I don't consider myself a script guru or a script doctor, but I have been around the proverbial script block. I've taken many classes, and have even been the teaching assistant to a spectrum of students. I've even written some shit. Ok, so they may not be award winning shit, but I know a thing or two about story and scripts.
It's a big pet peeve of mine when people denounce the value of a good story. "Story isn't everything." I should smack you upside the head for that remark. Yes, there are a lot of things that go into making a movie good, but my ideology is that if you don't start off with a great script, you might as well quit.
Good scripts have a potential that bad scripts can never reach. Yes, you can still make a bad movie from a great script, but you can't make a great movie from a bad script. Having a good script allows you the chance to have a good movie.
So it always seems a bit laughable to me when people all of a sudden decide to become writers. Anyone can write a script. That's true. But very few people can write good scripts. Scriptwriting takes time and effort. Something that many "writers" seem to lack.
I'm in no way saying that I've reached the expert status of screenwriting, but I'm trying to be get there. With each book or logline or beat sheet I come across, I'm slowly trying to get there.
This in point brings me to Andrew Stanton, and why he fucked one goat. He didn't really fuck a goat, but his imaginary friend fucked a goat. Andrew Stanton, one of Pixar's amazing writer/directors, recently did a lecture for the TED interviews. His points are extremely accurate and helpful to the green, and even the weathered, screenwriter. His lecture was all about story.
I'm a firm believer in story. I think that there are many great concepts for movies out there, but that good stories for movies fall short. So if you want a little insight on what makes a good story, and how not to be known as the goat fucker, watch Andrew Stanton's TED lecture.
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/andrew_stanton_the_clues_to_a_great_story.html
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