In a future where criminals are arrested before the crime occurs, a despondent cop struggles on the lam to prove his innocence for a murder he has not yet committed. With his hand trapped under a boulder in a remote canyon, Aron Ralston, faces the greatest dilemma of his life: cut it off or die. The truth is that most screenplays will never get read by the top dogs, because the top dogs (those all important decision makers) simply have no time to read anything, except maybe… one sentence, 25 words. And in case you’re wondering, that was the pile that went to the shredder, never to be read by the guy (or gal) on top. Some of them were bad, and, more to the point, most of them were utterly forgetful, and unless it had a good catch, I read 5 pages and threw it in the “No” pile. And it should really be enough that I spend months writing something, print it out on 3-holed paper, finish it with copper brads, and send it off to be read in Hollywood, and obviously come out on top of the pile with its brilliance.Īs a script reader, my desk had on it 10-15 scripts on even a light day. It should be enough that I go through the scenes, turning points, and really make people cry at the end. It should be enough that I type out somewhere between 90 to 110 pages, introduce 2 to 5 to 50 characters, and end with each one learning something. So it’s only natural that I, like many other writers, sit down to write and think “I’m ready.” And I know that it will take somewhere between 90 minutes and two hours to tell it. What do you say? Do you spout off three or four paragraphs describing the plot of your story or your main character’s inner and outward journey? Or do you give them the one-liner?Īdmittedly, in the forefront of my mind at every writing session, I have a pretty good idea of what my story is about. “What’s it about?” Ever get that question?