ABSTRACT
The director’s first challenge is the screenplay. Most screenplays are written only for the eyes of the producer, the studio head, the actor, and the director. Screenplays are difficult because they read like a technical document, relying as they do upon the ability of the reader to “see” the pictures. The difference between the written word and a wonderful film is obvious. The challenge is to create a screenplay that has empathy. A compassionate, caring person is an empathie character who is difficult to dramatize. There are many combinations of traits and changes. The director must know how these combinations affect the audience. The central theme and the motivation of the hero must be inextricably bound up together for the screenplay to have unity. Original screenplays are especially intimidating to the studio executives. Most screenplays are a combination of both inductive and deductive approaches.
