[Quick Summary: When Ben, a diehard Red Sox fan, meets Lindsey, a competitive banker, they learn what it is like to manage love with the baseball season.]
A tip for screenwriters: Sometimes what you write on the page is great and makes a point, but on film, it's too predictable.
(In other words, be flexible. Directors may change things for a good reason.)
For example, in this script, Ben does not know Lindsey well yet. She is sick at home, so he picks up a video to make her feel better.
Her favorite film is "Young Frankenstein." He picked up "Young Frankenstein" just by chance!
As a reader, one would think, "Awww, isn't that sweet? They have the same sensibility. They are meant for each other!"
However, the directors felt it was too "on the nose." They kept the scene, but changed the video title.
ex. "He PICKS UP a Blockbuster Video bag.
LINDSEY: What's that?
BEN: Oh, I rented some movies in case you woke up. Not in case -- I knew you'd wake up. I meant, in case you woke up in the middle of the night.
LINDSEY: Anything good?
BEN: Uh...mostly animated pornography from Japan.
She LAUGHS.
BEN (CONT'D): And a few things I like.
LINDSEY: Like what?
BEN: Well, things I watch when I'm sick.
LINDSEY: With me it's "Young Frankenstein."
He looks STUNNED.
LINDSEY (CONT'D): What?
He takes a copy of "Young Frankenstein" out of the bag.
LINDSEY (CONT'D): ...spooky."
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: To be honest, I'd have written it the exact same way. The scene doesn't convey the same meaning with two different films.
However, I also think the directors made the right change for film.
This is a great example of how a script is a blueprint to get a point across, but the actual execution may be different.
Fever Pitch (2005)(10/18/02 draft)
by Lowell Ganz & Babaloo Mandel
Based on the novel "Fever Pitch" by Nick Hornby and the 1997 film "Fever Pitch", screenplay by Nick Hornby
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