Sub-Genre RSS

“What is this movie?” is the first and most essential question that every screenplay needs to answer. It is the question that is on the mind of every reader at every step in the process, and ultimately the question asked by the audience that is deciding which movie to watch.   By asking what the movie “is,” we’re talking about a variety of elements: genre, sub-genre, paradigm, tone, audience. We know who is going to watch the movie, and why, and what they expect out of the movie they have chosen to watch, and where the movie exists in the...

The title is vital. It is the first point of contact between the script and the reader, and between the movie and the audience. When the audience comes to the theater and they look at the one-sheets and the marquee, the title is both the hook and the handle by which they shall make their ultimate decision: Which of these movies will they see? So let’s talk about titles. A good title accomplishes several tasks within just a word or few. The first task is to reflect the genre. We want to tell the audience what kind of experience they...

It’s important to understand sub-genre so you can better focus the development of your scripts. You need to know what you’re writing when you write it; you need to know what you’re selling if you’re going to sell it. Action-adventure. An action movie that includes an element of travel, exploration, mystery and problem-solving. The Indiana Jones franchise is gold standard, but more recently we can include the National Treasure films. Action-thriller. An action movie that is focused on grounded, “realistic” action, and isn’t working to deliver consistent laughs. The Bourne movies are action-thrillers, as are any Jack Ryan or Jack...