How to Survive Studio Notes
Filmmaking, they say, is a collaborative effort and notes are an integral part of the preproduction process. To a screenwriter, this can mean that "everybody" (the director, producer, actor, development executives, etc.) may have input on the script before the commencement of principal photography.
We've gathered a few tips of the trade here:
Have the awareness that aspiring writers getting notes from peers and script coverage differs substantively compared to a pro writer receiving notes from a studio. The key is to know the difference between feedback and notes.
Feedback should be handled as third-party reactions. Consider all feedback with an open mind and then decide whether or not it's right for you or your script.
Notes from a production company, network or studio that is financing production should be handled as requests from an employer. Pick your battles wisely and professionally.
The film industry wants to be able to work with people who are easy to work with.
Find a Happy Medium -- "[Executives] are working with you; they're collaborating with you. I'll try to find a happy medium between where I'm trying to go and what they want to do." - Ricky Roxburgh (known for Disney shows, Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure, Big Hero 6: the series)
Discernment of the types of notes:
Notes you know immediately are GOOD ideas - embrace them.
Notes you know immediately are BAD ideas - reject them.
Notes you are UNSURE OF - test them (a rewrite to test out whether they work or not)
Robert Eggers (Director, The Northman) on Studio Notes...
Were you ever worried that someone might tamper with your vision in post?
It wasn’t tampering or interference. Sjón said it was our job to interpret the studio notes in a way that make us proud. If I slavishly took the studio’s notes, the film would suck, because they’re not filmmakers. That’s why they hire filmmakers to make the films. But I think how we survived is that we were — me and all of my collaborators — determined to make the film we wanted to make, and we were not going to stop until we were proud of it. It would’ve been so easy to say, “Fuck the studio, they’re giving me all these notes, I hate this! They’re ruining my movie!” That’s the easy way out. What made it so hard was to stick with it until we were happy.
Source: Indiewire "Robert Eggers on ‘The Northman’ Viking Accuracy, Casting Björk, and Studio Notes"
Damien Chazelle (director of Oscar-winning features Whiplash and La La Land) on dealing with studio notes and producer notes.
This video is an insightful conversation and exploration of the nature of the director/producer collaboration.
Fun reads:
The Wrap, Oscar-Nominated Screenwriters Share Worst Studio Notes
New Yorker, Studio Notes on Your Rom-Com Screenplay
Go into the story, Tweetstorm: Daniel Kunka on dealing with ‘bad’ script notes
The Script Lab, "Studio Script Notes on 'Titanic'," Brian Caldirola humorously envisions the kinds of notes Studio Executives could have (or maybe even did) give to the writers of 'Titanic'.
