(Originally posted Monday, May 26, 2008 )
Questions The Film Producer Has That The Screenwriter Didn’t Think Through
–*How are we going to get 100 midgets under water?
–*… with these SAG union rules?
–*Did you secure the rights to use the entire Led Zeppelin IV album during the romantic flashback scene?
–*Is it important to the script that a U.S. postal truck explodes in the background while the two actors are talking about their feelings on motherhood?
–*Have you thought through what would happen if our lead actress is naked in a tank of ice water for 30 minutes?
–*…and discussed it with the union?
–*How does one decorate an interior scene set in “Steve’s mind”?
–*Have you contacted a safety expert to be on set when the open bottle of Midol falls 50 feet from the sky and hits our lead actor behind the left ear at bullet speed?
–*Is it really necessary to put Merle Haggard in a dream sequence to announce the daughter’s first menstruation?
–*…because he’s really expensive and I’m not sure I get the symbolism
–*Have you really thought through the ramifications of landing a British harrier jet in one of the Finger Lakes during the deflowering scene?
–*Are you planning on green screening all of this?
–*Did you really think you could fill the U.S. Congress with water?
–*Are you not aware you can’t film children naked anymore?
–*Not even if they say they don’t mind?
–*Is there any reason that in this scene all the actors are covered in blue paint?
–*Did you budget in a 20-car pileup for this, which I highly doubt we could pay for given that this is a 20-minute Indie being paid for with grant money from the Shriners?
–*Did you not realize that you can’t disembowel a live cat anymore on film?
–*Not even on a boat with Liberian registration
–*…though maybe we could look into that.
–*…and pay a few extra bucks to the ASPCA rep on set.
–*Did you really get money for this script?
–*Have you ever thought of doing something better with that money? Like giving it to starving children?
–*Or Unicef?
–*Or Haiti?
If not, all set then. Our picture is a go!!!
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