Fan Film Ideas Used in Pro Productions - Page 4

DS9Sega · November 9 2009, 12:55 AM

Barbreader wrote:

I disagree. I've written stories that are coherant, and not classifiable in that way without distortion, but people always comment that if would be better if... then they rewrite it to fit that mold. I wrote a play that focused on two platonic friends and his journey to self-acceptance, but everyone who saw it wanted me to get rid of the platonic woman friend and focus on , 'the love story'... his relationship with his girlfriend. She was a user, but because she was his love interest they also saw her as beautiful, sweet and wonderful, and disliked the platonic friend even though I showed her behavior as kind and generous, and the instructions for casting said she had to be at least as attractive as the girlfriend. The girlfriend attacked her without cause, the platonic friend turned the other cheek since from her standpoint it wasn't a competition, but people didn't see the girlfriend as nasty, lying and manipulating. They believed her and all the nasty stuff she said, without any justification, about the platonic friend.

You're confusing plot complications with theme. What's the story about? Jealousy? Acceptance? Friendship? Man vs. himself? Those are the basic stories of which there are a limited number.

Dennis · November 9 2009, 01:29 AM

Heinlein maintained that there were only three basic stories: The Little Tailor, The Man Who Learned Better, and If This Goes On...

I think someone codified all plots into a system of thirty-six. That's all I remember about the effort.

Barbreader · November 9 2009, 02:51 AM

I would pretty much have to lay out my whole play to explain it. One of the things about it was that it played on how different groups use the same language to mean different things so that people would leave believing they had seen a play with different endings, and in fact different stories. At any rate, I agree that it didn't hold the audience's interest, and I had, in the end, agreed that to sell it, I'd have to rewrite it into a love story, boy and girl meet and fall in love with the idea of each other, but don't have a clue about who they are or who the other one is, they each go through a journey of self-discovery in which she, the 'together' one, discovers that her self-imagine is based on false information, and he works through his issues, and does a 180. They have, in fact, far more in common than they thought, but that's not a happy situation, as each wanted to escape who they thought they were. However, because of their different backgrounds, it ends with both believing they will remain together, but each misunderstanding the language so that each thinks things are moving toward a compromise in their own direction... they are really just on a train heading for a cliff. The real issue is, do they get off it before it goes over the cliff (e.g., they break up, the happy ending) or do they go over the cliff first (maybe even have kids to screw up). That's the simplified, love story version. I like my old version where that's just the background story and his platonic relationship, which is a real, solid relationship based on trust, is the central relationship, but people just don't like to watch that.

RobertMfromLI · November 12 2009, 07:02 PM

DS9Sega wrote:

You're confusing plot complications with theme. What's the story about? Jealousy? Acceptance? Friendship? Man vs. himself? Those are the basic stories of which there are a limited number.

"Those are the basic stories of which there are an INFINITE number, just as life has proven, since (as only ONE example) the players on the stage of life are also a big part of what makes the story matter, and (as another example) how they learn from each and deal with each differently is another important factor."

There, fixed that for ya!

Dennis · November 12 2009, 08:30 PM

I'm pretty much with Willa Cather: "There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before."

DS9Sega · November 14 2009, 10:51 AM

RobertMfromLI wrote:

DS9Sega wrote:

You're confusing plot complications with theme. What's the story about? Jealousy? Acceptance? Friendship? Man vs. himself? Those are the basic stories of which there are a limited number.

"Those are the basic stories of which there are an INFINITE number, just as life has proven, since (as only ONE example) the players on the stage of life are also a big part of what makes the story matter, and (as another example) how they learn from each and deal with each differently is another important factor."

There, fixed that for ya!

If by fixed you mean missed the point...

Barbreader · November 14 2009, 02:09 PM

I still say people confuse the stories people want to hear from just stories... or they are defining what is a story to fit their criteria.

Sharkey · Yesterday, 06:36 AM

Coming late to this thread, I can't believe I just read all 4 pages ... since there really is only half a page of discussion repeated six or eight times.

A highly successful producer once told me, the truest mark of a beginner [screenwriter] is paranoia.

Dennis · Yesterday, 09:09 PM

Sharkey wrote:

A highly successful producer once told me, the truest mark of a beginner [screenwriter] is paranoia.

And the truest marks of a long-time screenwriter are multiple alimony payments and a nasty drinking problem.