John asks:
I'm sure you've heard this before, but I think I've come up with a genuinely original take on the
Die Hard sub-genre.
My question is if you'd consider this sub-genre of movie still viable or even attractive in this day
and age, or whether they're an inherently dated form. I'm sure you get to read many such scripts and
wondered if you had any advice, especially with a female protagonist.
If it's good, it's viable. It's true that it's possible for a particular flavor of sub-genre to wear out its welcome. But if it's a really good script, it'll sell. Don't forget that OLYMPUS HAS FALLEN and WHITE HOUSE DOWN both were variations on the Die Hard formula and they sold within weeks of each other.
The female protagonist thing is inevitably going to provoke the question, "Does it have to be a woman? Can it be a man?" It's ridiculous that that's still a common response in this day and age, especially when Gravity has been flying high at the box office, toplined by a 49 year-old woman. You'll probably be given some nonsense about how foreign sales will be easier with a male lead, but then remember that at least two companies that we know of are working on some variation of "Female Expendables."
My pet theory is that when executives resort to those easy (and outdated) reasons for passing on a spec, what they're really saying is "I don't like this enough to make it." They're not passionate about it. Maybe they see a few elements that could sell tickets, but the script just didn't blow them away. But they have to say something. They have to give a reason why the script isn't good for them.
I've you've got an idea that truly is that brilliant and writing that just leaps off the page, once you get it into a few people's hands, you'll probably be able to gauge their passion for it. I'm sure that within the next year, we'll see at least one sale of a script that can be described as "Die Hard in a..."
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
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ReplyDeleteWhat about "twist" endings? Is that an overused idea? I would guess that if the story is crafty enough, it's probably gold. That said, is there a large volume of scripts where more effort is put into the surprise than everything that comes before it?
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ReplyDeleteUnless it's a beat cop stuck in an office building being assaulted by terrorists and they have to smoke him out before he foils their plan, then do it. Every story has been told a million times but try not to retell the same exact story. Die Hard authors don't have copyright on a whole idea. Dress it up in different clothes and write the hell out of it.
DeleteAs for the twist endings, they have to make sense and they have to provoke that "holy shit / ah ha!" feeling. Otherwise you feel cheated that you were led through an hour an a half just so the writer can go,"but this happens, fooled you." That sucks.
"My pet theory is that when executives resort to those easy (and outdated) reasons for passing on a spec, what they're really saying is "I don't like this enough to make it." They're not passionate about it."
ReplyDeleteThis is the most important thing that new writers need to learn. You can take an genre that everyone says is dead (Westerns) and write an incredible script that people are fighting over. You can also come up with a concept that is totally original and perfect for them moment, but if it isn't well written, no one will care. You have to write a script that the reader just can't put down. That's all that really matters.