One of the most common mistakes a beginning screenwriter makes is having his or her protagonist constantly reaching out and touching someone. Other than the overuse of dream sequences, keeping your protagonist gabbing on the phone is a good way to ensure that no agent or producer is going to be calling you anytime soon. Just the other day I read a script that had five separate phone conversations in the first twelve pages. Five!
The phone has become such a ubiquitous instrument in our own lives that peppering a screenplay with call after call might seem perfectly natural. However, we must remember that phones in the movie universe aren’t as important as they are in our own. Sure they can be useful, but they should only be used when absolutely necessary and not as a substitute for good ol’ fashioned face time.
Monday, February 26, 2007
