3 Rules for How to Survive Working with a Script Doctor

You've spent years working on a script, only to have a producer tell you that you need a script doctor. What does this mean for your screenplay?

Felipe Braga has tons of respect for script doctors. According to the director and screenwriter (Trash, B1), script doctors are your best readers; nobody else will read your work in such detail.

But once the meetings start, expect them to bring a lot of notes into the room. Which notes do you take? When should you stick with your instincts? At a recent panel at SXSW, Braga tackled just these questions.

"Script doctors do not exist to help writers, but to give producers the illusion that they are protected from risk."

Rule #1: Don't react

"You have to let them speak, because that's how they show they've done the work," said Braga. "The most important rule is to not react. If you react, you’re overreacting; you’re being emotional about your work and therefore incapable of having a rational discussion about it."

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from No Film School http://ift.tt/1RIcKDg