Last year, a scriptreader read 300 scripts for 5 studios, all the while taking notes on the problems and trends he saw. The number 1 problem? The story started too late in the script.

The scriptreader listed 37 frequently occurring problems, here are the top 20:

1. The story begins too late in the script
2. The scenes are void of meaningful conflict
3. The script has a by-the-numbers execution
4. The story is too thin
5. The villains are cartoonish, evil-for-the-sake-of-evil
6. The character logic is muddy
7. The female part is underwritten
8. The narrative falls into a repetitive pattern
9. The conflict is inconsequential, flash-in-the-pan
10. The protagonist is a standard issue hero
11. The script favors style over substance
12. The ending is completely anti-climactic
13. The characters are all stereotypes
14. The script suffers from arbitrary complexity
15. The script goes off the rails in the third act
16. The script’s questions are left unanswered
17. The story is a string of unrelated vignettes
18. The plot unravels through convenience/contrivance
19. The script is tonally confused
20. The protagonist is not as strong as [he or she needs to] be

In a way, while the information about script problems is helpful, there’s a ton more information included here. Like the fact that 270 of the scripts were written by male writer(s). Or that only 2 scripts took place in outer space. Or that the most common location for these films-in-waiting was “some anonymous small town,” which just narrowly edged out its exact opposite, a place called “New York City.”

So here’s to more space, less anonymous small towns.