January 2018
Plot, Story, and Theme
Plot defines what happens. Story explains why it happens. Theme explains why it’s important. Think of a story that’s nothing but plot. That creates a lot of action and excitement, but ultimately it makes little sense. Bad karate movies and action thrillers are often nothing but plot like bad James Bond movies (“A View to […]
When the Hero Doesn’t Change
In most movies, the hero changes. In “Back to the Future,” Marty (the hero) starts out unsure of himself and living in a dead end life, but by the end, he’s more sure of himself and living a far better life with a much happier family that he helped create by changing the past. However, […]
Make Everyone Change
Change is the heart of every story because the hero often resists change so there’s conflict. Without change, you likely have nothing but empty conflict. Just watch any bad James Bond movie (such as “A View to a Kill”) and you’ll see that James Bond doesn’t change one bit from start to finish. Therefore he […]
Make the Symbol of Hope the Deadliest Thing to the Villain
In many stories, the villain has a goal and the hero is absolutely clueless about the villain. What binds the hero and villain together is when the villain accidentally intrudes into the hero’s life. This often occurs in the middle of Act I (the 15 minute mark) where the villain indirectly sends something into the […]
“Downsizing” – Bold Idea, Big Disappointment
“Downsizing” has one of the most original ideas for a story. The basic idea is that to avoid problems of overpopulation, a Norwegian scientist has figured out a way of shrinking people to approximately 5 inches in height. Such small people will require fewer natural resources so they can live cheaper and better. The first […]
Writing Dialogue – Listening to What’s Not Being Said
Turn off the sound on a good movie and just by watching the action, you can figure out most of the story. That’s because dialogue should be used only as a last resort. Movies are a visual medium so screenplays should emphasize action rather than words. Just remember that actions speak louder than words, so […]
What Went Wrong with “Blade Runner 2049”?
If you read the reviews of “Blade Runner 2049,” it should have been a great movie. The huge problem with this movie is that while it’s visually engaging, it’s emotionally empty. The basic structure of any tory is that we must know what the hero wants from an emotional level. In “Star Wars,” Luke feels […]
All Bad Guys Must Die
What makes an ending emotionally satisfying is seeing all the bad guys get what they deserve. In action movies, this usually means all the villains die or get maimed such as in “Kill Bill.” In other types of movies, the villain gets humiliated along with getting their power reduced in the eyes of others such […]