Get Me Rewrite

Jeffrey Wells’ article pointing out the dust-gathering duties being performed by several big-buck screenplays provoked a series of debates between myself and some fellow screenwriters (“The Bigger the Bucks, the Longer They Need to Age,” Film Clips, Oct. 4).

The discussions centered not on the amount of money paid for these scripts (we always think we’re undercompensated no matter how much we get) but on the rewriting policies of the major studios and how these policies may have contributed to the shelving of such excellent screenplays.

As Wells’ article attests, virtually all screenplays are rewritten numerous times, both by the original author and, most often, by subsequent writers as well.

My cohorts contend that this “group-effort mentality” has contributed to the demise of many a wonderful script, including the ones mentioned by Wells. “Too many cooks in the kitchen,” they proclaim, “and you end up with a $3-million mulligan stew. They rewrite all the magic out of it, then put it into turnaround and wonder what happened.”

Well, I don’t agree. Of all the films I’ve ever seen or scripts I’ve ever read, there are maybe two or three that I wouldn’t rewrite if given the chance. That’s just the nature of the animal. No matter how good it is, it can always be made better. And if you’re the one putting up the $25 million, you can bet you’re going to try to make it as good as you possibly can. If that means 20 rewrites, so be it.

And sure, sometimes this process does end up mucking up a great script. But most of the time, believe it or not, it actually has the effect of making a good script better.

STEVEN HUFFMAN

Sherman Oaks