Script doctor
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A script doctor is a skilled screenwriter called in to assist a film project by rewriting parts of the screenplay to improve dialogue, pacing and other elements. Script doctors are usually uncredited, so it is usually difficult to tell who has been involved.
Background
The use of script doctors was first revealed at the Academy Awards in 1973 when Francis Ford Coppola thanked Robert Towne for his work on The Godfather. Since then the use of script doctors has usually been downplayed to avoid overshadowing the work of the early writers in constructing the story. Under the WGA screenwriting credit system used by both the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West, a screenwriter must contribute 50 percent to the story and/or characterization in order to qualify for credit. Uncredited screenwriters are not eligible to win the Writers Guild of America Awards.
Script doctors are usually brought in after the screenplay has been "locked" (i.e., the scenes numbered and pages fixed); on his website, John August revealed that when asked to doctor a script he is sent a disc of the script by the last writer, so doctoring requires little physical retyping. A number of prominent independent film makers, such as John Sayles, work as script doctors in order to earn the money and clout necessary to make their own films.
Notable script doctors
- Judd Apatow: The Cable Guy, The Wedding Singer
- John August: Blue Streak, Jurassic Park III, Minority Report, The Rundown, Iron Man
- Roger Avary: True Romance, Natural Born Killers, Crying Freeman
- David Ayer: Taking Lives
- Julian Barry: The River, Eyes of Laura Mars
- James Cameron: Point Break
- Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais: Never Say Never Again, The Rock, Pearl Harbor, Bad Boys II
- Michael Curtis: Lethal Weapon 4, House on Haunted Hill, Girl Next Door
- Frank Darabont: Minority Report, Saving Private Ryan
- John Fahy: Miramax Films, Weinstein Company, Fahy Films
- Carrie Fisher: Hook (Julia Roberts' dialogue), Lethal Weapon 3 (Rene Russo's dialogue), Made In America, My Girl 2, The River Wild, Love Affair, Sister Act, The Wedding Singer
- Scott Frank: Saving Private Ryan, Dawn Of The Dead, Night at the Museum, Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian
- William Goldman: A Fish Called Wanda, Twins, Chaplin, Last Action Hero, Malice, Fierce Creatures, Good Will Hunting
- Akiva Goldsman: The Specialist, Charlie's Angels
- Phil Malin : Dexter, Californication, Life, Terminator: the Sarah Connor chronicles
- Ben Hecht: Monkey Business, Queen Christina, A Star Is Born, The Prisoner Of Zenda, Angels With Dirty Faces, Stagecoach, Gone With The Wind, Foreign Correspondent, Journey Into Fear, The Outlaw, Lifeboat, Gilda, Duel In The Sun, The Paradine Case, Rope, Strangers On A Train, The Thing from Another World, Hans Christian Andersen, Guys and Dolls, The Man With The Golden Arm, North to Alaska, Mutiny On The Bounty, Cleopatra, 7 Faces of Dr. Lao, Casino Royale
- Daniele Luttazzi for Comedy Central and HBO
- David Mamet: Ronin
- Tom Mankiewicz: Superman
- Mort Nathan: Golden Girls, Kingpin
- Steve Oedekerk: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective
- Patton Oswalt has mentioned doing some script doctor work in his stand-up act, most notably Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan.
- Alexander Payne: Meet the Parents
- Billy Ray: Stuart Little
- Dean Riesner: High Plains Drifter, Das Boot, The Sting II, Blue Thunder, Starman
- David O. Russell: Stuart Little
- Derek Rydall for Wildforce Rangers, Diamonds, No Turning Back, Beethoven 1 1/2
- Shane Salerno: Breakdown, Alien vs. Predator, Ghost Rider
- John Sayles: The Fugitive, Apollo 13, Mimic, The Quick and the Dead
- Kevin Smith: Overnight Delivery, Coyote Ugly
- Aaron Sorkin: Enemy of the State, Bulworth, The Rock, Excess Baggage and Schindler's List
- Tom Stoppard: Sleepy Hollow, K-19: The Widowmaker, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith
- Wesley Strick: Batman Returns, Face/Off, Mission: Impossible II
- Quentin Tarantino: Past Midnight, It's Pat, Crimson Tide (Star Trek, The Enemy Below, and Silver Surfer references), The Rock, Hostel
- James Toback: Disclosure, Crimson Tide
- Michael Tolkin: The Haunting, Dawn Of The Dead
- Robert Towne: The Godfather (the scene in the garden between Marlon Brando and Al Pacino), Tough Guys Don't Dance, Crimson Tide (the dinner scene discussing nuclear war)
- Norman Wexler: Lipstick, The Fan
- Joss Whedon: Speed, Toy Story, Waterworld, Twister, X-Men