Taylor SheridanThe writer and co-creator of ‘Yellowstone’ has been highly critical of the executives overseeing Marvel films and modern studio productions. Sheridan expresses his frustration with contemporary filmmaking practices and contrasts them with earlier eras of Hollywood storytelling.Taylor Sheridan explains his approach to screenwriting and what he believes separates quality storytelling from the shortcuts prevalent in today’s entertainment landscape. His comments specifically targeted the storytelling methods employed by Marvel Studios, which is behind major film franchises.
Taylor Sheridan’s basic storytelling philosophy
Sheridan described his approach to screenwriting when he began his career. “What everyone else was doing was taking shortcuts. Basically, breaking all the very basic, fundamental rules of storytelling. Because they couldn’t get their story out,” he said on the Bill Simmons podcast Sunday. Instead of following industry trends, Sheridan focused on what others weren’t trying in their work.He outlines the basic principles that he believes should guide filmmaking. “With a film, you show me what’s going on. The camera is supposed to move the story. The dialogue is supposed to tell me how people in this world feel about what’s going on or what they want to do or what they want to do or what they didn’t do or didn’t do. So, if you stick to that one basic rule, “The camera character can never explain to me that he can show me anything.
The effect of executive involvement on creative work
Sheridan describes the differences in how creative decisions were made in the earlier periods he mentions. “There weren’t endless rewrites. There weren’t meetings with executives about tone and mood and all that nonsense,” he says, contrasting past practices with current studio operations where multiple levels of approval and revisions occur.