March, 1998
by Robert Moritz

There are two type of people in the world: Those who watch the Academy Awards to see what Cameron, Sharon, and Whoopi are wearing, and those, like me, who sit transfixed and declare to an empty room, "I could do that!" Meaning: We, too, could pen heartwarming tales of breakdancing chickens and crime-stopping monks. We would-be auteurs know that our Brentwood compound and E! channel guest spots are just a studio-optioned screenplay away. Problem is, even the most viable action-adventure concept ("Think The First Wives Club meets Deliverance! ") won't get out of the agency mailroom if it's not professionally presented. Cut to: Final Draft from Final Draft, Inc. (800-231-4055). The word-processor-style program makes formatting a script a no-brainer (perfect for Hollywood's current intellectual climate): It supplies shortcuts to autoinsert everything from page and scene numbers to dialogue (e.g., "It's not you, it's me. I'm not attracted to you"). Other nifty features include SmartType lists that memorize characters - so you need never type "Thug #2" or "Homicidal Maniac" twice - and a Scene Navigator that prints the script shot-by-shot onto index cards. Collaborators can easily swap files between a PC and a Mac. At $250, Final Draft isn't cheap, but then again, neither is fame.