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First as a development executive, and then as a manager, it was my job to find, develop, and shop screenplays. In the course of those experiences, it swiftly became apparent that the scripts that had the easiest time getting traction were those that were driven by a big, clear genre, and were just as clearly working to deliver the goods of that genre. Simply put, a comedy should be funny, a horror project should be scary, a thriller thrilling, an action script needs action, and so on. For example, if a script is intended to be shopped as a comedy,...

In this article, I want to talk about genre. I believe it’s commonly overlooked by new writers and often leads to scripts that aren’t commercially viable, and even if they have a strong concept or story, they aren’t executed in a way that makes it easy to sell, or even digest as a reader. Moreover, new writers tend to write scripts that combine genres in a way that makes their story miss both. Combing genres is VERY HARD TO DO, but we will also look at examples of how they are done well. To start, does your script easily fit...

There’s a truism in Hollywood that certain genres are dead. In this 4-part series of blog posts, we’re going to look at these genres Hollywood wisdom says are dead, why their death is the prevalent theory, and what it may take for any writer to revive them with their own script. Second up is the mid-budget thriller, the type of film that many filmmakers complain Hollywood has largely abandoned. STX Entertainment was founded in part on the idea of pursuing these types of films, which had fallen into a gap in the market between giant comic book movies like the...