War for the Planet of the Apes - Script Study

Film: War for the Planet of the Apes 

Screenplay by: Mark Bomback & Matt Reeves

The fun starts when two writers join forces to write a screenplay. When they work on the film separately, their names are joined by “and”. When they work together their names are joined by an ampersand (“&”). When two co-writers work together on a script you can be sure that the screenplay will be very kinetic and visual.

Writing with a partner is a different sort of work-flow as the two creators need to converse through quazi-devils advocate, debate, verbal joust, miming, competition, and self-policing in order to accurately communicate their individual vision and consolidate their ideas into one best option in order to form a coherent story.

Instead of a single writer developing the film in their head, two creative’s must express their thoughts clearly to one another and this is usually best done through very visual communication which requires a strong communal language and patience. Even non-verbal communication such as eye contact, facial expressions, gestures, body language, and para-linguistics plays a more prominent role in transmitting ideas between two creators. This visual communication often translates into the words chosen to craft the script in the form of dynamic cuts, vibrant word choice, and written camera angles all connected by precise action lines that root both the reader and the other writer into the moment. 

Writing in tandem is a dance between two minds, solidifying and distilling their communal language and the language of the film into a sequence of 12-point Courier characters. The final effect is a very visual read that carries an air of tight pacing and the odd camera movement as found in War for the Planet of the Apes. I personally enjoy co-writing, it also makes the process exponentially faster. You get instantaneous feedback in the form of your co-writer. Think about that...