How not to read a screenplay

There are way too many readers in the film and television business that are mediocre or who are amateurs. It is practically a wild, wild west within the industry and a writer has to struggle to find any quality help for him to make any improvements to his writing. It is a shame that the producers are so heavily invested in these somewhat illiterate guys and gals. This isn't hyperbole. If anything that my experience in the industry has taught me is the fact that readers are constantly looking for problems within a writer's script or are looking for any reason to say no to the writer.

Also, readers do not need any formal qualifications to be hired by a producer or any show runner in the industry.

Readers are constantly looking for problems with a screenplay, but that doesn't mean that the writer should ignore any helpful notes or feedback that comes his way. It simply means that the writer and or the producer hiring the readers should be careful who they hire. It is true that a writer needs thick skin to survive in the industry and improve the quality of his work, but how do you know that the feedback you are getting is helpful or not? This is where I come in and say: "let me segregate the good, the bad and the really ugly ones for you, so you don't have to work twice as hard".

First, let's discuss the problems with the readers of today. This list excludes the professional ones that charge an arm and a leg to critique someone's screenplay and or treatment:

1. Their reading and comprehension skills are a dismal mess.
2.  They lack the understanding of all genres and the elements of a chosen genre.
3.  They apply their own biases or knowledge when critiquing a screenplay.
4. They lack the imagination or the understanding of what makes a screenplay creative.
5.  They do not offer helpful suggestions after pointing out the problems.
6. The condescending attitude of: "I have told the writer to do 'x', and he/she still hasn't done it" and remarks are unacceptable behavior on their part.

Let's start with the first item on the list. It is the first item on the list because it plays a major role into the quality of the film.

Their reading and comprehension skills are a dismal mess:

This has been my experience for the most part. This was confirmed by an experiment that I conducted to verify my findings. When a reader reads your screenplay, one of the things he/she needs to focus on is attention to detail. Meaning that the reader shouldn't miss anything that is important. This is where their reading and comprehension skills come in handy - you know the ones that they've been taught in high school, or community college even. A lot of them tend to miss key bits of information that has already been provided to them. This can be for a couple of different reasons: a) They are too lazy to invest the time needed to pay any attention to the details in the script, or b) they are simply incompetent. I would suggest a combination of both. Whatever material you are reading, the information you need has already been provided to you. You just need to seek it out. It is obvious to me that the schools and or community colleges are doing a poor job of improving these readers' reading and comprehension skills in the first place. Also, they (the readers) need to be putting a bit more effort learning the skills rather than slacking around in class.

They lack the understanding of all genres and the elements of that chosen genre:

Every genre that you have ever come across has elements that make up that genre and make it unique in its own way. The incompetent readers will usually have come from reading screenplays that deal with one genre, but when they receive a screenplay where the genre is different or imaginative, they lack the understanding of the genre they are reading. They need to get themselves familiar with all the genres and or the combination of genres the movies are made in and get with it.

They apply their own biases or knowledge when critiquing a screenplay:

When a reader reads a screenplay and responds with: "this doesn't make any sense", it means that they cannot or do not understand the writer's mind and what is written on the page. This saga of not being able to understand comes from their own biases, knowledge and or what they know about the subject at hand. For example, if you were to create an imaginative world with characters and rules different to ours and what we know to be true and familiar with, they are incapable of shifting their thinking. They apply what they know and use the "doesn't make any sense" excuse as a valid objection to the material. They can't seem to understand that it is a make believe world and the rules are different.

They lack the imagination or the understanding of what makes a screenplay creative:

There is a reason why we want to go watch movies or want to write something: it is imaginative, creative and above all, interesting. With these incompetent losers, they lack the understanding and the imaginative mind and associate this with anything in a make believe world as being realistic. Nothing in a film is realistic. Films are made because they carry the what if scenario. It's about time someone understood that concept.

They do not offer helpful suggestions after pointing out the problems:

I have had this happen on a few different occasions. A reader reads my script, points out the problems, but doesn't not offer any helpful suggestions. It is up to the writer to figure this out. But what if the writer himself doesn't know what the best solution is to fix a problem that has been pointed out? What if said writer has tried everything he/she can possibly think of but is stumped and has come to you the reader for help? Ever think about that, dear reader? It would be helpful to offer some guidance to the writer so he can try someone else's suggestion for a change.

The condescending attitude of: "I have told the writer to do 'x', and he/she still hasn't done it:

I call this condescending and arrogant because it simply goes to show you that they (the readers) have a mindset that the writer has to implement or needs to implement whatever it is they have suggested in the notes that they provide and they expect this. They are disappointed that it doesn't happen and then complain that the writer didn't implement their suggestion(s). To be quite frank, this is totally narcissistic behavior and is both unprofessional and unacceptable.

They forget that this is the writer's story, not theirs, so they should get over it and stop being such a hungry Jack, and throw a hissy fit when a writer doesn't do exactly what the readers have suggested.

So, the obvious solution(s) are self evident:

1. Get better at reading and comprehension. It will do you a world of good in the screenwriting or film business.
2. Take time and understand the genres and the unique elements that make up the genre you are reading the script for. If it is unclear, take a wild guess by referring to the different elements that make up a genre.
3. You really should be objective rather than subjective when you read the screenplay. Doesn't matter what you feel about the topic or theme the movie or the story is trying to convey.
4. Use your imagination and practice using your imagination when you read a screenplay.
5. Offer helpful feedback when pointing out problems. We want solutions. If you are not able to give solutions to a problem in the script, don't even mention the problem - this isn't even an issue of free speech anymore.
6. Don't expect that the writer will automatically implement your suggestion(s) and be disappointed when the writer doesn't do 'as they are told'. You have no business dictating where the story goes - that job goes to the producer and the screenwriter ultimately, and last but not least...
7. Smarten up.

Once it is evident that you are being helpful, the writer can forge ahead and take away what is the most helpful feedback for him/her and greatly improve their work. If need be, learn from the professional readers and emulate what they do best to help the writer with the quality of their work. This is one of the major ways we can improve the quality of the movies in the film business globally.