Scriptbook
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A Ben Affleck flop inspired this script-reading robot
The process used to create a major motion picture hasn't changed much in a century. Someone has an idea that they turn into a screenplay, which is then edited, developed and handed to a director, who brings it to life. The only difference now is that there's plenty more focus-grouping, audience analysis and number crunching to ensure each film is a hit. Except that doesn't really work, since 2016 alone has seen scores of movies unceremoniously crash and burn. But maybe that will change with ScriptBook, an algorithm that its creators say can spot most turkeys before they've even been made.
Can a screenplay algorithm save Hollywood?
Hollywood may be full of focus groups and statistical analysts, but deciding which movie to back still comes down to the gut feeling of a cigar-chewing studio mogul. Now, a Belgian startup is hoping that its algorithmic script-reading software can know, with a far greater certainty, if a screenplay is going to be a success or not. ScriptBook is the brainchild of Nadira Azermai, who plans to unleash the software to the public for the first time at next February's Berlin Film Festival.
