What makes a good film script and what qualities must it have to translate into solid film making?
Screenwriting : Screenwriter/filmaker/poet by Richard Fiorentino
Screenwriter/filmaker/poet
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A very important quality is for the script to present a strong, clear Central Driving/Dramatic Question and present that question in a way that creates a strong rooting interest for the audience. For example, one can express the CDQ of JAWS as such: "Will the beach guard successfully save the beachgoers from the killer shark?" That's the narrative spine, and nearly every scene of the script/movie is in service to answering that question. And the rooting interest for an audience: "I want him to succeed and save the beachgoers from the killer shark." Thus, the movie is able to grab an audience's attention and create emotional investment in the experience.
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Similarly, JAWS has a clear protagonist, a clear central antagonist, and a clear complication (the Mayor who won't let the beach guard close the beach). The protagonist is completely accessible, root-able, and admirable. We as an audience can easily put ourselves into his shoes. The central antagonist is clearly an antagonist, creating obstacles all through the narrative and escalating tension. Every major turning point of the the movie's structure is clear, starting from a teaser open in which the unseen shark kills a skinny dipper, launching a crystal clear opening set-up/sequence. Bravo, Team JAWS. We bow to you to this day. And happy 40th anniversary, JAWS!
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The simple answer is every good film begins with great writing.
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@Phillip - One word: Boom.
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Regina: Your analysis is first rate. Jaws is a perfect popcorn masterpiece with superlative writing and acting. As a writer, the Captain Quint monologue written by John Milius and edited by Robert Shaw is a real inspiration to me.
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@Phillip, thank you, and you said it! @Richard, if you're looking for a baseline that could yield a "solid" movie - "solid" being totally respectable - I think the short answer is that the script needs to succeed in its own genre, and then it should have the potential to be "solid." Obviously, a lot of variables between getting from a solid script to a completed film.