John August

Genres

No, Mr. Bond. I expect you to die!

Genres, Resources

james bond
Following in the spirit of the earlier article about how difficult it is to [destroy the world](http://johnaugust.com/archives/2005/to-do-destroy-the-world), here’s Peter Anspach’s [Evil Overlord List](http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html), a useful checklist of good advice for any super-villains you may be writing.

As you go through the list, it’s alarming how many uber-villains manage to fall into the same traps. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here’s just a sampling of the wisdom the thinking-ahead madman can apply:

  1. My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through.
  2. When I’ve captured my adversary and he says, “Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?” I’ll say, “No.” And shoot him. No, on second thought I’ll shoot him then say “No.”
  3. One of my advisors will be an average five-year-old child. Any flaws in my plan that he is able to spot will be corrected before implementation.
  4. If an attractive young couple enters my realm, I will carefully monitor their activities. If I find they are happy and affectionate, I will ignore them. However if circumstances have forced them together against their will and they spend all their time bickering and criticizing each other except during the intermittent occasions when they are saving each others’ lives at which point there are hints of sexual tension, I will immediately order their execution.

Check out the other 100 or so [here](http://www.eviloverlord.com/lists/overlord.html).

To Do: Destroy the world

Geek Alert, Genres

So far, I’ve worked on one movie in which the Earth is destroyed. In Titan A.E., a mysterious alien race called the Drej show up one day and blow up the Earth because…

…well, I don’t actually remember the motive. Plot wasn’t the strongest aspect of that movie.

What’s important is this: *aliens did it*. So if scientifically-minded viewers questioned the physics of how exactly the Earth was obliterated, I could simply point to the semi-transparent Drej and say, “With their superior technology, far beyond anything we can imagine!”

It’s a lucky thing that Titan A.E. had villainous aliens, because it turns out that destroying the Earth is extraordinarily difficult. With [this site](http://qntm.org/destroy), Sam Hughes examines 18 possible methods for “geocide” — a terrific word that you just don’t get to use very often. His conclusion? Aspiring supervillains need to be patient, or very lucky, because mere mega-wealth won’t guarantee you the chance to smash the Earth to smithereens.

Keep in mind that Sam focuses strictly on physically destroying the planet. Merely making it uninhabitable is several orders of magnitude easier — and we’re already well on our way!

(Via [Cruel](http://www.cruel.com).)

Blind man’s point of view

Genres, QandA

What do you think of a film made from a blind man’s
perspective? By that I mean a completely black screen all
the way through the film — which means a dialogue heavy film.

Do you believe this would be a good short film or would it
be to dull for the viewer?

— Lewis Dickson

Lewis, welcome to the world of experimental film, where you invite mocking simply based on hubris.

Yes, you can make this film — though many would argue it’s simply a radio play. Derek Jarman’s [Blue](http://imdb.com/title/tt0106438/) had a similar conceit: “Against a plain, unchanging blue screen, a densely interwoven soundtrack of voices, sound effects and music attempt to convey a portrait of Derek Jarman’s experiences with AIDS, both literally and allegorically, together with an exploration of the meanings associated with the colour blue.” (IMDb)

The real question is how far you want to carry your capital-a Art. I’d argue that the strongest artistic statement would be to have an acclaimed D.P. like [Russell Carpenter](http://imdb.com/name/nm0005665/) shoot 70 millimeter film with the lens cap on.

I know Russell. I’d be happy to ask him for you.

Getting stuck in a genre

Genres, QandA

How important is it for a writer trying to break into
the business to pick one genre and stick to it? You’ve had a lot of success
writing all sorts of
different stories, but isn’t that unusual? Isn’t it better to become a "brand
name," so to speak? I imagine the suits saying, "Let’s get that
new guy who wrote that great heist script to rewrite our Die Hard on a Carnival
Cruise
project."

–FALZONE

It’s true that some writers prefer to write in certain genres, and others
seem to have the choice made for them. Early on, I got pigeon-holed as a family
film guy, because the first two movies I was paid to write were kiddie lit
adaptations.

I have nothing against the family film genre — in fact, I think it’s one
of the most difficult genres to write well — but I didn’t want to spend the
rest of my career charting the inner turmoil of ten-year olds. My script for
GO was, on some levels, a calculated move to get producers and executives in
Hollywood to notice me as a more versatile, and hireable, writer.

So should your second script, or your third script, be the same genre as your
first? Only if that’s what you most want to write.

Writing a script is a huge commitment of time and brain-space, so you better
be sure any project you’re working on is really going to hold your attention
draft after draft. If, after finishing one broad comedy, you have a great idea
for another, don’t immediately kill it because you should "really" be
working on a thriller.

The right genre is the one that will actually get you to fire up your word
processor, rather than surf the internet.