So what makes a superb Hollywood writer? The amount of scripts flooding Hollywood yearly that are simply discarded into the recycle bin by a producer's assistant while they munch on a donut, exemplifies the startling reality that most writers in fact do not know what it takes to be a successful Hollywood writer. Why is this?

Let us presume that a certain individual is indeed gifted with the imagination required to write an amazing story - to be a successful Hollywood writer. Where does the break down take place? Many areas.

Certain aspiring Hollywood writers see all the white on a script page and assume that a script must be easier to write than a novel. Others open Final Draft® as soon as an idea hits, and start hammering out what they believe to be the most clever dialog ever written. And other poor souls actually posess a great idea and semi-decent first draft of their script, but their egotism proves the barrier to their own success.

My favorite of all? Rebellion against the system.

Have you ever heard of an indie flick? You know...those meanduring films with no real meaning that dump you in the same place (or worse) that you were when starting the two hour journey of agony?

In my opinion as a beginning Hollywood Writer, the master of story, Robert McKee, summarizes most independent film as follows (taken from 'Story'):

"When you work with one eye on your script and the other on Hollywood, making eccentric choices to avoid the taint of commercialism, you produce the literary equivalent of a temper tantrum. Like a child living in the shadow of a powerful father, you break Hollywood's "rules" because it makes you feel free. But angry contradiction of the patriarch is not creativity; it's deliquency calling for attention."

Now that was almost more beautiful than John Toll's photography in 'Legends of the Fall'.

So again, what makes a Hollywood Writer? Someone who understands the conventions of story telling with an imagination capable of letting an audience experience life like never before. And this is the type of Hollywood Writer I aspire to be. Look for some great stories coming soon!

A Main Stream Film Fan | kyler d. boudreau