This rant isn't to defend the quality of screenplays available on Triggerstreet. That "bad" label can be applied just like you can get away with saying 16 year old kids are bad drivers. Inexperienced and bad kind of go together for many skills. The ability to drive a car on your first try doesn't mean you won't be blasting around the track at Indianapolis someday.
Kevin Spacey uses the metaphor of an elevator being sent back down. I've quoted this several times in defense of Triggerstreet and didn't remember that Kevin used it in discussing the website he founded. I mistakenly believed that it had come from actor, Ben Johnson, but as usual I was wrong. Turns out that the elevator reference actually came from actor Jack Lemmon. But Ben Johnson said something that I really enjoy too but misremembered, I never expected to become a star and was always content to stay two or three rungs down the ladder and last awhile. When I do get a little ahead, I see what I can do to help others.
Here' a photo of Ben Johnson from one of my favorite films, SHANE:
If you become a member at Triggerstreet to download something that you'd like to describe as a "bad" screenplay, I'd prefer that you just stay away. Seriously. Why? It's more than just the shitty karma that you'll bring to Triggerstreet. It's because you don't know what "bad" is in the first place. You can polish a turd and put whipped cream all over it and call it a sundae, but it's shit. However, you could do irreparable harm by labeling a diamond in the rough as "bad" in a review and feel a false sense of superiority in doing so.
Here's the truth about what you encounter at Triggerstreet. If you can understand that the script is a turd or possibly a diamond in the rough and why, you've got a chance to learn something. That means you've grown to understand how to approach screenplays written from different levels of experience and skill. If you can do that, then maybe you can actually learn from reading screenplays of different experience and quality levels.
My own reviews as SRHITE at Triggerstreet tend to be detailed and ruffle a writer's feathers now and then. Some writers don't understand that going into great detail and critical analysis requires an output of time that isn't possible for screenplays of lesser quality. Anything that I think is relevant gets mentioned, if it can somehow make the script better and more marketable. As usual, I can be wrong. I've learned that someone from Hollywood can actually say tell a writer to "send it". Anything I can do to help that writer be successful if that happens is worthwhile.
Some scripts just can't be read with an eye to detail. Maybe at its core the script is absolutely a piece of crap, but maybe not. One of the best scripts I've encountered on Triggerstreet or elsewhere would be considered "bad" by most screenwriters. The writer made the mistake of adding something supernatural to a story that didn't need it. There were other problems with the screenplay, but it had a huge and rough diamond at its core. In a review, I told the writer that I'd love to steal his concept and still have to resist the temptation to do so today. The script disappeared from Triggerstreet, and I'm hoping to one day see that it was polished into the gem it had the potential to be.
Some of the screenplays that are really tough to read tend to have similar problems. A reader can easily become frustrated and label the script as "bad". Like most amateur screenwriters out there, that reader could also tell the writer that he/she will never sell anything or see it even come close to being made into a movie. But maybe you can skim the thing to see what its greatest flaw(s) is/are and identify it/them. Let's say the writer is trying to tell two different stories. If you can see that, then you will know when you make the same mistake. That sounds like learning to me!
I've seen the people who come to Triggerstreet with bad intentions. They're around for a short time and then "poof"...gone! Good riddance. Sometimes they rant on the message board to stir up trouble. Sometimes just to pen a few scathing reviews before posting a polished-turd sundae that is just a piece of shit at its core. In the end, it's all about karma. "BAD" karma.
As for Triggerstreet, I'm in it for the long haul. That means I'll be there as long as they'll have me. Like Ben Johnson, I'll be content to stay two or three rungs down the ladder and last for a while...
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