AboutRoger S. H. Schulman Expertise I can answer questions on the creative aspects of writing for features and television comedy: brainstorming, character development, plotting, story structure, dialog, rewriting, editing, etc. I can also address the business side of show business: pitching, writing and presenting treatments, "taking" meetings, common pitfalls, etc. I'm also well versed in the relationship between screenwriting and computers: software for scriptwriting, brainstorming, presentation, outlining, an d general organization. I'm also a producer, and so can answer questions regarding the ins and outs of television production, specifically the half-hour arena. Visit my scriptwriting blog at http://scriptwriting.blogspot.com.
Experience I have been working in Hollywood as a screenwriter for both TV and features for many years. I'm an Executive Producer and "showrunner" who has run several prime-time and cable comedies. I've written several featurs and contributed to many more for several major studios.
Organizations Writers Guild of America, West
Publications Newsweek, BusinessWeek, GQ, Connoisseur, UPI, New York Daily News, please visit my blog at http://scriptwriting.blogspot.com
Education/Credentials I have a Masters of Science in Journalism from Columbia University.
Awards and Honors Academy Award Nomination, Best Adapted Screenplay
British Academy Award, Best Adapted Screenplay
NAACP "Image" Award, Best Television Comedy
"Annie" Award, Best Animated Film
Question Hi, I'm writing a very dialogue driven comedy script and when I say dialogue driven I'm saying Gilmore Girls type and I wanted to ask you that since I know it will probably come out to over 140 pages and in actual screen time it would be much less would it be fair to use that option in Final Draft to tighten the format and make it less pages? (My intention right now is specifically for screenwriting contests)
Thank you for your time.
Answer I think it's fair to use Final Draft's "cheating" options to lessen the script length by a few pages -- say, a maximum of 3-5. But the best advice I can give you is to make your script no longer than 120 pages, for real. If you've got several produced scripts under your belt, please ignore this advice. But if you're a relative beginner, the best thing you can do for yourself is discipline yourself! They did it in the 30s and 40s, when movies were stuffed with long speeches. You should be able to do it too, and you'll greatly increase the chances of agents and producers reading it. And you'll make yourself a better writer.
