Horror-101

The Forest for the Trees

Recently the AICN writer known as Quint posted a script review of the Halloween remake (if you must, here it is), and the findings were pretty grim. I didnGÇÖt read much more than the first few sentences of the actual review, but apparently Quint sees a lot of problems with the draft he read. Anyone whoGÇÖs read AICN regularly knows that from time to time (much less now that two of the key contributors to the site are actively working in Hollywood) they review scripts, a head-scratching exercise at best and a positively infuriating experience at worst.

This isnGÇÖt a review of QuintGÇÖs review, nor is it a commentary on the script. I havenGÇÖt read it. This is me shouting at the moon, trying to get people to realize just how damaging this practice is of reviewing scripts is.

IGÇÖve heard all of the justifications that are trotted out whenever a new script review is done (and IGÇÖm not really picking on AICN or Quint, although that site is famous for early script reviews). Fingers are pointed at movies with terrible scripts that were forced to make changes because of a published script review. People on the other side of this fence say that the reasons are honorable, that script reviews are born out of a desire to prevent a really bad movie from getting made.

Nonsense.

I donGÇÖt know what goes on behind the scenes when websites are preparing to publish a script review. I donGÇÖt know if, during this latest case, AICN contacted the producers of the Halloween remake and asked them about the script they were reading, if it was an early draft or a shooting script or what. IGÇÖve sent an email to Quint asking that question but I havenGÇÖt received a response. (EDIT: Quint, always a gentleman, did return my email and informed me that no direct contact was made with the producers, although apparently there is already a response from Zombie on his MySpace page)

If the script is early then this whole thing is more inconsequential and less damaging than it could be. Movies of this nature go through a great many permutations before arriving at a GÇÿshootingGÇÖ script, and even then the chances that the GÇÿfinalGÇÖ script and the finished movie being all that similar arenGÇÖt great.

But letGÇÖs assume, for a moment, that some percentage of what was reviewed was intended to be included in the finished script.

The biggest problem here is just how earnest people are in insisting that script reviews are for the betterment of all. AICN famously ran a script review of McGGÇÖs version of Superman and thoroughly trounced it, which reportedly had a great deal to do with the movie losing itGÇÖs head of steam (IGÇÖm not an insider, so I donGÇÖt know if this is true) and finally being taken out of commission in favor of the Singer production. The logic, again, is that they read a terrible script and voiced their opinion on the matter, which presumably prevented a terrible movie from being made.

Where we run into problems is when you assume that that amorphous and fickle entity known as fandom knows more about movies than the people who make them, and specifically the people tasked with making a specific movie, and that is why running a review of a script is a dangerous game.

The danger crops up when people read the script review (and, mind you, not the script itself) and take from it a few basic but fundamentally important chunks of information. With the Halloween remake script review, one of those chunks is that a large portion of the beginning of the movie deals with MichaelGÇÖs upbringing. Instantly cries can be heard from the masses, denouncing this direction and crying for Rob ZombieGÇÖs head. MichaelGÇÖs upbringing, you ask? What upbringing? DidnGÇÖt he spring whole and grown from the pits of Hell? And from this little tidbit of information, because you have no other information or story within which to place it in context, your mind necessarily fills in the blanks. GÇ£Well, if theyGÇÖre going to stuff the story full of exposition about Michael MyersGÇÖ upbringingGǪGÇ¥ You think to yourself, worry gnawing at the corners of your mind.

ItGÇÖs a fools errand, this, one all but impossible to avoid if youGÇÖre to read a script review. You donGÇÖt know what else is going on. You donGÇÖt know why this piece of the puzzle was deemed important by the producers. You donGÇÖt understand why this matters.

You may (or may not) have an opinion on that out-of-context piece of story, though, donGÇÖt you? Sure. And that opinion, from now until you see the movie, is going to stick with you. Your initial reaction to hearing this will influence you, to one degree or another. ItGÇÖs impossible to avoid. And itGÇÖs a completely unfair proposition to the script, to the movie, and to the filmmakers.

IGÇÖve been in a room with a filmmaker who was explaining why it was that their movie had to be made. IGÇÖve heard the whole thing, from beginning to end. Most times, the script is a tool, and no more. ItGÇÖs a visual aid, or a memory aid. The filmmaker, waving his or her hands around in the air, gesturing madly, eyes blazing, talking passionately about why his or her movie will be the greatest movie ever made, is something that people, if they really cared about the filmmaking process, should review. Take a notebook and a pen, watch a director make his case in a pitch meeting, and then review that. Because that is much, much more of an indicator of what the movie will become than any dry script review ever will be.

Scripts are the absolute foundation of any movie. IGÇÖm not arguing that. But give me ten filmmakers and one script, and IGÇÖll present to you ten very, very different moviesGǪ all made with that one script. ItGÇÖs important. IGÇÖm a writer, but even I sometimes throw up my hands in frustration when I hear another writer talk about the sanctity of the screenplay. ItGÇÖs a foundation, it isnGÇÖt the whole enchilada. People actually have to take that script and make it, employ that mysterious alchemy that turns pages into frames of film. And that is why a script review is a damaging novelty.

The other component of this equation is the reviewer. When people review (or, in rare cases, critique) a movie, it should never be construed as an actual depiction of what the movie is. Of course not. ItGÇÖs only an impression by a single person, influenced by any number of factors that may or may not include how hungry they were, how many times they had to go to the bathroom during the picture, what impression they had about other films made by the production, and so on. People often make the mistake of taking one criticGÇÖs opinion as gospel, but itGÇÖs been fairly-well proven that people will go see the movies they want to see, and wonGÇÖt go see the movies they donGÇÖt want to see. There are margins in between the two, and a positive review from a trusted critic might swing the tide from time to time, but it isnGÇÖt as though people are picking up their newspaper (or reading their favorite website), seeing which picture got a good review, and then heading off to see that movie.

Yet too damn often people will read a script review and simply assume that, well, thatGÇÖs the ballgame, folks. They said this so it must be so. Bollocks.

Any review (and, at the risk of being an ass, no script review could ever hope to be a critique) of a script is the result of the four or five things that the reviewer picked up on as particularly important or interesting. The most complete and comprehensive script review will still only be a snapshot of what one person thought of a script at a given time.

WhatGÇÖs taken out of that, tragically, is more. ItGÇÖs some kind of GÇÿvoice of the peopleGÇÖ craziness.

ThereGÇÖs probably nothing to be done about script reviews. Scripts, even the most allegedly GÇÿsecretGÇÖ of them, are notoriously easy to get a hold of. Trust me, you donGÇÖt have to be Harry Knowles of AICN to acquire one. So weGÇÖre likely nowhere near the end of this phenomenon. And if youGÇÖre dying to read about the Halloween script, go ahead. Just remember what it is, and what it isnGÇÖt.

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