How to screw up a script with just one misspelled word.

[Baitball Blogger]

A horror film that turns into a comedy:

Dana called out in the dark, but no one answered. Yet, she knew someone, or something, was out in the field because of the sound of the cows mowing.

[Phentex]

1. Grass doesn't mow itself!

and the cows were already there so what the heck

[In_The_Wind]

2. .

[Aristus]

3. "Bossie, how many times do I have to tell you?

Be careful trimming around the hydrangea!"

[pinboy3niner]

4. What misspelled word?

[Orrex]

16. It was supposed to be "cops"

[Yavin4]

5. Damn cows taking our jobs!

They took yer job!

[geardaddy]

6. They took ar jerbs.

[Phentex]

11. First they came for the horses and I did not speak out...

[underahedgerow]

7. oh, I think that the entire sentence structure doomed it completely, even without

the cows mowing. In the field.

[Baitball Blogger]

8. Critic.

[underahedgerow]

10. It could go like this

------------------------------

DANA (calling out into the inky darkness)
Hello?
(pause)

Hello? Who's there?

Nothing but absolute silence for several beats. Suddenly, out in the field the cows start mooing and thundering around. Someone -- or something -- is out there.
------------------------------
See now here, either her eyes grow wide with fear, or she goes all Sigourney/Aliens on 'em.

etc, etc.

A script has to be descriptive, even in brevity. While we hear the cows mooing, we don't give a shit, we have to see what her reactions are to the sounds we are hearing.

One of my favorite scripts to read is Ocean's 11. It actually reads every bit as good as it was shot and acted. The writing in it is just brilliant, and precisely how a script should be written.

Personally, instead of playing the cowering woman being all scaredy, I'd have her grab the shotgun and go all Sigourney on the thing's butt.

[geardaddy]

12. Tangent:

Have you ever done the NaNoWriMo script thing in April called "ScriptFrenzy?"

It's 30 days to finish a 120-page play, teleplay, or screenplay.

I tried a couple years ago and only got about 50 pages, but it was fun to do.

[Baitball Blogger]

13. Um, the misspelling of the word "mowing" was the whole point of the exercise.

[sakabatou]

9. The Farside, now a horror film

[Mendocino]

14. An udder failure.

[pinboy3niner]

15. But she herd SOMETHING

[Tom_Foolery]

17. I'll have to chew the cud over this one...

[pinboy3niner]

18. To err is human; to forgive, bovine