Find Ray T

I found my last Final Draft version of the screenplay and have it in a PDF, as well. I have a couple pages of notes to filter into it, but overall it's still a solid script. I don't know why no one wanted it...but I feel that way about several of my screenplays, so it's probably just me.

I think I'm going to use Derrick Davenport, who was a Playgirl model in the mid-90s, as the image for my lead character. The story follows Damon Payne, a hot young actor, as he is forced to help the Russian mafia locate a snitch hiding in the witness protection program. The man had written a book about his life of crime and Damon played him in the movie version. It's an action-comedy with lots of running around, but it's also about a young man about to lose his way before finding out what's most important in life -- his ex-wife and his child. High concept, but not that high...

I once read the copy of Speed that sold for a million dollars. That was high-concept. It was written by Graham Yost...and it was just plain awful. Jack is introduced going after his aunt's chihuahua, because it's ventured onto the edge outside her 10th floor window and people think he's a jumper. Harry winds up being the bad guy. None of the passengers on the bus have personalities, and Annie doesn't fare much better. The studio bought it for the bomb-on-a-bus idea.

Story is, they were in preproduction before they realized the script was unfilmable and called in Joss Whedon to do a page one rewrite. Which he did, brilliantly. But got no credit. I'm sure it helped that Jan De Bont worked with him on adding visuals and was willing to let him play with the characters. And the truth is...you can tell who knew what they were doing by looking at what they've done, since.

Graham Yost has worked mainly in TV, with middling success. Nothing memorable. Jan De Bont came out of music videos and commercials and did a couple more films, but mainly he's stayed a DP. Joss Whedon wrote and made Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dollhouse, Angel, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, Justice League...and dozens of other fine works. He's said to be an asshole, but in the film biz that can be seen as an asset, not an issue.

I guess the point of this is, people are always saying the script has to be good to sell...but Graham Yost sold a crappy script because it had a good idea. Other writers have done the same thing. I never had an idea like that. Mine focus more on the people in the story, not how off-the-wall it can be. I would never have come up with something like Face/Off, and I'm too locked into reality to allow the stupid plot points in films like Die Hard 2 and The Rock. Hell, there's even been a movie about sharks in a tornado (I know the original writer) and that was a phenomenal success with numerous followups.

So I guess I just don't know how Hollywood and the audience work.