The worst screenwriters thread

^well, he's also the brain behind gems like Elektra and The Fantastic Four
 
If Paul W.S. Anderson wrote AVP 1 and 2 and RE 1,2,3 he is the worst.
I mean there is an underground pyramid that shifts in the antarctic in AVP 1!?!?!?

Whoever writes the dialogue in the Ep. 1, 2 and 3.


Did Zak Penn do the line from X-1 "Do you know what happens to a Toad when it is struck by lightening? The same thing that happens to everything else."-that my friends is the worst line in cinematic history.
 
If Paul W.S. Anderson wrote AVP 1 and 2 and RE 1,2,3 he is the worst.
I mean there is an underground pyramid that shifts in the antarctic in AVP 1!?!?!?

Whoever writes the dialogue in the Ep. 1, 2 and 3.


Did Zak Penn do the line from X-1 "Do you know what happens to a Toad when it is struck by lightening? The same thing that happens to everything else."-that my friends is the worst line in cinematic history.
That line was written by Joss Wheaden, a man who just barely can't be placed in this list.
 
The thing to understand about Goyer when it comes to the Blade movies (and basically any movie he's done) is that you need the right director to sell the movie based on the script. Goyer's problem is partially bad writing, but moreso the fact that he's an awful director! He's good and coming up with ideas, but he doesn't quite know how to present them. The first two Blade movies worked because the director's were people who understood how to process his ideas into something resembling a cohesive narrative, and furthermore had a remarkable visual sense. The Blade movies have very dynamic looks, and the visuals do really tie into how the story unfolds in certain ways. Moreso than Ang Lee, when he tried to do that damn comic panelling in Hulk, Norrington and Del Toro, knowing that they wanted to do comic book movies moreso than just a film based on a comic book, knew how to make their films visually involving, while competently incorporating narrative elements. The Reapers in Blade 2, that's all Del Toro. Goyer had an idea of what he wanted, but he didn't have the first clue of how to get that idea across visually.

Goyer had some interesting ideas in Blade Trinity, but he didn't have the visual sense to get those ideas across. Furthermore, just as an all-around filmmaker, his choises were atrocious. His casting of that entire film was ridiculous, and he ignored the continuity he helped develop on several occasions. Screenwriting's the least of my problems with Goyer.

What about Erhen Krueger. He's not that great while left to his own devices either.
 
The people from the Scary Movie/Disaster Movie/Date Movie series. Hands down. There's pandering, and then there's pandering.

It's unfair to lump Penn and Kinberg together. Kinberg has his moments.

Akiva Goldman is not bad, he is really more of a mixed bag.

Agreed. I wouldn't begin to call him a "bad" screenwriter. His Batman movies were exactly what he was asked to make them, campy and action-oriented.

Goldsman is like David Koepp; They do a serveable job but they're not risktakers.

Few truly successful writers are risk takers. Few movies are risk takers, for that matter. That shouldn't be enough to condemn a writer as "bad".
 
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The people from the Scary Movie/Disaster Movie/Date Movie series. Hands down. There's pandering, and then there's pandering.

It's unfair to lump Penn and Kinberg together. Kinberg has his moments.



Agreed. I wouldn't begin to call him a "bad" screenwriter. His Batman movies were exactly what he was asked to make them, campy and action-oriented.



Few truly successful writers are risk takers. Few movies are risk takers, for that matter. That shouldn't be enough to condemn a writer as "bad".

After X3 Penn and Kinberg deserve the labels. I also fear for the Avengers since Penn is writing the script. As good as the Incredible Hulk is, I hate the fact that Penn got full writers credit when Norton wrote a good chunk of the script as well.

So yes, Penn and Kinberg deserve to be lumped together. Kinberg has no redeeming qualities and anyone who feels he does needs to watch X3 again.

As for Scary Movie? The first two were written by the Wayans Brothers if I'm not mistaken so they were actually funny, once they left the franchise just went down the drain.
 
The thing to understand about Goyer when it comes to the Blade movies (and basically any movie he's done) is that you need the right director to sell the movie based on the script. Goyer's problem is partially bad writing, but moreso the fact that he's an awful director! He's good and coming up with ideas, but he doesn't quite know how to present them. The first two Blade movies worked because the director's were people who understood how to process his ideas into something resembling a cohesive narrative, and furthermore had a remarkable visual sense. The Blade movies have very dynamic looks, and the visuals do really tie into how the story unfolds in certain ways. Moreso than Ang Lee, when he tried to do that damn comic panelling in Hulk, Norrington and Del Toro, knowing that they wanted to do comic book movies moreso than just a film based on a comic book, knew how to make their films visually involving, while competently incorporating narrative elements. The Reapers in Blade 2, that's all Del Toro. Goyer had an idea of what he wanted, but he didn't have the first clue of how to get that idea across visually.

Goyer had some interesting ideas in Blade Trinity, but he didn't have the visual sense to get those ideas across. Furthermore, just as an all-around filmmaker, his choises were atrocious. His casting of that entire film was ridiculous, and he ignored the continuity he helped develop on several occasions. Screenwriting's the least of my problems with Goyer.

What about Erhen Krueger. He's not that great while left to his own devices either.

Which begs the question why the hell did New Line allow him to direct???
 
The people from the Scary Movie/Disaster Movie/Date Movie series. Hands down. There's pandering, and then there's pandering.

It's unfair to lump Penn and Kinberg together. Kinberg has his moments.



Agreed. I wouldn't begin to call him a "bad" screenwriter. His Batman movies were exactly what he was asked to make them, campy and action-oriented.



Few truly successful writers are risk takers. Few movies are risk takers, for that matter. That shouldn't be enough to condemn a writer as "bad".

Which is funny I can watch Flash Gordon aka Super Camp all day long yet cant stomach Batman Forever for no more than an hour:o
 
Goldsman did some great ones. A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man. You can't just think he's a bad writer because of BF and B&R? They were meant to be cheesy and light. He did what they asked for. But not what we did.

I love Koepp's work. He's one of my favorites. He was the first writer that I took note of at such an early age. An age I was too young to understand a script and it's dialogue. It's his great sense of humor that really brings the characters to life in different and unique ways. Look at Jurassic Park. Malcom's speech about intervening into the past is perfect.
 
Goldsman did some great ones. A Beautiful Mind and Cinderella Man. You can't just think he's a bad writer because of BF and B&R? They were meant to be cheesy and light. He did what they asked for. But not what we did.

I love Koepp's work. He's one of my favorites. It's his great sense of humor that really brings the characters to life in different and unique ways. Look at Jurassic Park. Malcom's speech about intervening into the past is perfect.

Koepp is decent...I love the Shadow and JP his Spider Man is so so:o
 
Koepp is decent...I love the Shadow and JP his Spider Man is so so:o

You prefer The Shadow over JP and Spider-Man. :huh: It had such a cheesy screenplay. And Baldwin didn't help it. I was surprised to see Koepp was attached to it.
 
George Lucas
Mark Steven Johnson
Quentin Tarantino (100% serious)
Seth Rogan
Paul WS Anderson
Zach Braff (Loser from Scrubs)
 
So yes, Penn and Kinberg deserve to be lumped together.

Umm...why, exactly?

Kinberg has no redeeming qualities and anyone who feels he does needs to watch X3 again.

It's incredibly ignorant to believe that every bit of X3 is Simon Kinberg's doing. Hell, after reading scripts from both writers, you can more or less watch the movie and pick out what he wrote, and what Penn wrote. Hint: The stuff Penn wrote involves "fanboy moments and juvenile dialogue", and the stuff Kinberg wrote is a bit weightier.

Obviously I am referring the parody movies, not just the Scary Movies themselves.
 
Umm...why, exactly?



It's incredibly ignorant to believe that every bit of X3 is Simon Kinberg's doing. Hell, after reading scripts from both writers, you can more or less watch the movie and pick out what he wrote, and what Penn wrote. Hint: The stuff Penn wrote involves "fanboy moments and juvenile dialogue", and the stuff Kinberg wrote is a bit weightier.

Obviously I am referring the parody movies, not just the Scary Movies themselves.
X3 is tight and furthermore The Shadow is the hottest movie out in the summer of 1994 according to my estimations.
 
Can't there be a best screenwriters thread. There's always the "worst of" threads. Isn't it better for people to discuss their favorite writers than endless bashing we've already heard?
 
Can't there be a best screenwriters thread. There's always the "worst of" threads. Isn't it better for people to discuss their favorite writers than endless bashing we've already heard?

Because we're in it for the fun of criticize things :woot:

(yeah, I started with because--even though you didn't asked why--it's the Gordon complex)
 

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