Michael Quinn
  • About
  • Critical Influences
  • Quinn on Books
  • Gay Sensibility
  • Script Doctor
  • Essays
  • Interviews
  • Contact

Michael Quinn

  • About/
  • Critical Influences/
  • Quinn on Books/
  • Gay Sensibility/
  • Script Doctor/
  • Essays/
  • Interviews/
  • Contact/
Hollywood Collage Photo Credit Michael Quinn.jpeg

Michael Quinn

Script Doctor

Michael Quinn

  • About/
  • Critical Influences/
  • Quinn on Books/
  • Gay Sensibility/
  • Script Doctor/
  • Essays/
  • Interviews/
  • Contact/

Drawing on my experience as a reader for Paramount, I examine films that almost worked: diagnosing what they were reaching for, where they fell short, and what might have saved them. Often I consider what a remake could do differently. All in one hundred words.


May 11, 2026

"Three on a Match" Could Still Spark

May 11, 2026/ Michael Quinn
"Three on a Match" Could Still Spark

A pre-Code melodrama about female friendship has the makings of a great contemporary remake set in the fashion world.

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May 11, 2026/ Michael Quinn/
character study, classic hollywood, script doctor, women in film, feminism, gender politics
Three on a Match, Mervyn LeRoy, Ann Dvorak, Joan Blondell, Bette Davis, pre-Code Hollywood, classic Hollywood, Warner Bros., 1930s film, women in film, melodrama, female friendship, Hollywood remake, Script Doctor
April 09, 2026

"Brewster's Millions": The Hard Cost of Easy Money

April 09, 2026/ Michael Quinn
"Brewster's Millions": The Hard Cost of Easy Money

What if the financial windfall wasn’t a blessing but a curse?

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April 09, 2026/ Michael Quinn/
script doctor, cultural criticism, classic hollywood
film, film criticism, script doctor, remake, Brewster’s Millions, 1940s film, excess, consumerism, family, domestic life, narrative structure, capitalism
December 15, 2025

"Young at Heart": Make Your Own Kind of Music

December 15, 2025/ Michael Quinn
"Young at Heart": Make Your Own Kind of Music

A stiff family melodrama about a musical family finds new harmony when the three daughters work out their daddy issues through their relationships with men.

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December 15, 2025/ Michael Quinn/
classic hollywood, musical, script doctor, women in film
September 01, 2025

"King Kong": Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves

September 01, 2025/ Michael Quinn
"King Kong": Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves

A feminist reimagining sees the patriarchy as the real monster.

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September 01, 2025/ Michael Quinn/
character study, cultural criticism, film review, horror, script doctor, women in film, classic hollywood

Contact the Script Doctor to give a second opinion.

 

Script Doctor collage credit: Michael Quinn

© 2018-2026 Michael Quinn