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This week's answer:
A
Little Screenplay Knowledge Can Be A Dangerous Thing
Don't fret, Marcus. Some of the
best minds have a hard time coming up with fresh
screenplay ideas. Some say there really are only
seven types of stories that are told over and over
again. (Or was that the number of dwarves? I
certainly wouldn't want to be one of those seven having to
hear the same seven stories over and over again.)
Just so you, Marcus, or anybody else reading this, won't
despair, I'm providing a conversation between two wannabe
screenwriters who are attempting to come up with an idea
for a screenplay below that might give you heart:
A CONVERSATION BETWEEN
TWO WANNABE SCREENWRITERS ATTEMPTING TO COME UP WITH AN
IDEA FOR A SCREENPLAY
Writer#1: So we're
gonna need a heroine.
Writer#2: That's
cool, Man. Drugs are good for demographics.
Writer#1: Not
"heroin." Heroine. With a silent
"e."
Writer#2: That's
cool. Silent "e"'s rule.
Writer#1: And she
will need to be up against something.
Writer#2: She
could be up against a wall.
Writer#1: I mean
she's trying to win against something or somebody.
We have to be able to cheer for her.
Writer#2: So she's
a cheerleader. Cheerleader movies are cool. We
could write a cheerleader flick called, "Bring It
Over."
Writer#1: Let's
try something else. We need to pick a genre.
Writer#2: Whoa,
Man. I don't pick my genre!
Writer#1:
No! Genre. Type. We need to pick the
type of movie we want to write. You know:
comedy, drama, thriller, horror. Like that.
Writer#2: Ohhhh,
right. Okay. Let's make it a horrifying,
thrilling, funny drama.
Writer#1: (sighs)
Let's try something else. Okay, we need a good
villain.
Writer#2: Captain
Hook. He's always giving Peter Pan a hard time.
Writer#1: I mean
we need an original villain. One that will
thwart our heroine every step of the way.
Writer#2: Captain
Hook does that.
Writer#1: She
needs to run into progressively difficult hurtles.
Writer#2: I've got
it!
Writer#1: What?!
Writer#2: She's a
track star. You know... Hurtles.
Writer#1: (bigger
sigh) Maybe we could write "Peter Pan II."
Writer#2:
Yes! "The Return of Captain Hook."
And Wendy's a cheerleader.
Writer#1: (flatly)
Yeah.
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