(26:20):
There are other times we want toslow things down, and uh and
format can allow us to do that.
When we really master scriptformat, we can use its nuances
to convey pacing, emotion, uh,even performance to a degree,
(26:43):
um, and and to some degree evenscore, um without referencing
any of those things directly.
And also we can we can createimage by image, a scene or a
sequence, uh, which is the waysequences appear on screen, but
on the page, there are there areformatting techniques that allow
(27:08):
us without calling out this isan extreme close-up or this is a
medium two shot, um, that we wepaint those images so that the
reader is actually seeing amovie.
And a director is far morelikely to envision what we have
envisioned, because we'veharnessed the tools of format
(27:32):
to, in a clear and compellingway, put our image on the page.
SPEAKER_02 (27:38):
Right.
And what we haven't talked aboutare the actors, see, because
they're the key people here.
And I my son was an actor, andso when he was, he needed to
know the underlying essence, anduh and and he would be shaking
his head no when he's saying,Yes, I'll do this, but you could
(28:00):
so you got the fact he didn'twant to do it, but he is doing
it.
So um you're every word on therehas a meaning to the actor,
exactly how to portray thischaracter, right?
SPEAKER_00 (28:14):
That's exactly right.
And we want to give actorsenough to work with, and and
then on the other hand, we wantto leave them space to bring
what they are going to bring,um, and they make their
contribution.
So we could write a dialoguescene and only write the words
(28:36):
that are spoken by the actors.
If we do that, we have left outany pauses that might slow the
scene down and leave room for usto feel emotion and leave room
for actors to act.
And so there are times when wewant to write in either a pause
(28:59):
or um she bends to tie her shoeum in the midst of a line
because it's giving the actortime to think, to feel.
Um, and it's a way that we as awriter can put some of that
performance on the page.
(29:21):
And I think that helps actors tolocate what's really going on
beneath the surface with thecharacter so that they can
embody that and convey that tothe audience.
SPEAKER_02 (29:36):
Exactly.
Well, my son had uh directorswho he loved who loved to work
with him.
So they always made room forRick to have his take.
In other words, they they wouldget the shot they were happy
with, but then they'd say, okay,Rick, we're gonna do take it
again.
You can do anything you want.
(29:58):
And quite often they used thehis version of a little, well,
sometimes he magnified what wasin the script, and they loved
it.
So uh, but the the thing is,you're writing for a lot of
people, you're writing for thecinematographer, for the
director, for the actor, and theprop guy.
(30:19):
Everybody has to get involvedwith that script.
It's it's the king on the set,who's doing what and why.
SPEAKER_00 (30:26):
So there's yeah, this this is the ultimate
creative group project,filmmaking.
And the script is what allowsevery member of the team to be
on the same page workingtogether to make the single
creative project, and yet itleaves room for everyone to make
(30:50):
their own contribution.
And the wise filmmaker remainsopen to other people's ideas and
contributions because there's noway that um I, as a writer,
director am going to have thebest idea 100% of the time.
I am not that smart.
And so, but I am, I hope, wiseenough to uh appropriate the
(31:14):
best ideas of everyone around meas they're offered.
SPEAKER_02 (31:18):
Yes, that it is a co-production.
So looking back on 20 years atthe Hollywood standard, what do
you want writers and especiallyindependent filmmakers to take
away as the deeper lesson behindmastering format?
SPEAKER_00 (31:38):
I want writers to be able to bring their best ideas,
their experience of what it isto live this human life to the
screen, and I want their ideasto be taken seriously.
I know that if they haven'tmastered industry standard
(32:02):
script format, that is going tomake it harder for their
creative vision to be takenseriously or to even be
understood precisely.
So I want to arm them with thisparticular tool that every
professional in screenwritingneeds to have so that we can
(32:30):
hear their stories, we can seetheir vision.
It is what we need in a worldthat more and more is dominated
by technology.
I am a big believer in humans,and it's why I come to the
movies, and it's what I want tofind is the human behind the
(32:51):
story.
Um, it's both the storyteller,it's the characters, it's the
actors.
Umat has a role to play inequipping these human
storytellers to tell their beststories to all of us.
SPEAKER_02 (33:12):
Thank you so much, Chris.
Um, you shared so much wisdom,clarity, and your decades of
experience with us.
The Hollywood Standard is morethan a formatting guide.
It's a professional roadmap thathelps writers and filmmakers
speak the industry's languagewith confidence.
(33:32):
So to our listeners, if you'rewriting scripts, pitching
projects, or raising money foryour films, this book is
essential reading.
Presentation matters andprofessionalism opens doors.
So if you'd like more resourceson funding or producing, then
visitFromTheHeartProductions.com
(33:54):
where you'll find film grants,fiscal sponsorship, and
educational programs that arefree and designed to help you
succeed.
So be sure to join us for ournext episode of the Art of Film
Funding, where we continue tobring you conversations with
industry leaders who empower youto get your films funded,
(34:14):
finished, and seen.
So thank you again, Chris, forthis wonderful interview.
SPEAKER_00 (34:20):
Thank you, Carol.
I've loved it.
SPEAKER_02 (34:22):
Great.
Claire, as always, thank you.
And to our listeners, from ourheart to yours, thank you for
listening.
So glad you could join us on The Art of Film
Funding, where we giveindependent filmmakers the
tools, insight, and inspirationthey need to bring powerful
stories to life.
Today we are thrilled to welcomea guest whose work has quietly
shaped thousands of screenplaysand careers over the past two
(01:39):
decades.
Christopher Riley is ascreenwriter, director, and
author with a career-spanning,award-winning international
cinema and major studioassignments.
His groundbreaking 1999 Germanlanguage courtroom thriller,
After the Truth, earned multipleawards, and his screenwriting
(02:03):
work includes projects forDisney's Touchstone Pictures,
Paramount Pictures, SeanConnery's Fountain Bridge Films,
Mandalay Television Pictures,and the Fox Television Network.
As a director, Chris helmed theaward-winning short No Time Off
(02:24):
for Good Behavior, and recentlymade his featured directing
debut with the family revengecomedy No Reception, now
streaming on Amazon.
Chris is also the author of TheHollywood Standard, the
definitive script format manualcelebrating 20 years as a
(02:46):
best-selling reference forscreenwriters worldwide, as well
as the defining moment howwriters and actors build
characters.
He's taught screenwriting at thegraduate and undergraduate
levels for more than 20 years,shaping the next generation of
storytellers.
(03:07):
And Carol, I'm turning it overto you to dive into this
essential conversation withChris Riley.
SPEAKER_02 (03:14):
Thank you, Claire.
And Chris, we're so honored tohave you today.
SPEAKER_00 (03:19):
Oh, I'm so happy to be here to get to have a
conversation with you, Carol.
SPEAKER_02 (03:23):
Good.
Well, you're you've done amarvelous job because the
Hollywood Standard has been atrusted industry reference for
20 years.
That's fantastic.
So, what originally compelledyou to write a book focused
purely on script format?
And why did you feel that thiswas so urgently needed?
SPEAKER_00 (03:48):
When I first came into the film industry, my very
first job was at Warner Brothersin their script processing
department.
And my job was to proofreadtheir scripts, everything that
was in development and inproduction at the studio, both
features and television, to putscripts in proper format for the
(04:14):
executives, uh, for the cast,for the crew.
And so I accidentally learnedway more about script format
than any person should know.
After I had worked in thatdepartment for quite a few
years, I sold my first featurescreenplay.
(04:37):
And I started seeing that therewas no real reference that made
the information that I hadlearned at Warner Brothers
available to my fellowscreenwriters.
And um, my wife suggested Iwrite down what I know and see
if it could uh get published asa book.
(05:00):
Uh and so there were some otherbooks that touched on screenplay
format, but nothing that wascomprehensive and up to date.
Uh and so the Hollywood Standardended up really filling that
need.
Uh, and I love getting emailsfrom other writers uh saying
(05:22):
thank you so much.
Either this helped me finish myfirst script, or from working
professionals saying I keep thisbook beside my computer as I
write and uh and reference it uhas needed.
Uh so it seems like there was aneed.
It it just happened because ofmy work at Warner Brothers that
(05:46):
uh I had this knowledge that wasum so specialized.
Um, most people would not wantme to talk to them about 40
pages worth of information aboutshot headings.
Uh, but it worked out prettywell in a reference book.
SPEAKER_02 (06:04):
Oh, of course, because I've I've listened to
filmmakers being in thisnonprofit raising money with
filmmakers, say my script wasrejected because the format was
wrong, and they're just I don'tunderstand that is their
attitude.
So it's a very important thing.
People in the industry expect alot from a writer.
(06:27):
So many writers trulyunderestimate how much format
affects perception.
So, from your experience, howoften does formatting alone
influence whether a script istaken seriously or rejected
outright?
SPEAKER_00 (06:44):
I think that the format plays a role 100% of the
time, in the same way that ifany of us shows up for the most
important job interview of ourlife, if we show up in our
pajamas, there's no way thatdoesn't affect the perception of
the person we're meeting.
(07:05):
And uh I format for the writeris as important as focus is for
a cinematographer or keeping theboom out of the shot is in
creating an impression of thisis a this is a movie made by or
a screenplay written by aprofessional.
(07:27):
And so I can have theexpectation that maybe this one
is going to be wonderful, whichis what we're always hoping when
we pick up a script.
SPEAKER_02 (07:37):
Sure, sure.
I agree.
I felt that way many times.
So, but you describe format asthe language of the industry.
So can you explain why masteringthis language is especially
critical for independentfilmmakers?
SPEAKER_00 (07:55):
Well, independent filmmakers are uh, as all
filmmakers, needing to gather ateam.
And that is going to includeproducers, directors, actors,
uh, financiers.
And before the film is made, thething that represents the film,
(08:17):
that creates the magic of thefilm, is the screenplay.
So we have to create aprofessional impression that
communicates our competence.
Once we get to the place wherethe film is being made, we also
want everyone on this reallylarge team of creative
(08:40):
collaborators to understand whatis this movie we're making, what
what is the scene, what's thesubtext, uh, and what's the
imagery?
And professional industrystandard format allows all of us
to have a common understandingof what is the vision that we're
(09:06):
creating.
Uh, and it also allows thewriter to have confidence that
they have communicated in a waythat's clear and professional,
because otherwise, we can spenda lot of our creative energy and
time fretting about how do I setup that shot?
How do I actually describe thaton the page so I don't embarrass
(09:27):
myself?
I don't want writers to bespending their energy on that.
There are far more interestingthings for screenwriters to
think about, like characters andstory.
SPEAKER_02 (09:40):
Exactly.
Um, one of my favorites uh aboutsubtext is Chinatown.
And that that first scene whereuh Jack Nicholson is talking to
someone and uh he goes to get togive, you say, You want to
drink?
They say yes.
So he turns around to open hiscabinet, and we see that he has
(10:03):
two bottles of scotch, expensiveand cheap.
He pours the person the cheapscotch, okay?
So character.
Um so he this guy isn't worththe good scotch.
And then I think it's a woman inthe scene.
The woman starts to cry, and hertears fall on Jack's desk.
He wipes those off immediately.
(10:25):
Like, how could you do that?
He has he doesn't have a lot offeeling for other people, so we
get that.
He's kind of a loner, uh, andhe's uh tight with money, and so
difficult.
I would say a difficult person.
Immediately, you get that.
I think that that's the writerdoing an incredible job to say,
(10:48):
here's the beginning characteryou're going to deal with.
SPEAKER_00 (10:52):
That's exactly right.
So our job is to peel back thelayers of characters and show
you who they really are.
And the the artistry, the geniusof a really good screenwriter is
to find ways to do that, to makethat invisible character quality
visible to the camera so we canphotograph it and show that
(11:17):
character to the audience in away that allows them to
understand who we're dealingwith.
SPEAKER_02 (11:23):
Yes, because it's that's a feeling, you see,
that's telling us the emotionalfeeling that this are feelings
this man has, and you're intothe character right away.
Uh so what are the most commonformatting mistakes that you see
in scripts that immediatelysignal amateur?
SPEAKER_00 (11:46):
I I think probably the most the most common mistake
that I see with newer writers isthat they overwrite.
And that may mean that they usejust too many words to describe
a setting or a character.
Uh the the form of screenwritingis all about economy of
(12:12):
language.
We do so much with so few words.
Um other times writers will addway too many shot headings, and
they're getting way too specificand trying to direct the movie
on the page.
And that ends up making thereader's job really hard because
(12:37):
it's like they have to hacktheir way through a jungle to
get to the actual characters andthe actual story.
And some newer writers will say,Well, but I plan to direct this,
and I can see all the mediumclose-ups and over-the-shoulder
shots, and I want to describeall that on the page.
And I would just say, Well, whydon't you look at the writing of
(13:01):
Quentin Tarantino and Guillermodel Toro and some other writer
directors and see how spare andpoetic their writing is.
Uh, they don't direct on thepage, they understand that
that's a separate stage offilmmaking.
(13:22):
Uh and you want to trust yourdirector, you want to trust your
actors, you don't need todescribe every emotion in
parenthetical direction.
If somebody says, I'm going tokill you, you don't need to
parenthetically say angry.
Um, we get that.
(13:43):
Now, if you're playing againstthe obvious emotion and you
instead say lovingly, I'm goingto kill you, that's a useful
parenthetical direction becauseit otherwise would be lost.
Um if you can say something withthree words instead of five
(14:04):
words in a script, three wordsis always better.
Make every word pull its weightor throw it overboard.
SPEAKER_02 (14:13):
Well said.
That is brilliant.
You know, Slow Horses is one ofmy favorite TV shows.
That is so well written.
And Chris, there was a scenerecently in the last uh uh set
that they uh that was onlinewhere um as uh as he's talking
(14:36):
everybody is listening carefullyto what he's saying because
they've been uh sequestered andthey're under someone's control
and they're not able to leavethe room, they're all being
held.
And he starts talking aboutsomething that happened long
ago, and then all of a sudden,the this happens, that happens,
(14:56):
and they're all set free.
And you it is so well written,and each word has a separate
meaning for a different personin the room.
He's giving them actions, allright?
So that at one point someonethrows something, somebody grabs
it, they light the lighter, anduh they explode fire in
(15:19):
someone's face, the gunsdisappear, they're free.
You have to play that two orthree times to get how brilliant
that was.
That it was maybe only 90seconds of dialogue, but it it
told a whole story andindividually addressed the
people in the room telling themwhat to do.
(15:41):
I I found that was fascinating.
SPEAKER_00 (15:45):
I love that.
I want to go, I want to go watchthat.
The that's a great example oftwo things.
I think one is that we wantevery word to mean something.
And the other thing is there'ssubtext there.
There was something, there wasmeaning below the surface of the
(16:05):
words.
And one of the things that'sbrilliant about subtext is it
gives the audience something todo.
It trusts the audience to workout the puzzle.
We we give the audience cluesand trust that they can put
those clues together tounderstand what's really going
(16:26):
on.
When the audience is able towork out that puzzle, there's a
little pleasure that goes withthat.
And also, we as people don'toften say directly what we mean.
In the case you're describing,he can't say directly what he
means because he's trying tohide it from some people in the
(16:49):
scene and reveal it to others.
Uh, but we're doing that all thetime.
Uh, we're trying to protectourselves from rejection so we
don't directly say, hi, I findyou attractive.
Would you go out with me?
Uh we beat around the bush andcome from some oblique angle.
That's interesting.
And it's it is human, uh, andthat's good writing.
SPEAKER_02 (17:13):
Good writing.
Yes, absolutely.
So independent filmmakers oftenwear multiple hats.
And how does clean professionalformatting help a filmmaker
communicate competence andcredibility when they're
pitching to investors?
SPEAKER_00 (17:33):
If if I'm an investor and I'm going to invest
my money in a film, I want toknow that I'm investing in
someone who knows what they'redoing.
And uh and I certainly, sothat's part of it, is just
conveying the competence.
Another part of it is thatinvestor is going to read the
(17:53):
script.
And like anyone, if they stumbleover what has been written
because it isn't clear or it'sambiguous, and they have to page
backwards, that is death.
You want to always keep yourreader moving forward, and you
(18:14):
want to remove every bit offriction that can get in their
way.
The biggest compliments I'vegotten from uh readers of my
scripts, generally producers, iseither I picked your script up
late at night to put myself tosleep, and I ended up reading
(18:37):
all the way through, and uh I'vebeen waiting for the sun to come
up so I could call you.
I was so excited about it.
Or others just saying, oh, itwas such a fast, easy read.
What that means is you've gottenall the friction out of the way,
and you allow the reader to havethe experience of living inside
(19:04):
the movie that you're creating.
Uh when when we watch a movie orread a really well-written
script, we enter this kind ofdreamlike state.
And the last thing as a writer Iwant to do is wake the dreamer.
I want uh so I don't want speedbumps, I don't want confusion,
(19:25):
and professional clear formatremoves those those speed bumps
and lets my vision really speakwith uh with a strong, clear
voice.
SPEAKER_02 (19:42):
Wow, strong, clear voice is true.
Well, you've worked with thestudios, the networks, and uh
international production.
So do formatting expectationsdiffer across markets, or is
there a universal professionalstandard that writers need to
follow?
SPEAKER_00 (20:03):
With small variations, uh the standard is
really similar around the world.
Uh in the UK, their standardsheet of paper is A4.
It's a little, it's a littlenarrower and a little taller
than our eight and a half by 11page in the United States.
(20:26):
Uh but scripts are scripts.
When I was at Warner Brothers, Ihad access to our paper files of
scripts going back to the silentera in the 1920s.
And I could pull those scriptsout, hold them in my hand, and
see that the format, even 100years ago, was the same.
(20:49):
The only difference between ascript for the silent era and
today was that we've addeddialogue.
But otherwise, it's shotheadings, paragraphs of
description, and then we havedialogue, and then we have
transitions, the cut-to's, thefade outs, the fade ins.
It's those four elements (21:09):
shot heading, direction, dialogue,
transitions.
And that's always been the case.
And whether I'm looking at ascript written by Guillermo del
Toro or someone in Britain orsomeone in Hollywood or Austin
or Atlanta, the form remains thesame.
SPEAKER_02 (21:30):
Right.
And they need to adhere to thatform.
Well, as an educator for over 20years, what has surprised you
the most about resistant orreceptive writers and how they
are to learning a format as acraft rather than a technical
chore?
Because it is a craft.
SPEAKER_00 (21:50):
It really is.
And um your question, talkingabout it potentially as a
technical chore, uh, it doesmake me think sometimes of some
writing I've seen from studentsthat that is so technically
correct, but without theartistry.
(22:12):
Uh, and that doesn't get youthere.
Um, format by itself doesn'tweave the magic spell.
We format is the container, butwe still have to put the wine in
the bottle.
And that's character, it'stheme, it's struggle, it's
(22:33):
connection and disconnection,uh, it's all the emotion that
flows from that.
If we were writing haiku poetry,the the rules of the form of
haiku or the rules of the formof a sonnet are necessary to
(22:54):
understand, but then the humanartist comes to work and does
something that no one else hasever done using that set of
tools.
I find that screenwriting doeswhat an architect does, it knows
how to build a building thatwon't.
Fall down, but it also knows howto build a beautiful building
(23:15):
that we can inhabit and livelife in and find beauty in.
So we need, we need the engineerand we need the mad scientist
going on at the same time.
And somehow format bridges thosetwo things, and we can begin to
use format as a tool in ourartistry to paint the movie on
(23:37):
the page.
And all we have are words.
We don't have performance andscore and visuals.
We just have words.
Format helps us to create thatmagic on the page.
SPEAKER_02 (23:50):
Yes, you're so right.
Well, your book has been calledA Silent Career Saver.
So do you have any stories ofwriters who told you that
mastering the format directlychanged their trajectory?
SPEAKER_00 (24:04):
You know, I don't have a big single dramatic
story.
What I have is a collection ofemails that come to me steadily
from writers who say, eitherthis book helped me finally
finish my first feature-lengthscreenplay.
(24:27):
That's really satisfying to me.
Or more veteran writers who tellme I keep that book beside my
computer and use it every day.
Antoine Fisher telling me thathe he actually keeps three
copies, one beside his computer,one in his book bag, and um for
(24:49):
his own use when he's outwriting, and then a third to
give away to a new writer.
And and so, yeah, that'sincredibly um that's that's the
reward of of the book is knowingI'm helping my fellow writers.
SPEAKER_02 (25:07):
Exactly.
That's a good feeling.
So, how does proper formattingactually support storytelling
and pacing uh when they'rereading the script?
SPEAKER_00 (25:19):
So when we write an action sequence, we want it to
read like an action sequence.
And there is a way to format anaction sequence on the page that
allows the reader to feel likethey are flipping pages really
(25:39):
fast.
This thing is flying by.
There's a different way to writethat action sequence where it
feels like the reader istrudging through cement.
And and I'm so within theHollywood standard, I've taken
the same sequence and shown itformatted both ways.
(25:59):
Um, one way with a big block oftext that's really intimidating
to read, and another way with abunch of white space on the page
that just pulls you through thataction sequence and allows you
to experience it as thiskinetic, fast-moving bit of
cinema.
(26:20):
There are other times we want toslow things down, and uh and
format can allow us to do that.
When we really master scriptformat, we can use its nuances
to convey pacing, emotion, uh,even performance to a degree,
(26:43):
um, and and to some degree evenscore, um without referencing
any of those things directly.
And also we can we can createimage by image, a scene or a
sequence, uh, which is the waysequences appear on screen, but
on the page, there are there areformatting techniques that allow
(27:08):
us without calling out this isan extreme close-up or this is a
medium two shot, um, that we wepaint those images so that the
reader is actually seeing amovie.
And a director is far morelikely to envision what we have
envisioned, because we'veharnessed the tools of format
(27:32):
to, in a clear and compellingway, put our image on the page.
SPEAKER_02 (27:38):
Right.
And what we haven't talked aboutare the actors, see, because
they're the key people here.
And I my son was an actor, andso when he was, he needed to
know the underlying essence, anduh and and he would be shaking
his head no when he's saying,Yes, I'll do this, but you could
(28:00):
so you got the fact he didn'twant to do it, but he is doing
it.
So um you're every word on therehas a meaning to the actor,
exactly how to portray thischaracter, right?
SPEAKER_00 (28:14):
That's exactly right.
And we want to give actorsenough to work with, and and
then on the other hand, we wantto leave them space to bring
what they are going to bring,um, and they make their
contribution.
So we could write a dialoguescene and only write the words
(28:36):
that are spoken by the actors.
If we do that, we have left outany pauses that might slow the
scene down and leave room for usto feel emotion and leave room
for actors to act.
And so there are times when wewant to write in either a pause
(28:59):
or um she bends to tie her shoeum in the midst of a line
because it's giving the actortime to think, to feel.
Um, and it's a way that we as awriter can put some of that
performance on the page.
(29:21):
And I think that helps actors tolocate what's really going on
beneath the surface with thecharacter so that they can
embody that and convey that tothe audience.
SPEAKER_02 (29:36):
Exactly.
Well, my son had uh directorswho he loved who loved to work
with him.
So they always made room forRick to have his take.
In other words, they they wouldget the shot they were happy
with, but then they'd say, okay,Rick, we're gonna do take it
again.
You can do anything you want.
(29:58):
And quite often they used thehis version of a little, well,
sometimes he magnified what wasin the script, and they loved
it.
So uh, but the the thing is,you're writing for a lot of
people, you're writing for thecinematographer, for the
director, for the actor, and theprop guy.
(30:19):
Everybody has to get involvedwith that script.
It's it's the king on the set,who's doing what and why.
SPEAKER_00 (30:26):
So there's yeah, this this is the ultimate
creative group project,filmmaking.
And the script is what allowsevery member of the team to be
on the same page workingtogether to make the single
creative project, and yet itleaves room for everyone to make
(30:50):
their own contribution.
And the wise filmmaker remainsopen to other people's ideas and
contributions because there's noway that um I, as a writer,
director am going to have thebest idea 100% of the time.
I am not that smart.
And so, but I am, I hope, wiseenough to uh appropriate the
(31:14):
best ideas of everyone around meas they're offered.
SPEAKER_02 (31:18):
Yes, that it is a co-production.
So looking back on 20 years atthe Hollywood standard, what do
you want writers and especiallyindependent filmmakers to take
away as the deeper lesson behindmastering format?
SPEAKER_00 (31:38):
I want writers to be able to bring their best ideas,
their experience of what it isto live this human life to the
screen, and I want their ideasto be taken seriously.
I know that if they haven'tmastered industry standard
(32:02):
script format, that is going tomake it harder for their
creative vision to be takenseriously or to even be
understood precisely.
So I want to arm them with thisparticular tool that every
professional in screenwritingneeds to have so that we can
(32:30):
hear their stories, we can seetheir vision.
It is what we need in a worldthat more and more is dominated
by technology.
I am a big believer in humans,and it's why I come to the
movies, and it's what I want tofind is the human behind the
(32:51):
story.
Um, it's both the storyteller,it's the characters, it's the
actors.
Umat has a role to play inequipping these human
storytellers to tell their beststories to all of us.
SPEAKER_02 (33:12):
Thank you so much, Chris.
Um, you shared so much wisdom,clarity, and your decades of
experience with us.
The Hollywood Standard is morethan a formatting guide.
It's a professional roadmap thathelps writers and filmmakers
speak the industry's languagewith confidence.
(33:32):
So to our listeners, if you'rewriting scripts, pitching
projects, or raising money foryour films, this book is
essential reading.
Presentation matters andprofessionalism opens doors.
So if you'd like more resourceson funding or producing, then
visitFromTheHeartProductions.com
(33:54):
where you'll find film grants,fiscal sponsorship, and
educational programs that arefree and designed to help you
succeed.
So be sure to join us for ournext episode of the Art of Film
Funding, where we continue tobring you conversations with
industry leaders who empower youto get your films funded,
(34:14):
finished, and seen.
So thank you again, Chris, forthis wonderful interview.
SPEAKER_00 (34:20):
Thank you, Carol.
I've loved it.
SPEAKER_02 (34:22):
Great.
Claire, as always, thank you.
And to our listeners, from ourheart to yours, thank you for
listening.
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