BoF #42 – Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader with Howard Casner

Welcome back to Business of Film, episode 42. Today we are joined by Howard Casner, screenplay reader for contests such as Slamdance and Final Draft and author of Rantings and Ravings of a Screenplay Reader.

This episode was tons of fun. Howard reads somewhere between 300-400 screenplays a year for contest. And when you read that many screenplays you can’t help but learn what’s working and what not.

What are the triggers that make you want to continue on?

What makes you mentally pass on a script after just a few pages?

At what point in a script has Howard made a decision?

These are all facinating insights to learn because it helps you understand the mechanics of someone who is in the trenches. Things you thoughts weren’t issues, are actually big problems.

Here are some of the things we talk about in this episode:

– What grabs a reader?

– Character vs. Plot.

– On formatting… take note of this… very, very important.

– The biggest conlict in the decision making process, and I guarantee you won’t believe the answer.

We hope you enjoy this episode. Please leave us a review on iTunes, it really helps, and we appreciate it. We’ll even send you a digital muffin.

Also, if you have any comments or questions, just write’em below or find us on Twitter.