02PTT: Scriptshadow Secrets by Carson Reeves (Part One)

[Pitchpatch]

EDIT: Part Two here.

I'm baaack.

Did not expect it.  No, sir.  Thought I'd be free and clear til the new year.

What happened?

Scriptshadow happened.  Again.

You don't know?  Okay.  There's this guy, Christopher Eads.  Some years ago he started a screenplay review blog called Scriptshadow under the 'nym Carson Reeves.  Over there he reviews in-development and produced screenplays.  Noob writers love him 'cos he seems like an accessible industry insider.  Even though he's just a guy who reads and reviews scripts.  Excuse me -- was just a guy who reads scripts.  Now he's a guy who reads scripts for money.  How does a thousand bucks a pop sound?  I know.  That's the rumor.

Jeez, this would go easier if they gave him a Wikipedia page already.  Instead I gotta lay it all out.

Anyway.  Noob screenwriters love him, and I guess folks generally love him for the peek behind the film curtain he offers.  Scriptshadow pumps out content daily, so that generates lots of repeat business.  We're creatures of habit.  Fire up the computer, sip a steaming Caffè Marocchino, check the newsfeeds, sniff around for whatever's new.  Scriptshadow's always got something new.

Pro screenwriters love him not so much.  Some screenwriters -- some A-list writers -- actively hate this guy.  Because Scriptshadow's unauthorized script reviews caused them -- continue to cause them and the studios they work for -- all kinds of headaches.

Scriptshadow has an audience.  A big one.  That means he has power now.  He has the power to create and the power to destroy.  With a tap on his keyboard Scriptshadow might denounce an in-progress big-name script and cause a panicked studio boss's phone to overheat into a sticky plastic puddle.  Or he might thumbs-up a new writer and trigger a bidding war from those same studio bosses, rousing the envy of noob writers following along at home.

That's what I'm told.  How much real power does Scriptshadow hold in his presumably blistered-from-typing hands?  Irrelevant.  What matters is his perceived power.  So Hollywood, right?

That's the back-of-napkin sketch for Scriptshadow.  You know what to do if you crave sordid details.  We're not here today for a "Scriptshadow Sucks" versus "Scriptshadow Rocks" thing.

Today we feed Scriptshadow's word skills into the 10PTT sandwich press.

Ditch the crazy notion Scriptshadow aka Carson Reeves sold a screenplay or shot a spec into the pipeline.  He didn't.  Although I'd be curious to see some actual script pages written by the guy.  What he did was self-publish a screenwriting book on Amazon.  It's called Scriptshadow Secrets (500 Screenwriting Secrets Hidden Inside 50 Great Movies).  We'll dip into the free sample chapter Amazon offers for review.

For this 10PTT I'll cover the Forward only, to keep my review well inside Fair Use protection.  The result will be just two pages of edits.  You'll see those are two busy, busy pages.  If Scriptshadow engaged the services of a professional editor for his manuscript, I'd be shocked to hear it.  What I read comes across as part P. T. Barnum and part ShamWow guy.

But, you know, is it so bad to have another screenwriting book pulling common knowledge into one place for noob writers to digest?  For 10 bucks a novice screenwriter could do worse than use Scriptshadow's book as an entry point to the biz.  Block out the whole Scriptshadow circus with one hand, cue up music on your iPod to drown out the controversy, and who knows; this book probably holds some worthwhile advice.  I'll firm up my opinion when Scriptshadow comps me a free copy.  (Right now I'm throwing my spare cash at cheap game deals sprouting hourly across the web -- Steam, Amazon, Greenmangaming and such.  Santa's a gamer, and this time of year he's crazy generous aka shitfaced drunk.)

Alrighty.  Here's how this plays out.  I'll post the two edited pages with tracking and footnotes, then the clean edit and the clean original.  You decide if the edit improves the original.  Like I said: pretty sure Scriptshadow saved a few bucks on manuscript editing.  Not unusual for bloggers to leap across to the book world and assume it's the same as publishing a post.

That cover looks like a pro job, though.  Did not know the Hunter worked as a hand model before joining The Infected in Left 4 Dead.



Shut up, Pitchpatch, and RELEASE THE KRAKEN...

[Pitchpatch]

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[Pitchpatch]

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[Pitchpatch]

... and the clean edited version.

I see I should've red-penned the "trying" in "Writers struggled for decades trying to figure it out."  "Struggle" sufficiently conveys the idea of "trying."

[Pitchpatch]

... the clean original.

[Pitchpatch]

I like Carson's book cover, but one thing about it cannot pass close scrutiny: his claim to the title "the World's #1 Screenwriting Blogger."

Yeah, about that...

How do we begin to determine the #1 screenwriting blogger on the planet? By traffic? By total number of posts? Post quality? Is Carson Reeves really the Elvis of screenwriting blogs -- not just The King but King of the World?

I say Google 'em all and let Pagerank sort 'em out. We can reasonably expect the world's top screenwriting blog to crown the results from a Google search on (d'uh) "screenwriting blog."

Huh.  Google says the honor goes to Scott Myers' long-running and highly respected GO INTO THE STORY blog. Scott's a former stand-up comedian turned screenwriter.  He sold screenplays.  Films got produced.

We'll have to relax the rules to sanction Carson's claim. Maybe he was No. 1 when he wrote his book and Pagerank churn pushed him down since. For a bold claim like that on the cover, I expect Scriptshadow's blog sits somewhere in the top 10 results.

Yet I don't see it. I see John August's personal site -- indisputably a fantastic screenwriting resource from a working A-list screenwriter. I see THE ARTFUL WRITER by Craig Mazin, another veteran A-lister.

Nope. Scriptshadow is absent from the top ten. We've got Julie Gray's useful JUST EFFING ENTERTAIN ME blog at #11.

Ah-ha, there it is. Scriptshadow's blog sits at #15*. So I guess Carson's book cover claim is in the ballpark of No. 1. Okay, not in the ballpark. Maybe the carpark.

I know, I know.  That claim is mere puffery.  S.O.P. for book covers.  And #15 ought not to be scoff at.

Just sayin'.  Hyperbole -- not something a pro writer brooks.  Except when drunk or praising the new V.P. of Creative Development.  Writers more than others have a ridiculously sensitive bullshit meter, sharpened by paranoia, polished by self-doubt.  When it's writer to writer you can't pull these fast ones.

An accurate cover quote would be the one Carson gave the New York Times: "I’ve written some god-awful stuff."

EDIT: (Dec 31, 2012) Turns out I was way too generous.  Without realizing it, I performed the original Google search on the Google Australia site (my default).  When I switched to a U.S. proxy to do the search today, Scriptshadow's blog surfaced at #30.  Carson's bold claim just got towed out of the carpark.

[Pitchpatch]

I posted earlier about seeing no evidence to support Carson's book-cover claim: "World's #1 Screenwriting Blogger."

There is evidence the forum topic you're eyeballing now is the U.S. #1 "scriptshadow secrets carson reeves" search result.  For today at least.  You netizens are a fickle lot, with your lip-dub wedding proposals and your sweded Gangnam Style.

With Google as my yardstick I could plausibly lay claim right now to the silly title "the U.S. #1 Scriptshadow Secrets by Carson Reeves Blogger."  Screenshot proof below.  It's a plausible statement: the facts support it and you can check for yourself.  Put my claim on a book cover and it would be plausible puffery.  Not silly puffery.  Definitely not outrageous puffery.

[Pitchpatch]

More Scriptshadow controversy.  Grab your popcorn.

http://messageboard.donedealpro.com/boards/showthread.php?t=70569

Donedealpro's LIMAMA -- herself no stranger to controversy -- writes:

In the name of transparancy: I know Nathan Brookes, the co-writer of this script personally. I've read and given him notes on several of his and Bobby's scripts (not this one). And I've been loathe to tread on Carson, because at one time I considered him a pal and have given him the benefit of the doubt many times. But this is beyond the pale.

Today Carson reviewed an OUTDATED DRAFT of "Slaughter" which has gone through many, many rewrites. Nathan doesn't even know which draft Carson read. Well, Carson hated it. The commentators hate it too. But the point is, Carson didn't have permission. Nathan (and Bobby) told Carson NOT to review this draft, and they even offered to have him review the current draft that the writers worked on. He refused. According to Nathan, they have threatened Carson with legal action if he doesn't take it down. I repeat, Carson was specifically told NOT to run this review, and he did anyway. Nathan has no idea how Carson even got his hands on it.

I know firsthand that Nathan is very upset about this, and he is sure that another writer who has worked on this script (as well as the writer's reps) won't be too happy about it either as this writer just set up another big project. And I guess I've burned my bridges with Carson as well with this post. But I'm standing up for my friend, and that is the right thing to do.

[Stephen_Hoover]

Looks like Carson/Chris is changing his way of operating his site based on the negative reactions.   Good to hear.

[Pitchpatch]

Stephen, I'm aware you have a history with Scriptshadow -- you and your writing partner used his script-notes service?  Can I ask: did you choose Carson over other established pro readers on the 'net hoping he'd review or mention your screenplay on his blog (which he did)?  Did that lead to meetings etc.?

Seems that's what folks pay for: not the notes, helpful though they may be, but the chance of an imprint on his blog and the expected heat it will generate.

[Pitchpatch]

The controversy marches on...

http://www.philgaryarts.com/13/post/2013/11/scriptshadow-hollywoods-enemy.html

Scriptshadow has come under fire more than once, by studios and screenwriters alike, for reviewing scripts to upcoming movies, alternately publishing such reviews on its website and distributing them via its weekly newsletter. However, despite the protracted pleas, outrage and distress, Carson Reeves -- owner of Scriptshadow -- continues to disrespect the wishes of the industry.