What FASCINATES YOU?

No offense but I keep getting emails from readers asking me about a certain concept they want to write about.

About 95% of the time I end up YAWNING…

Why?

Because the concept they try so hard to explain to me is not the kind of concept that’s going to put asses in theater seats.

It’s as simple as that.

Sure… I know there are a number of you out there writing the next great drama about a historical figure… Fine. Do it. I wish you luck as a matter of fact.

But somewhere in that historical drama better be a HIGH CONCEPT.

I’m sure most of us know what HIGH CONCEPT is but just in case you don’t know or are not quite sure…

A HIGH CONCEPT for a movie is an idea that can be explained in one sentence and EVERYBODY GETS IT.

In fact, I would go so far to say, that the person you explain your high concept to should be IMMEDIATELY filling in the blanks of the story before you finish your one sentence.

That’s high concept.

If your story is too specific toward a character or event that nobody knows about, then there better be something HUGE within that story that you can use in your high concept explanation.

On one of my MANY backburners, I have my own historical figure story… I researched the HELL out of that character for months because I think it’s an important story and needs to be told… However, I kept banging my head against the wall because I couldn’t find the high concept within the story.

Then one day at the library… Reading a very obscure book that’s not even about my historical figure, I find out that my historical figure was so renowned in his conquests that the people he conquered loved him so much that they cut off his legs so he could never leave them.

BAM! There was my high concept. Only problem… It happens at the end of the story and it’s not the kind of thing you want to include in your logline because then, there is no surprise… But not a problem, I have since figured that out and created my high concept logline that everyone will get about this idea. I wish I could share it but alas… The internet is just a little too informative if you know what I mean… LOL.

My point here being that the story and this character FASCINATED ME. Everything I read about this character made me want to read more. At times, I found myself wondering what it would have been like to be him.

So what FASCINATES you? What makes you sit up and take notice? Whatever that THING IS, might be the very thing you need to write a screenplay about. This is where passion comes in and often, passion is passed on through to the written page… Even if you’re a newbie trying to break in with your spec.

To take this further… You’ve got to find OR create the HIGH CONCEPT in your idea and eventually, your screenplay so that you’ll be able to explain it to me in one sentence. I also want to start filling in the blanks of your sentence before you’re finished telling me about it… I want to be able to conceive your concept on my own. In fact, whatever I come up with in my own mind doesn’t even have to be in your screenplay! That’s right… All your idea has to do is slap the shit out of my synapses and then my brain will do the rest…

Then of course, I will WANT to read your screenplay and that’s what it’s all about, right?

I keep talking to screenwriters writing a spec horror screenplay only to tell me that the reason they’re writing it is to hopefully make a sale because horror is hot.

That makes ME want to slap the shit out of their synapses… LOL.

DON’T DO THAT!

Don’t do that unless horror (or whatever you’re writing) is your PASSION!

I also run into writers who want to write in every genre… They don’t want to be pigeonholed into a type of genre so they experiment with the others…

Uh, okay. Go ahead. You’re making it easy for guys like me to specialize in thrillers and horror. I would personally rather be known as the GO TO GUY (don’t worry, I’m not but I’m working on it) for horror and thrillers rather than the guy that was able to write ten different so-so specs across ten different genres.

Don’t get me wrong… I’m not telling anyone NOT to write across genres… I think it’s our DUTY to learn about all the genres but ya know… It’s taken me YEARS to learn about thrillers and horror and I still don’t know everything… I’m learning new stuff every day. I cannot imagine trying to learn every aspect of all the genres right now.

WHY?

Because I LOVE horrors and thrillers. They are MY passion. I could die happy writing nothing but horrors and thrillers. Maybe that will change one day… I don’t know but for now, I have my hands full with these two genres.

Which brings my rant to screenplay contests…

First of all, I have nothing against these contests. Go for it if that’s something you want to pursue but let me ask one simple question…

Are you writing screenplays to enter screenwriting contests or are you writing screenplays to eventually sell and have produced?

For those of you that answered “to enter screenwriting contests” –cool. Keep writing and good luck with that!

For those of you that answered “to sell a fucking screenplay” –keep reading…

I think the biggest crime of these screenwriting contests are how they perpetuate the IDEA that screenwriters trying to break into the business do not have to come up with a high concept idea. One day about a year ago, I did a couple of hours worth of research to see what kind of screenplays were winning contests… By and large, most were small little character driven stories. A lot of them were local historical figures.

By and large, 99% of these screenplays haven’t been made into films.

By and large, 99% of these screenplays haven’t been sold.

There, I said it. To add fuel to the fire of this conundrum, many of these winning screenwriters are still churning out similar screenplays and wondering WHY nobody’s interested.

I will be the first to admit that these types of screenplays will definitely serve as writing examples but to be honest, I wouldn’t want to be known as the GO TO GUY for writing a passionate screenplay about a local historical figure without a high concept.

Now, I’m going to DUMP the last bit of gas on this fire…

This problem just perpetuates itself. By that, I mean that these are the very same screenwriting contests that almost seem to PENALIZE those screenwriters that do have and submit a high concept screenplay i.e., they don’t win, place, or show.

Of course I’m not naive enough to lump in every screenwriting contest out there but again, by and large, this seems to ring true.

Bottom line?

Now maybe I’m wrong so please feel free to slap the shit out of my synapses if I am…

But with the proliferation of screenwriting contests out there and of course the screenplays that win, are these competitions simply perpetuating non high concept screenplays that will never get made let along sold?

Do other newbie screenwriters research these contests and winners and relegate themselves to writing similar fare?

I don’t know… I’ll let you figure it out for yourself…

What fascinates YOU? Find out what that is and then find or create the HIGH CONCEPT within that fascination.

Unk

July 27, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized

9 Comments

Outline your favorite movie…

Okay, so I’m in Scottsdale, Arizona for the last couple of days in meetings… Still here, leaving tomorrow morning. The day I arrived, it was 118 degrees…

The motel I’m staying at has an outdoor swimming pool open 24-7 for those of us that are volcanically (is that a word?) challenged.

Only problem is that I go outside, jump in the friggin’ pool and it’s like jumping in the fucking bathtub! A bathtub full of hot water.

You gots to love it…

So I got bored last night er uh… early this morning… and hungry.

I got in the car and drove around looking for something to eat… For Phoenix being such a large area, you’d think more places would be open at 3:00 in the morning… I drive around listening to talk radio… I hear a story about a couple of Phoenix serial killers… One is called the Baseline Serial Killer and guess what? I just happen to notice I’m driving on Baseline Road in Gilbert, Arizona… LOL.

Not a problem however because underneath my seat is my .45 automatic. I’m the kind of guy that gets into mischief without really trying. Some of the shit I’ve inadvertantly gotten myself into would make your head spin… Hence, the weapon.

Don’t worry… I’m licensed. In fact, I hope to never have to pull it but I have no problem doing so.

Back to the driving… I end up on Gilbert Road in Gilbert, Arizona… Nothing open until I happen on a little Mexican Food drive-thru. I drive up and yeah, Baby… It’s open! I stop at the menu board and holy shit… I’m like a kid in a candy store but because it’s so late and I’m so hungry, I just order a Carne Asada Burrito for $3.60 and don’t expect much.

I pay… Open up the bag… This thing is a friggin’ MONSTER! Not only that, but it is unbelievably good and that’s not just because I was hungry… In fact, I could only eat half and since my room has a little fridge, I ate the other half this morning.

What’s this got to do with screenwriting?

Not a fucking thing.

Except… While I was out, I remembered how I tend to make notes on index cards while I watch a DVD or videotape and it occurred to me that when I get back home, I need to pull several movies worth of cards out for a quick run-through to help me on my rewrite because of similar situations.

Then it hit me… The blog.

Just like copying someone’s screenplay can do wonders for taking you inside the brain of the screenwriter who wrote it, creating scene by scene index cards of movies can help you learn to outline your own screenplay ideas.

In a nutshell…

1) Have about a hundred blank index cards handy and a pen or pencil that’s in good shape and something to write on.

2) Play your DVD and have your remote handy.

3) Now just watch ONE SCENE AT A TIME and press the PAUSE button.

4) At the top right hand corner of your first index card, write a “1″ and circle it.

5) Now, at the top of the card, in as few words as possible, and in ONE SENTENCE, write down what happened in JUST THAT SCENE.

6) On the bottom line or two of the card, write down the CONFLICT of the scene… i.e., which character wants what and which character is keeping the other character from getting it and who WINS. Remember, this is simply for the context of that particular scene and not the story.

7) Do this for the rest of the scenes in your movie and finish.

Once you’ve done this exercise a couple of times; on average, it’s going to take you about an hour longer than the actual movie runs… Don’t get rid of these cards, file them away for future use.

The more you do this exercise, the easier outlining your own screenplay idea is going to be. You’ll absorb a certain sense of structure. You’ll inherently start to know when certain things need to happen. You’ll know what scene cards you’ve just created depict certain structural elements/devices in those films.

If you’re like me and really love movies, you’ll HOPEFULLY find it as fun as I do but as a learning tool, you should definitely give it a try.

Start out with your favorite films and or ones that you are really familiar with; eventually moving on to some classic films that you should know as much as possible about to build your foundation of screenwriting knowledge.

Unk

July 24, 2006 | Filed Under Uncategorized

9 Comments