Back when I worked in the music industry I came to realize that even the best musicians in the world can not save a bad song.
The same holds true in movie making.

A good or bad script will, literally, make or break a movie. Let me put it to you another way... Nothing can save a bad script. Period!

So what's a good script? Hard to say sometimes.

Here's a basic structure to help you out.

On a structural level -

1. You should have easily identifiable heroes with clearly defined goals.

2. They should have to fight against "something" to reach those goals.

3. They should fight to a breaking point where it looks like they will never reach them. (Goals, as in life, can change.)

4. Then, there should be a grand finale where, through personal growth, they discover the big weakness or secret behind the opposition that allows them final resolve.

5. Ending with our heroes fairly, or unfairly, compensated for their efforts.
90 pages = 90 minutes.

You can structure your screenplay into three acts to make it simple. I use the film, "Back to the Future" as the perfect example of a three-act story...

First act- We are introduced to the characters and their motivations. We are given a barrage of "setups" which will help things make sense later in the film.

Second act- An abnormal event occurs and our hero begins his journey... Now, think of the story as an obstacle course where each obstacle is a situation to be dealt with, sometimes with help from the setups in the first act. At the end of the course he must face the biggest, baddest obstacle of all. He will conquer this final obstacle with all he has learned from the other obstacles and maybe a setup or two. This is called...

Third act- ...The grand finale! Your third act can either begin before, or after, the grand finale depending on how long your "wrap up" needs to be. The wrap up finalizes the story and tells us how everyone and everything turns out.

One small tip- Movies are a "visual" medium. The dialogue should be there to move the story forward. True, you want to entertain and develop your characters, but do it with action whenever possible. That's it! I can't stress this enough. Don't throw in a bunch of babble, babble, babble just to fill up pages. It will only bog down your story.

On an emotional level - Don't fake it. The big budget bureaucracy, more often than not, emotionally sterilizes a movie while focusing on formula. You may actually have the advantage here if you keep it “real in the feel.” I don't believe you can write a good screenplay or song with contrived emotions. You should truly care about your characters and the theme of your story. Anger, hate, love, fear, happiness; Get out of your head and into your soul. FEEL SOMETHING!

On a marketing level - Sex, action, gore, violence, disturbing situations and humor are all exploitive elements that sell!

"No way," you say. "I'm a creative genius! My screenplay is about a young man's personal exploration of his emotions as he experiences a journey through adolescence into manhood and how the social stigmas effect....

HOLD IT! God, I'm bored already. An investor would be a fool to support your project because it's a money pit! Few people will rent it and even less will buy it. Sorry, (please don't kill the messenger) that's the real world.

Putting aside all necessary elements and fragile egos, you should let others read your work and ask for their honest opinion. We're not talking about your parents and siblings who have an ingrained, bias view of you and anything you do. We're talking about outsiders. You know, the people you hope will see your movie. Let 'em check it out.

One more word of advice... Be careful who you let know about your ideas. People will steal an IDEA quicker if it’s not part of a completed screenplay.

Once you have a good idea, then act on it! Write the damn script. The dumbest idea you can ever have is one where you wait to let someone else ACT ON IT!

Has this ever happened to you? Think about it.