Screenwriting : GOTHAM pilot script by Theresa Clark

wait, so both Superman's and Batman's mums are named Martha? That's unoriginal.

I dunno, maybe pilot scripts adhere to different standards, but in format and presentation: Many action lines way too long. "We see..." -- really? Minor/incidental characters' intros incorrectly in caps. "CU" and other shot directions Unfilmables in action e.g. "Familiar with war, murder scenes are not shocking but horribly fascinating." Gordon telling Bruce over and over and over "be strong" Unfilmable "Bullock’s anger overrides his better judgment.." Double action sin: "WE GO BACK INSIDE her office..." Numerous full pages of running ping-pong dialog Many dialog blocks running into 10+ line monologs 4-5 line character intros + mood evocations Etc. etc. Generally, this reads more like a punchy detective/seedy-cop genre short than a screen/teleplay. The every-villain-but-the-kitchen-sink concept is interesting, but if this really meant to be a series then maybe one new villain a week would be a better pacing. I wonder whether the world is ready for a foulmouthed Cockney git as Alfred.

...proving the point once again that all those rules and standards that unproduced spec writers are advised to adhere to simply don't apply to those already comfortably on the inside. If all those screenwriting classes and books are to be believed, the many "repeat offenses" in the script would get it passed or downmarked by every coverage reader on the planet. So what was the point in publicizing it in the S32 screenwriting lounge in the first place?

William Martell said it best: "There are no rules, only tools." https://www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/POV-Format

Thank you for posting that POV thread link, Regina! More insight and education you, Willim, Beth, and others point out. Thanks so much!

@Alex, that stuff drives me nuts. I was 'told' how to 'properly' make an ellipses our my work would not be accepted, and I was told that the story beat has to on specific page numbers, it's crazy.

Well, @Oliver, the big So What? stands. The script is of no use and irrelevant to aspiring screenwriters whose works have yet to win a RECOMMEND from any agent's or producer's reader.

@Ron, oy, don't even start me on paint-by-numbers beat sheets! Maybe they're okay as an etude to see if one can do it, but one can set a watch to the clichéd beats of such forgettable cookie-cutter movies.

Mit nichten. Rejecting artificial constraints and guidelines that in this context do not add to—and indeed seem to detract from—creativity and good storytelling is closer to the mark. Save the Cat? Scr€w that: kill the mangy beast, skin it, cook it in a stew. And thanks, but anyone who is committed to building a literary career, be it in screenwriting or authoring novels, need hardly be told to just suck it up. More valuable insight would be this: in the writing industry across all segments, it quickly becomes clear that agents, editors, and script readers are just people, with their own biases, blind spots, and tastes. True story: A family/animation script that gets shat upon by an "evaluator" at The Schwarz List will go on to become one of two category Finalists at a 20-year running Hollywood film festival, the winner to be decided this November. Now which would one conclude was a better use for $50? Far from being frustrating, such an experience provides refreshing inspiration to persist, refining one's work and networking it around until it eventually land in the right hands.

I think Alex has some very valid points. A lot of the things that I have read or been told, IN MY OPINION, about HOW TO WRITE is instructive and nice to know and can be of assistance. Although I believe it helps people trying to understand story structures more than those trying to create stories. In writing anything worth writing, you have to be true to your story and that is really being true to yourself. My story may not fall into a traditional format. Coming from a music background, I always laugh inside at the term beats. That said, a lot of what I write is written with the understanding that I will make it.

NO RULES... only guidelines, never ever try to fit something in on a certain page because some book told you that... i.e. your inciting incident has to be on page 5. Uh-uh folks. I wish I could remember right now which popular movie was mentioned a while ago... that the inciting incident was in Act II. The point being if you're a new writer... follow the guidelines. The A-Listers can do whatever they want and they break the rules all the time... that's why they get the 6 & 7 figure paychecks. They know what they can get away with because they know the 'rules' inside and out.