John August

Genres

You only have to destroy the Death Star

Genres

Something I try to remind myself when writing epic-themed stories — which is a lot, recently — is that my hero doesn’t have to fix The Big World Problem by the time the end credits roll. Rather, he just needs to achieve the small, specific goal I’ve set out for him. He only has to destroy the Death Star.

Yes, that task should be exceedingly difficult. But it’s several orders of magnitude away from The Big World Problem.

Darth Vader and the Empire are still very much kicking at the end of A New Hope. Nazis are alive and well at the end of Raiders, The Guns of Navarone, and every WWII epic you’ve seen. By the end of The Matrix, Neo has learned something of his powers, but the world is largely unchanged.

In fact, the rule seems to be that it’s only at the end of a trilogy that the hero really transforms the world. And you don’t get to make a trilogy unless the first one works. So make the first one at human scale.

Should I write a straight-to-DVD knockoff?

Film Industry, Genres, QandA

questionmarkI have a friend who is high up in a production company that specializes in straight-to-DVD low-budget versions of blockbuster movies. As a joke I pitched him a few ideas. Well, he loved them and asked me to write up the scripts.

On the one hand, this could be a great step in the right direction for my career in writing. It would mean getting some real credits to my name. On the other hand, I am afraid I would be labeled as a hack for writing this type of knock-off movie.

So my question is: Which is better? Getting my foot in the door with a bad movie, or hold on to my integrity and look the gift horse in the mouth? Could a bad movie credit hurt your chances in the future?

— Rob
Wilmington, Delaware

James Cameron directed Piranha Part Two: The Spawning. Everyone starts somewhere.

Yes, sure, it would be great if your first paid writing job was a quality movie at a reputable studio, complete with WGA coverage. But don’t turn up your nose at actual paid writing for a company that makes movies. You probably don’t want to make schlock for a living, but you can learn a lot even while making less-than-awesome movies.

Do it. Make it as good as possible for the genre. Then use it as a foothold to reach higher.

Tony Gilroy in The New Yorker

Film Industry, Genres, Story and Plot

The New Yorker has [a terrific article](http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/03/16/090316fa_fact_max) by D.T. Max about screenwriter Tony Gilroy, whose films range from Dolores Claiborne to The Bourne Identity to Michael Clayton (a [personal favorite](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2007/michael-clayton)).

I particularly liked his discussion about the challenge of writing a thriller:

> Gilroy believes that the writer and the moviegoing public are engaged in a cognitive arms race. As the audience grows savvier, the screenwriter has to invent new reversals—madder music and stronger wine. […]

> “How do you write a reversal that uses the audience’s expectations in a new way? You have to write to their accumulated knowledge.”

Definitely worth a read.

Pride and Predator

Genres

Readers sometimes ask for a good definition of “high-concept.”

[This](http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118000187.html?categoryid=13&cs=1) is what I mean:

> Will Clark is set to direct “Pride and Predator,” which veers from the traditional period costume drama when an alien crash lands and begins to butcher the mannered protags, who suddenly have more than marriage and inheritance to worry about.

Not to be confused with Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is also high-concept, and sounds similarly awesome.

Not every high-concept idea is a [mash-up](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2008/charlie-brown-postmodern), but every mash-up is inherently high-concept: the premise is the reason it exists. That doesn’t make it good or worthy or successful, but it’s easily summarized.