Our hero has two nemeses: Our “B-story bully” (someone who makes fun or causes trouble in our hero’s day-to-day life) and our “A-story bad guy” (the real nemesis within the true plot of the film). Ideally, our hero’s ability to overcome the A-story bad guy is able to make the B-story bully a joke and our hero can overtake him without hesitation (in a nonviolent, outsmarting way … one that promotes good values). Perhaps our hero defeats our B-story bully by inviting him into the Crime Stoppers’ or Treasure Hunters’ Club?
Our hero must have a love interest—it could be the girl in the trio, or it could just be a cute neighbor down the street, but there is someone whom he longs for, who certainly pays attention to him at the end of the film after our young hero saves the day. It could be fun if she’s been interested the whole time, only our leading young man didn’t know how to respond, but at the end he’s developed the confidence to show her what he’s made of… . But again, just like the tween romance, the most action these youths are going to get is at most a quick peck on the lips.
Our hero boy’s interest in the beginning of the film is what he’ll end up living out as his adventure. Meaning, for our crime stoppers storyline, our young hero already has an interest in detectives or police officers from the beginning… . That way, when he sees an opportunity to live out his fantasies in real life, he’s already prepared. In our treasure hunters surfing-chimp example, our young boy would already have a huge interest in surfing, that way he’d be up to speed about the local competition long in advance… . Perhaps he’s even been training for it, but got injured (and using the chimp is the maverick move to secure the treasure).
Remember logistics! These kids cannot drive, so you’re going to need to think through how our characters are logically getting from point A to B; whether they sneak off during a class field trip, or they’re able to get to their destination on foot or by bike, how they arrived has to make sense… . Otherwise, one of them needs to be able to convince his mother to drive them, for which any mother would ask way too many questions.
The theme is a valuable lesson. Whether we’re focused on crime not paying, respecting authority, or being kind to those different than ourselves, you need to treat the playing rules of this genre type as if they’re the principles of Cub Scouts or some other youth organization. The idea that if we work hard and follow the rules, we’ll succeed is very appealing to this demographic (and to their parents, who will be buying/renting this content for them).
You can see that there’s a great deal of latitude within this genre type. Again, the idea here is to fully immerse yourself into a youthful state of mind and start asking yourself about all those imaginative fantasies you had… . The ones in which you were asked by the fire department to assist in a dangerous rescue, or where the CIA landed a helicopter on your playground and needed your help. Take The Adventures of Tintin (1991–1992), breed it with The Young Indian Jones Chronicles (1992–1993) and make the hero your young fifth-grade self, living out those crazy adventures for real. The most important rule is keep it safe and logical… . After that, have fun!
For real examples, check out: Junior High Spy (2011), Monster Mutt (2011), or Sam Steele and the Junior Detective Agency (2009).
Why Not Horror?
Horror is a very underrated and popular genre for films, but that doesn’t make it a wise choice for your spec script.
This is the one commercial genre that most newbies feel semi-comfortable attempting—because they feel as if they’re allowing themselves to write commercially while not becoming a sellout. As a result, there’s a huge surplus of horror scripts, most of them following gimmicks or trends (such as the zombie films mentioned earlier)… . Whenever there’s a surplus, all candidates in the same category get judged more harshly.
Horror scripts do hold strong value; if you have a great idea for one, it’s definitely worth pursuing—just don’t use horror as your out-of-the-gate spec script. Hold onto your idea, wait until you have a little clout or some trusted contacts before pulling a horror film out of the woodwork.
But You Presold a Disaster Film… .
9.6 Mega-Tsunami was a disaster film, that’s true. But our company had our disaster films streamlined from beginning to end. We were never speculative with these films; we only produced them if they were commissioned from us (meaning there were clients out there willing to pre-buy the rights).
At that same company, we attempted to sell numerous disaster films (probably three times the number we actually produced) that never got traction in the marketplace. When disaster films work, they work really well… . But they’re volatile, and far from being considered a stable or reliable standard.
The gold-mine genres are your real ticket in; they have worked consistently for decades as a proven need in Hollywood. Stick to those.
I’ve Been Told to Write “High Concept”
The phrase “high concept” gets thrown about constantly and it seems to be the “in” thing everyone in Hollywood is looking for—so what is it?
At first glance, most people apply the term “high concept” to big-budget summertime blockbusters, the ones with superheroes or epic space battles. More recently, the phrase became a generic way of instructing screenwriters to write bigger-budgeted ideas, but in a way that can be shot for cheap.
The truth is that a “high concept” movie is nothing more than a very simple idea that can be explained in a clear, concise way. Go back to our classic creature feature Alien: The title is clear, so is the poster. Even better, so is the pitch: “Jaws in Space.” Brilliant. All the information you need to know about the film is laid out in front of you.
The idea of high-concept films isn’t new; Hollywood has always had an intense appetite for them… . But it’s becoming more common for pretentious types to use this phrase in all the wrong ways, saying things like “I’m trying to write more high-concept scripts” or “You should be writing more high-concept ideas if you want to get an agent.”
So what does it really mean? And if Hollywood is looking for these high-concept ideas, shouldn’t that be what a novice writer turns in rather than these gimmicky gold-mine genre types?
Truth is, these gold-mine genre types are high-concept films. Again, a high-concept idea is a movie based on a very simple premise that is clearly summarized by its poster and its pitch. Yes, big-budget films meet these demands, but a family Christmas dog adventure does as well. Picture it: A poster with two good-looking people, a Christmas tree, and a golden retriever wearing a Santa Claus hat is extremely clear… . You know exactly what you’re getting. Add a title as simple—and adorable—as Santa Paws (a real movie) and you’re set. Same holds true for all the gold-mine genres.
A high-concept movie is a sellable movie, one that is straightforward and has a secured audience out there ready to watch it. It’s a film that is instantly identifiable by its poster and offers audiences exactly what they’re expecting from it. It has nothing to do with its budget or theme. If a film has a concise concept targeted towards a secured audience, then it’s hedged against risk—meaning producers and distributors feel more comfortable investing money to make it.
High concept does not mean bigger and bolder; it means simple, clear and sellable.
Writing for Universal Appeal
The most important thing to remember, regardless of which of the gold-mine genres you pursue, is to keep the story, the characters, and the theme you’re presenting as honest to your experiences as possible. Agents, producers, and production companies are not just evaluating your script for the U.S. market, they are thinking global! They are very excited to find scripts based on the above genres, but they’re even more apt to green-light you if your script can be understood universally, so keep that perspective in mind as you draft out your ideas.
Not everyone on the planet understands Thanksgiving, but everyone celebrates New Year’s. If your story involves sports, try to avoid highly regionalized sports like baseball or American football and instead u
se a sport that’s popular worldwide, like basketball or soccer. Remember Clint Eastwood’s Nelson Mandela/rugby film Invictus (2009)? They got away with it since it was a studio film based on a true story… . But I certainly had no idea what was happening during the climax of the final game. And since you’re not being commissioned by Eastwood to draft a script, you need to appeal to the entities looking to evaluate your talents.
Despite the simplicity of each gold-mine genre type (and how visually they put a poster image into your mind), they also hit at very approachable themes, understood by everyone. The family Christmas dog adventure is really about connecting with family and finding new love (very warm and fuzzy emotions, and adding the dog just makes it even more heart-warming). The woman-in-peril thriller explores deeply rooted fears, not just how frightening it is to feel vulnerable and victimized, but how emotionally shattering it is to realize the very system that’s supposed to help you is also protecting the enemy. The family-safe tween romance explores all those early and exciting rushes of first love that helped shape the adults we would all grow up to become. The creature feature is all in the subtext. And both the aged name-actor comeback action film and the young boy’s action/adventure film explore a male’s desire to do the right thing while living out a fantasy of saving the day.
Everyone, regardless of gender or nationality, understands these feelings and emotions. We’ve all felt them one way or another. Take a look into your own life and experiences, ask yourself when you’ve felt any of the above, then ask yourself “What if?” What if you’d made a different choice? What if you could go back and stop yourself from making the decision you did? What if things had been different?
Asking these questions and using your personal experiences will allow you to find which of the six genres best works for you as a writer. Also, by asking these questions of yourself, you will avoid many pitfalls found in first-time scripts, such as clichés, forced resolutions, and illogical character progression. In addition, getting real about yourself and your own past experiences will create those magic movie moments that truly do strike a chord in both script readers and audience members alike.
Three
Writing Your Feature-Length Spec Script
In this chapter, we’ll outline how to transform an idea into a market-ready spec script—one that showcases your talents while also proving you’re a writer who “gets” what Hollywood needs. We’ll lay off heavy emphasis on formatting and instead discuss how to write a spec script that will stand out to those tasked with reading it.
The Hardest Part About Screenwriting
You would think the hardest part about screenwriting would be getting someone to see your talent, believe in your potential and give you that first professional break… . But in truth, the hardest part about screenwriting is just getting someone to actually read your script from beginning to end.
The good news is that the very people who have the power and means to give you that first big break are actively looking for quality scripts from talented writers. (They want to find you; their jobs depend on it!) The bad news, however, is that in order to find those quality scripts and writers, they must accept unsolicited material—which means their offices get bombarded with dozens (if not hundreds) of scripts from wannabes every single week!
With that kind of volume rushing in, agents, producers, and development executives have all learned they can save a lot of time searching for that next great script by first weeding out all the bad ones. But take a moment to understand what this really means: In order to weed out bad spec scripts, those tasked with reading all those submissions are much more focused on finding mistakes rather than discovering potential. The faster an individual reading a script can find something they don’t like about it, the faster they can put it down and move onto the next one.
We all know the first ten to twelve pages of a spec script are crucial, but your work is being judged before it is even opened… . But have no fear, because getting someone to read your script from cover to cover is not a matter of luck; it’s a matter of strategy.
Getting Past the Reader’s Desk
No executives in Hollywood want to read scripts… . Again, it’s nothing personal; they simply don’t have the time! Besides, there are so many non-gold-mine genre type scripts to sift through—which simply clog up the system—that agents, producers, and development execs are completely burnt out.
So, they delegate this task by hiring staff members to read all the submissions and filter out the good from the bad. Once these “readers,” as they’re known, are finished with each script they write-up a three to four page synopsis and sum the whole thing up with a one-word ranking: “Pass,” “consider,” or “recommend.” This process is called “writing coverage,” or simply “covering” a script. (I’ve provided a sample of this Coverage in Appendix I.)
Studios generally employ card-carrying unionized readers to cover their scripts (who are full-time, salaried employees with benefits packages); however, for an unknown writer submitting an unsolicited “foot-in-the door” spec script (like you), your work will not get to the studios… . It will instead enter the topsy-turvy world of the independents. Unlike the studios, independent talent agencies and production companies have much tighter budgets and prefer free labor (or, at best, extremely cheap labor)… . So, they hire interns to be their readers and train them on what to look for.
Interns are generally nineteen to twenty-five-year-olds with very limited professional experience who are trying to gain their own first break in the business. Despite the fact that most of these interns are unpaid, still in school, and have zero experience in any professional sense, these are the individuals who have been granted exclusive permission to decide whether your script should be “considered” or “recommended” to those with the power and means to professionally represent or produce it—meaning, by default, interns hold the power to rank your worth in Hollywood.
But coverage doesn’t just “pass,” “consider,” or “recommend” the script; there’s also a section where the reader must evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the writer. If a reader decides to reject your script, they still have the ability to “recommend” you as a potential future writing candidate—which would certainly give your name more clout the next time a producer or development exec is in need of a writer to commission.
Don’t falsely assume that this “fact-of-Hollywood” is just for the newbies. Even if you have a few legit contacts in the business, having your script vetted by a reader first is almost unavoidable. And if a spec script comes in that’s highly “recommended” (even written by someone an agent, producer, or development executive knows well and trusts), there’s still a high probability they’ll hand off the burden of reading it and wait for the coverage. They don’t do this because they are self-righteous or callous; they do this because they are busy!
So for you and your spec script, there’s really no way around the reader’s desk. Readers are the ones for whom you are really writing… . Avoiding this reality does not make it go away, but accepting it (and working with it) does get you one step closer to your first green light.
Taking Back Control
Intern-level readers are usually either aspiring screenwriters or pro- ducers—generally in film school working for class credit while attempting to make a few professional connections on the side. The great part about these readers is that they’re very eager to experience and contribute to the real working world of Hollywood… . And for you there is an added silver lining; readers truly do want to be the one to have discovered that next great script—which means they will attempt to read your entire screenplay (because it is their job to do so).
The downfall is readers are human. I see them arrive in our offices every day, dressed to impress, ready to take on a new stack of scripts and hammer out their coverage to “wow” their bosses. But the hours drag by, their energy gets low, and as the day comes to a close they’ve lost that good posture and their eyes grow
red and distant from sheer exhaustion. Reading five or ten scripts a day (500 to 1,000 pages) is a heck of a lot of work by itself, but remember they have to write three to four pages of coverage for each script on top of that!
Personally, I would like to believe that if I were in their shoes I could maintain the composure (and decency) to evaluate each new spec script with an open mind and an attentive focus… . But I know I wouldn’t be able to. If I’m really honest with myself, I know that after a few hours, I’d stop reading each script word-for-word and simply start skimming the pages. After a few days, I too would start looking for mistakes in each script just so I could put it down and move onto the next one. After a few weeks, I think I’d start to feel madness at just the sight of the words “FADE IN.” (And readers have stacks of scripts to go through each day …)
You as a writer have no control over where your script will fall in that stack or what time of the day your reader will pull yours from the pile. (You also can’t control whether your reader has just been dumped by their college fling, is suffering a hangover, or is more interested in flirting with the cute intern next to them—all of which I’ve seen.) I wish your spec script would simply get the respect it deserves… . It won’t.
Don’t get huffy about the cruelty of the system (a wannabe move), because there is a way to take back control from this unfortunate reality and proactively shape your spec script with a “reader-conscious” contingency built in. How? It’s actually quite simple: Write a spec script that makes the reader’s job easier. In short: Readers want a very clear-cut script, in a style that’s easy on their eyes, one they can follow even if distracted or tired, which allows them the ability to write coverage in a relatively easy way—and that’s precisely what you’re going to write for them.
Writing for the Green Light Page 9