Rewrite Done - Finally...? Never!
It's part of the film making process that just never seems to end. And it shouldn't! It can always be better, thats just how it goes. But you have to get to a point where you realize you can't write any longer... That's usually right around the first day... No, last day of shooting :)
But, a movie really, honestly, gets written 4 times of the course of it's life. The first three, any filmmaker can tell you.
1. It's written one way on the page. 2. Then another version of the story is told when you shoot the film. And 3. Yes, the story is rewritten a 3rd time in editing. Its a continued search for story based on what you have available to you on the day and improvisation.
But the 4th was just recently brought to my attention by the former SVP of Marketing from 20th Century, Peter Stougaard. A genius of his craft, responsible for movie posters and tag lines from films such as The Devil Wears Prada and Avatar. Peter explained that the 4th Rewrite that people don't usually account for is 4. When you have to sell the film. That's right, it undergoes yet another metamorphosis when you are in the marketing, selling and distrobution phase. Makes sense! It has to appeal to a buyer in a new way, but it just as important as the other rewrite phases.
So, even though I am done with another draft, there will always be more versions of the same story.
More to come,
Evan :)