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This looks like a standardization of the way that screenwriting is done, rather than a revolutionary change in the way screenwriting is done. When I opened the

This looks like a standardization of the way that screenwriting is done, rather than a revolutionary change in the way screenwriting is done. When I opened the .fountain file, I half-expected to see XML litter the place :-D I could see myself writing a screenplay using this - and a really positive thing is that it imposes a framework on how I should be writing one. (I've tried multiple times, believe me) Am really curious: what's the plan to foist this onto the Hollywood screenwriters?

ecopoesis 11y ago
There are tools that let you convert Fountain to Final Draft (the due facto standard) and back, so I don't think foisting is needed.
PopeOfNope 11y ago
I'm not sure why this is making the front page of HN now. It's been around since 2012 and it's predecessor was around for a year or two before that. When they started, they advertised it as markdown for script writing (in fact, it extended a format literally called 'screenplay markdown'). It's not really a standardization of anything. If anything, it's a vast departure from the standard way of formatting scripts (which is to just use Final Draft). One of the driving forces behind fountain was the ability to write screenplays on the iPad. This was back when Final Draft was dragging their heels about releasing an iOS version. Anyway, I doubt they have a plan to 'foist' this on anyone. It's another way to write screenplays that still produces what everybody expects to read: pdfs and final draft (fdx). There are a number of other formats that do this. I used a LaTeX extension at one point (but I don't recommend it).
Joeboy 11y ago
> This looks like a standardization of the way that screenwriting is done I don't think many people have written scripts in plain text since they stopped using typewriters.
- scandox 11y ago
  Tarantino writes in long hand http://allwomenstalk.com/interview-with-grindhouse-director-quentin-tarantino http://allwomenstalk.com/interview-with-grindhouse-director-...
  - omaranto 11y ago
    So you're saying he's yet another example of a screenwriter who doesn't use plain text computer files for his screenplays?
    - scandox 11y ago
      What I'm saying is that the process doesn't matter.
- toyg 11y ago
  I Am Not A Screenwriter, but from what I've seen circulating in fandom over the years, most professionals write plaintext-over-MSWord or plaintext-over-FinalDraft. The result is pretty much just plaintext, once it's printed out (which it will be).
  - Joeboy 11y ago
    Oh yes, what screenplays look like is very standardized and hasn't changed much for the best part of a century.
jonnathanson 11y ago
"Am really curious: what's the plan to foist this onto the Hollywood screenwriters?" Final Draft is the industry standard at the moment, and it has been for 20-odd years. To disrupt it, you could explore certain channels: dedicated websites and communities for writers; USC, NYU, and other film schools; or get studios and and agencies to accept it, which is ultimately where you need to win approval to get adopted as a standard. In any of these scenarios you'd probably need Final Draft import/export compatibility to get started and minimize switching costs.
- petegrif 11y ago
  There is absolutely NO incentive for anyone to change. The valued added (if any) is not large enough to change established practices.
  - runevault 11y ago
    Not totally true, based on everything I've heard FD is a pile of crap that chugs, crashes, and can eat your file. Mind you that hasn't stopped it from remaining on top for now, but I would not be surprised if it stops being the default in the next 5-10 years.
    - toyg 11y ago
      From a cursory read of its website, it looks like a pre-internet app, basically a glorified text editor. There are zero network-enabled features. The only groupware-oriented feature is coloring pages differently if someone else edits the document. There is plenty of scope for disruption here. The only "key feature" they have is that everyone in Hollywood uses FD. They say so themselves on their website! The "Key features" screen does not list any actual feature, it's just a list of variations on the concept that "everyone in Hollywood uses FD". In that sense, the main challenge is clearly political rather than technological.
      - runevault 11y ago
        Colored pages isn't about group editing per se, it is an artifact of not being able to change page numbers to avoid screwing with the shooting script. Instead you have like page 5 and then 5 red that is the extra page.
iamsohungry 11y ago
> This looks like a standardization of the way that screenwriting is done, rather than a revolutionary change in the way screenwriting is done. Yes, and this is exactly how a standard should be. A markup language is the text equivalent of a user interface. It's well-known that good user interfaces for an existing task work with users' previous workflow, even to the point of including skeuomorphs as cues. A good markup language is one that makes minimal change to the user's existing workflow. XML is terrible. It's not nearly as human-readable as it promises to be, nor is it as computer-readable as it promises to be.
- xaduha 11y ago
  It didn't promise anyone anything. It's a direct descendant of SGML, there were existing tools and use cases, you know.
quietpipper 11y ago
> Am really curious: what's the plan to foist this onto the Hollywood screenwriters? Fountain was created by an A-list screenwriter, John August, who's written Big Fish, Go, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and many others. He's pushed it pretty hard on his podcast, Scriptnotes.

ecopoesis 11y ago

There are tools that let you convert Fountain to Final Draft (the due facto standard) and back, so I don't think foisting is needed.

PopeOfNope 11y ago

I'm not sure why this is making the front page of HN now. It's been around since 2012 and it's predecessor was around for a year or two before that. When they started, they advertised it as markdown for script writing (in fact, it extended a format literally called 'screenplay markdown'). It's not really a standardization of anything. If anything, it's a vast departure from the standard way of formatting scripts (which is to just use Final Draft). One of the driving forces behind fountain was the ability to write screenplays on the iPad. This was back when Final Draft was dragging their heels about releasing an iOS version. Anyway, I doubt they have a plan to 'foist' this on anyone. It's another way to write screenplays that still produces what everybody expects to read: pdfs and final draft (fdx). There are a number of other formats that do this. I used a LaTeX extension at one point (but I don't recommend it).

Joeboy 11y ago

> This looks like a standardization of the way that screenwriting is done I don't think many people have written scripts in plain text since they stopped using typewriters.

scandox 11y ago
Tarantino writes in long hand http://allwomenstalk.com/interview-with-grindhouse-director-quentin-tarantino http://allwomenstalk.com/interview-with-grindhouse-director-...
- omaranto 11y ago
  So you're saying he's yet another example of a screenwriter who doesn't use plain text computer files for his screenplays?
  - scandox 11y ago
    What I'm saying is that the process doesn't matter.
toyg 11y ago
I Am Not A Screenwriter, but from what I've seen circulating in fandom over the years, most professionals write plaintext-over-MSWord or plaintext-over-FinalDraft. The result is pretty much just plaintext, once it's printed out (which it will be).
- Joeboy 11y ago
  Oh yes, what screenplays look like is very standardized and hasn't changed much for the best part of a century.

jonnathanson 11y ago

"Am really curious: what's the plan to foist this onto the Hollywood screenwriters?" Final Draft is the industry standard at the moment, and it has been for 20-odd years. To disrupt it, you could explore certain channels: dedicated websites and communities for writers; USC, NYU, and other film schools; or get studios and and agencies to accept it, which is ultimately where you need to win approval to get adopted as a standard. In any of these scenarios you'd probably need Final Draft import/export compatibility to get started and minimize switching costs.

petegrif 11y ago
There is absolutely NO incentive for anyone to change. The valued added (if any) is not large enough to change established practices.
- runevault 11y ago
  Not totally true, based on everything I've heard FD is a pile of crap that chugs, crashes, and can eat your file. Mind you that hasn't stopped it from remaining on top for now, but I would not be surprised if it stops being the default in the next 5-10 years.
  - toyg 11y ago
    From a cursory read of its website, it looks like a pre-internet app, basically a glorified text editor. There are zero network-enabled features. The only groupware-oriented feature is coloring pages differently if someone else edits the document. There is plenty of scope for disruption here. The only "key feature" they have is that everyone in Hollywood uses FD. They say so themselves on their website! The "Key features" screen does not list any actual feature, it's just a list of variations on the concept that "everyone in Hollywood uses FD". In that sense, the main challenge is clearly political rather than technological.
    - runevault 11y ago
      Colored pages isn't about group editing per se, it is an artifact of not being able to change page numbers to avoid screwing with the shooting script. Instead you have like page 5 and then 5 red that is the extra page.

iamsohungry 11y ago

> This looks like a standardization of the way that screenwriting is done, rather than a revolutionary change in the way screenwriting is done. Yes, and this is exactly how a standard should be. A markup language is the text equivalent of a user interface. It's well-known that good user interfaces for an existing task work with users' previous workflow, even to the point of including skeuomorphs as cues. A good markup language is one that makes minimal change to the user's existing workflow. XML is terrible. It's not nearly as human-readable as it promises to be, nor is it as computer-readable as it promises to be.

xaduha 11y ago
It didn't promise anyone anything. It's a direct descendant of SGML, there were existing tools and use cases, you know.

quietpipper 11y ago

> Am really curious: what's the plan to foist this onto the Hollywood screenwriters? Fountain was created by an A-list screenwriter, John August, who's written Big Fish, Go, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and many others. He's pushed it pretty hard on his podcast, Scriptnotes.