I tend to agree with @Mudd on this topic. Part of the problem is that fanfilm makers aren't necessarily qualified to judge what makes a script "good" and often ask for changes or just rewrite things to make things happen in the story that they want, often heedless of if it's helping the story or not. I heard some horror stories from Carlos Pedraza and the late Dave Galanter.
And, writers being/have been "pro" doesn't guarantee a good script, especially when there's no one at the top of the production who understands good screenwriting or cares. I used to friendly argue with Greg Schnitzer (RIP) about this.
Which relates to the teamwork aspect of making TV and movies. Whenever I go through the Roddenberry papers and look at the memos and notes on scripts I'm reminded how much the Bird contributed to making the stories work. I was just reading his memo to Coon on "Arena" and his suggestions were mostly implemented and made that script better. Justman, Fontana and Coon all had good ideas, but page for page in feedback, the Bird really shaped the show. He really understood what made it work, which is ironic because couldn't seem to see those same flaws in his own work.
And, writers being/have been "pro" doesn't guarantee a good script, especially when there's no one at the top of the production who understands good screenwriting or cares. I used to friendly argue with Greg Schnitzer (RIP) about this.
Which relates to the teamwork aspect of making TV and movies. Whenever I go through the Roddenberry papers and look at the memos and notes on scripts I'm reminded how much the Bird contributed to making the stories work. I was just reading his memo to Coon on "Arena" and his suggestions were mostly implemented and made that script better. Justman, Fontana and Coon all had good ideas, but page for page in feedback, the Bird really shaped the show. He really understood what made it work, which is ironic because couldn't seem to see those same flaws in his own work.
