SCREENWRITER'S QUIZ - ANSWERS

 

1) What is the acceptable length of a screenplay submission for a feature film?

 

B: 90-120 pages

 

 

2) Which one of these movies best epitomizes the basic concepts of screenwriting?

 

D: Treed Murray - Force your protagonist into a tough position, up a tree, then throw rocks at him, then get him down.

 

 

3) Where do you put character descriptions and backstory?

 

C: Not at all.  A screenplay only contains what the Viewer sees or hears.

 

 

4) Match the quote to the author:

 

A=Michael Hauge

B=Michael Blake

C=Syd Field

D=J. Aldric Gaudet

E=Robert McKee

 

 

5) Match the screenwriter with the screenplay.

 

A=Richard Matheson - This film launched Steven Spielberg's career.

B=William Goldman

C=Charlie Kaufman

D=Richard Curtis

E=Martin McDonagh

 

 

6) Which famous movie was stalled during production while scenes were rewritten to satisfy one of its actors?

 

B - Steve McQueen stopped production to have Hilts' role in the escape rewritten.

 

 

7) Which of these directors started out as a screenwriter?

 

E: All of the above.

 

 

8) A properly formatted page of screen play has:

 

C: Lots of white space.

 

 

9) What is the purpose of dialogue?

 

F: All of the above, although the number one purpose of dialogue is to move the story forward.

 

 

10 What is the basic rule regarding scene energy?

 

D: Open and close with reverse energy.  Simply put: If a scene begins with good energy, then it should end with bad energy, and vice versa.

 

Writing is a learning coordination; the more you do the easier it gets.

 

A film editor once told Syd Field that within the context of the story "the sequences tried that don't work are the ones that tell you what does work."