Along with Creative Screenwriting’s weekly interview podcast, Pilar Alessandra’s On the Page podcast is an essential listen for any screenwriter. If you have iTunes, subscribe to both. Now.
Ms. Alessandra taught all day Friday. Because of scheduling I I was only able to take her You Had Me at Page One session which was, for me, the weekend’s most interactive engagement. Using examples from popular screenplays including The Bourne Identity, written by the masterful Tony Gilroy, and The Hangover, penned by hot hands Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, Ms. Alessandra invoked thoughtful discussions on the importance of a remarkable first page of one’s screenplay.
As a former studio reader, Ms. Alessandra emphasizes the importance of hooking the reader as early as possible, forcing the reader to turn through the remaining 89-119 pages. Readers take home large stacks of screenplays (metaphorically speaking as pdf files are now replacing hard copies) and are looking for reasons to not like each one. It’s much easier for them to pass on a script than to hand it up to an executive. Consequently, many scripts get tossed after only the first few pages have been skimmed.
Page one of a screenplay must invoke emotion in the reader – fear, anger, sadness, happiness, whatever – something that will provoke the reader to turn the page. There isn’t time for elaborate character description, flowery location setup, or frivolous scene direction. Save that for your novel.
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