I was “diligently” taking notes in my introduction to screenwriting class last week when my instructor made an interesting distinction that caught my ear.
When discussing the opening page of the screenplay for “The Long Kiss Goodnight,” written by UCLA alumnus and “Lethal Weapon” scribe Shane Black, my professor said the screenplay was one of his “favorites,” even though he hadn’t exactly enjoyed the movie (a critical and commercial flop 12 years ago).
But how does a great screenplay turn into such a bad movie? Is this just a one-shot occurrence of an idea simply getting lost in translation or is there more? Shouldn’t the same list of qualifications be attached to both the script and the screen versions?
It is one thing when a novel is adapted for the big screen and the author of the original work is not included in the process. But why is it that in Hollywood, where everyone seems so connected, the screenwriter usually plays such a small ““ if any ““ role in his or her work’s jump to the big leagues?
In the literary spectrum, most of the work is left up to the writers while their direct editors play an undisclosed part. In the music world, songwriters may have pictured their song the latest single for a serious songstress and have the work snatched by a superficial starlet.
And just like singer/songwriters in music, there are many prominent writer/directors, and successful ones at that, such as Paul Thomas Anderson and Joel and Ethan Coen. Even “The Long Kiss Goodnight’s” Black has taken matters into his own hands in recent years, writing and directing 2005’s critically-applauded indie hit “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang.” But these are still exceptions to the rule, and many screenplays are simply stapled pieces of papers sold to hopeful producers and directors who are much more readily able to put their own stamp on a project than the screenwriter.
But in a world where the most exciting releases are either adapted from television series (“Sex and the City,” “Get Smart”) or just another sequel to past blockbusters (“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of Crystal Skull,” “The Dark Knight”), shouldn’t those rare original works include the visionary behind them more in the filmmaking process?
Obviously there are various stages in which the screenwriter is involved in the transition to film, but a screenwriter’s full immersion in the filming each time can ensure the original vision is never lost and that there are fewer cases of a great screenplay becoming a horrible movie.
If you think “The Long Kiss Goodnight” was Samuel L. Jackson’s finest work to date, e-mail Stanhope at kstanhope@media.ucla.edu.