“The most powerful, eloquent moments on screen require no verbal description to create them, no dialogue to act them. They are image, pure and silent.”
-Robert Mckee, STORY
of course, those moments started with words.
I have a philosophy that many screenwriters don’t like. I say keep the script away from the producer as long as possible. Here’s what I mean. Your pitch might be great, but your script probably won’t live up to it. So keep the material away while you build a relationship with the producer. Then when he sees your script, they might say it’s not ready. However, if you’ve got a relationship, they might give you feedback, they might read a rewrite, they might hire you. So I say keep the material away as long as possible.
I’m serious. I really mean this. It’s like, if you go on a date with a woman, don’t talk about sex. Don’t try and get sex. Don’t make the focus sex. Producers are the same way. Here’s why. The whole movie industry is about relationships. Relationships are more important than the material, unless you’re amazing. If you’re amazing, none of these rules matter.
Gary Shusett, “The Blatant Truth About Screenwriting”