It's Not Over Until It's Over
29/Aug/11 14:43 Filed in: The Method
After teasing your audience for the past hour or so, how do you end your movie? You don’t want to end it too soon or too quickly because that’s like standing in line for a roller coaster ride, only to have it end 10 seconds later, making you feel like you wasted your time waiting. Instead, drag out your ending to tease the audience into thinking it’s over when it’s not. Read More...
Th Flaws of "Captain America"
28/Aug/11 17:23 Filed in: The Method
“Captain America” isn’t a bad movie, but it’s not a great one either. The biggest problem is the simplest: “Captain America” lacks character development. Read More...
Make Your Hero's Motivation Clear
20/Aug/11 22:42 Filed in: The Method
Your hero needs to be sympathetic (so your audience will care) and your hero needs a clear goal (so your audience knows what your hero is trying to do). Without a clear goal, your audience will simply lose interest. Read More...
Nothing is Normal
18/Aug/11 10:15 Filed in: The Method
Reality TV is an oxymoron because if you were really watching reality, you would see a bunch of people doing something ordinary and ultimately boring. Does anyone really want to see someone else taking the trash out or picking up laundry from a dry cleaner? Stories aren’t about reality, but about the illusion of reality and you create that illusion by only showing events that are special. Read More...
Nothing Remains Hidden
16/Aug/11 21:45 Filed in: The Method
The worse possible scenario always occurs. This makes your story more interesting and more dramatic at the same time. Read More...
Create a World
15/Aug/11 08:47 Filed in: The Method
Rather than tell a story, try to create a world. A world provides a playground for telling a story while a story simply provides one interesting idea and that’s it. If you create a world, you lay the groundwork for a bunch of stories. Read More...
Beauty and the Beast vs. Mulan
14/Aug/11 21:50 Filed in: The Method
In the 90’s, Walt Disney churned out hit after animated hit with movies like “Beauty and the Beast” and “The Lion King.” For some reason, Disney’s creativity suddenly dropped a notch when they started releasing movies like “Mulan.” Watch those two movies and there’s a missing element that makes “Mulan” less satisfying as a whole. Read More...
Start with a Problem
13/Aug/11 20:46 Filed in: The Method
Watch a bad movie and chances are good you’ll be bored. The reason you’re bored is because the movie doesn’t promise anything interesting and what’s interesting is conflict. The heart of any conflict is a problem. Read More...
The Hero's Dead End Life
11/Aug/11 16:36 Filed in: The Method
In the beginning, your hero and villain are in opposite states. The villain, even if not seen initially, is confident, powerful, and well on his way to initiating a plan. The hero on the other hand, is trapped in a dead end life of his own making. Read More...
Force the Hero to Act
09/Aug/11 17:23 Filed in: The Method
Most heroes are timid, frightened, and unsure of themselves in contrast to a villain who is totally confident and working towards a plan with overwhelming odds in his favor. In the hero’s shoes, most people might do the obvious, which is hide and do nothing, but in Hollywood, that won’t work. In a screenplay, your villain has to force your hero to react. Read More...
Into the Belly of the Beast
04/Aug/11 22:50 Filed in: The Method
In the best stories, your hero must constantly overcome problems. However, the best way to put your hero at a huge disadvantage and make the hero’s goal seem far from certain is to place your hero in the villain’s stronghold, otherwise known as the belly of the best. Read More...
Focusing on the Villain
01/Aug/11 10:31 Filed in: The Method
The villain is the most important character in your screenplay because your villain’s actions shape your hero’s destiny. Make your villain someone out to destroy the world and your hero has to save the world. Make your villain someone out to kidnap a baby and your hero must now be someone who must find and rescue that baby. Your villain is actually more important than your hero because your villain defines what type of hero your main character must be. Read More...
