The Problem with Collaboration

sfoster

sfoster

Staff Member
Moderator
It seems to me there is a real issue with collaborating creatively on a film with other writers or directors.

The problem here isn't even a technical one, but a matter of taste.
Everyone's taste is different.. Even with professional writers that are selling their scripts for $500,000, it's almost all crap to me as a viewer. Going off of 1900 ratings, only 1/5 movies are considered good by me. 1/50 are great. the vast majority are either okay, bad or abhorrent. And these are films that I purposefully seek out in hopes of being moved or entertained.

With so little appealing to my taste where does that leave me as a collaborator?

I am reaching to do something better but it's not quite within my grasp.
Maybe one day when I have learned enough.
 
Full stop creative collaboration like Coen bros is very very rare due to the reasons you stated. However multiple directors and heads of depts. work with same crews/actors/writers/producers on many projects. Personal issues do kick in, Hitchock and his writer split up due to money reasons, Dali and Bunuel due to artistic vision etc.etc. Anyways,best bet is to do your stuff put it out there and people will see and come for you :)
 
sfoster said:
It seems to me there is a real issue with collaborating creatively on a film with other writers or directors.
Click to expand...
Directors do not collaborate creatively with other directors. I know,
I know; there are some exceptions – I talking about the vast
majority not the five exceptions. So this isn't even an issue. Do
not collaborate creatively with other directors.

sfoster said:
With so little appealing to my taste where does that leave me as a collaborator?
Click to expand...
As a director you pick the script that is to your taste. That's how
you collaborate creatively with onother writer.

Expanding to the crew - DP, art director, production and costume
designer, editor - you're the boss. Some directors enjoy working
with other people skilled in their craft - you may not. So in your
case you don't collaborate; you hire people who do exactly as you
say. Nothing wrong with that.
 
directorik said:
As a director you pick the script that is to your taste. That's how
you collaborate creatively with onother writer.
Click to expand...

Lets look at the imdb writer credit for one of my favorite films, batman begins

PHP: 
Bob Kane	...	 (characters)
 
David S. Goyer	...	 (story)
 
Christopher Nolan	...	 (screenplay) and
David S. Goyer	...	 (screenplay)

So here we have the director collaborating with a writer, not just picking out a screen play. I think that is where i would ideally like to be, assuming i could find a writer that fits with me... but hell it's probably not going to happen, realistically its all up to me.

i imagine there is probably a writer forum somewhere with people that want to team up with a director. The last time I tried to work with a writer, i told him 3-10 pages and he came back with a 30 page script and an attitude, saying that if i couldn't pull off a 30 page script then it's not the script thats the problem. I told him if i could make a 30 minute film in 2 days of shooting i would just do a feature in 6
 
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