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Wed, 26 Sep 2007 16:13
So you’re sitting in your favorite hang out – maybe it’s a diner, maybe it’s the pub down the street. You’ve finally written some of that new screenplay of yours. You know, the one that’s been brewing for a long time, and you’ve finally figured it all out, with or without our ‘small’ lectures here. Treat yourself to a drink. Right now.
You’ve printed the 40 or so pages you wrote. 40 pages, not bad. A lot more than you might have expected. The opening plays like gangbusters. Your first image is one that no one has ever seen. The first act crackles with great character intros and dialogue. And you’re well into Act Two by the time you put the pages down and take the next sip. Then it dawns on you…
You still have 80 pages to go. You start to sweat. Did you blow all your energy and inspiration on the beginning? The panic sets in. Are you good enough to keep going?
An understanding of the parts of a screenplay just isn’t enough to stay the uncertainty of ‘what comes next’. And sometimes the uncertainty becomes insecurity, or even fear. No one’s immune to it. Even the pros will go through moments of panic. So what can you do?
First, STOP WRITING. That’s right. You heard me.
It's not that radical. Your brain needs a rest. Even the most hardcore gym rats will take a rest day after punishing themselves with unthinkable workouts. Let those creative muscles relax. Call up your best mate and turn that solitary drink into some quality time. Your significant other that you've been neglecting? Buy her some flowers or take him out for some karaoke. You remember what's best... we hope.
But the more pressing issue at hand here. What IF you're empty? What if your muse has left and now that lush land of ideas you've been pillaging has turned into a desert of cliches and hackneyed concepts?
Well, sorry to say, we don't really have any romantic suggestions for you to get your inspiration back. This is when screenwriters have to get down and dirty and jump feet first into the slop known as 'finding your template', 'borrowing' or (if you're going to call a horse a horse), 'stealing'.
CROSS POLLINATION...
We've all heard about the Hollywood pitch: "SO... I've got an idea about 'LETHAL WEAPON' meets 'THE COLOR OF MONEY', with a little hint of 'THELMA and LOUISE'. It should be another 'BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN' at the Oscars, or at the very least make 'THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST' kind of money." (Great! Sign the dotted line...)
It's no accident that other movies are mentioned in pitches. Whether or not you see elements of previous films in your script before or after the writing process, they will eventually become self-evident. So sometimes we cut to the chase and go looking for what our own story reminds us of. That twist in your drama when the main character finds out his father's really not his father... yeah, it's been done before. But how? And how can you exploit that to your benefit by either embracing it or avoiding it?
Directors have very little problem stealing, er, 'paying homage' to their favorite films. And has it worked? Sure. The best of the best have found their own voice while learning the language of film. Without Rossellini, there would be no Scorsese. Without Scorsese (and Altman for that matter), where would Paul Thomas Anderson be? [I've truncated this paragraph for your benefit, because these lists can get long.]
Screenwriting is a different monster, and screenwriters can feel more of a pressure to do something 'unique'. The script is the beginning of the film. And the writer feels incredible responsibility and pressure to deliver something that feels fresh and not derivative. So our natural instinct is to try to do this in a vacuum. Cut off all ties, outside noise, and retreat into the world of the script. And in a romantic view, that is the way things should be, but we, the writers, do not live in that romantic world. We live in an incredibly practical one.
The way to make your script work is to look at other films. Read those screenplays. Watch them over and over. You're writing a drama about a dysfunctional family where a primary character becomes terminally ill? Watch 'TERMS OF ENDEARMENT' or even 'STEPMOM'. Admire or hate those movies, but learn from them. Take with you those moments that move you, and more importantly, those moments that made you roll your eyes. The character in your script may follow the same structure and get ill in the second act, much like these films, or maybe you will decide to have the character get sick in the first act - but then you should reference films like 'MY LIFE WITHOUT ME' and so forth (yes, it never ends).
An encyclopedic knowledge of film works (like it did for Tarantino), and so does enthusiasm and curiosity for What Has Come Before. What is troubling is we're beginning to forget our film history. We're beginning to forget our 'ROMAN HOLIDAY's and our 'SUNSET BOULEVARD's. Film history did NOT Begin in the 1970's, and an 'old film' is not 'TITANIC'. And 'CASABLANCA' was ONLY made in 1936, OK? So feel free to start studying at the beginning of the century and pay a little respect will ya?
And most importantly: it's up to you to achieve the greatness your predecessors once did. They did it. Why can't you?
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