There's an annoying part of the process that usually occurs right now that so far it appears I've avoided. Before writing the script I turned in my treatment. Basically a bunch of story ideas on paper with a plan of how I'm going to get from A to Z. It's the script as a (in this case) 7 page story. Some people just do bullet points or notecards. Some do a very thorough almost mini-novel of about 45 pages. The producer knows exactly what I'm going to write. Then I turn in the script and they don't like it because it lacks surprise. This has happened a couple of times. It's certainly possible that they simply didn't like the script and this is a great all-purpose rejection, but it's a ridiculous note. I'm not going to surprise someone that's already read a full spoiler version of the story.
I was preparing for it here because the film is a thriller with a couple of twists that I wrote about in the treatment. These aren't huge twists you never see coming. In fact, I wouldn't call the script a mystery because that implies there's something to be solved. (While writing I was misdirecting at every opportunity.) I was expecting the note about making the killer someone else to throw the audience or (*gulp*) have it all exist in the mind of the lead character. That has not been the case.
While I'm talking about the Treatment, I'll add that the script doesn't match the Treatment to the letter. While writing, I come up with other ideas or I discover that things I planned on using don't work. There's a lot of room to let the creativity flow, and if I notice I'm moving too far from the spine, the treatment pulls me back to the main path.
@Lobby
The Jeff Goldsmith Podcast is a favorite of mine too. Living in L.A., I can get invited to these free screenings. So far I've only been able to attend 2. One was my worst film of the year (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three) the other was my best (The Artist). Wish I could've gone to the Tony Scott tribute with Tarantino and Richard Kelly. That was a great episode. And you so right about listening to the ones from films you won't see. One of my favorites episodes is with the writer of Good Luck Chuck. Man he got screwed.
@Sam
Been trying to think of visual scripts I've read. I remember The Matrix, but that was so hard for people to grasp they ended up making it into a comic book so Joel Silver could see it. The Brazil script is pretty fascinating to read. I also liked the one for The Fifth Element, which gave a feel for the futuristic world without going into too much detail. I wish the Ink script was online.