So after meeting with Dr. Wagner last week I decided where my project would end up. I'm sticking with the idea of writing a script and I really like the idea that I already have but I am going to take it to a new level. I want to push myself as a writer and as a screenwriter in particular.
For the purpose of the class I want to be able to write something that I can show the class and present in a reasonable fashion...probably even have a reading. If I stuck with that story I started and emailed to you guys last time than it would get pretty tedious to look at, follow, and probably even grade. I have decided to resolve this problem by doing something that will not only be extremely fun to share, but challenging for me as a screenwriter.
I am keeping the developing story I have about the doctor, who gets the terminal disease and comes in contact with the young girl. I've got some ideas of where I'm going with it and have written a few more pages of it but will probably end up trimming it down a bit later on. My over all final product will be a series of 5, 20(ish) page scripts that will all fit into a larger story to make up 100(ish) pages. Many movies can be related to this, Traffic, Crash, Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, and one of my favorite's, Pulp Fiction. I am sure there are more but I really want to see what I can do with this style. It is something I have always accepted as impossible to do as a writer but I figured that this class would be the best chance I had to do it. Beyond that I am going to explore 5 different genres in the process. I think that it would be extremely difficult, but possibly satisfying to create a script that has 20 pages of drama, comedy, horror, thriller, and historical fiction. Together I will intertwine each of the 5...a few scenes here and a few scenes there and they will tie together. I have already been playing around with possibilities and they will be coming at the blog shortly. Beyond that I will be able to use each of the stories as 5 short scripts alone as well as one large feature film together...something that will be good for class discussion and presentation but also for my overall goal to do something with the script.
Right now I am going with these topics:
Drama- Story about the doctor and girl
Comedy- Story about a kid who has a loser roommate in college freshman year
Horror- I've started on a horror script that bases itself loosely on the Oxford Ghost, but revolves around a couple of kids trying to follow a legend.
Thriller- A story about a man who returns from Iraq and commits some sort of crime as a result of PTS.
Historical Fiction- This one is going to be based off of something with Freedom Summer, something I have been more and more interested in as this semester has gone on and as I have read your posts.
I am on top of this and already story boarding each of them. They will all have the over all theme that I am sticking with from earlier, power of happiness and over all the control we have in our lives. I'm really excited about this and I look forward to sharing the scripts and how they all tie together.
Thanks guys, Joey
Joey, as a huge fan of writing scripts myself, I like your ideas. I have been trying to write various genres and usually wind up with something different than what I intended when I started. How hard would it be to combine all the genres and ideas into one larger, more intricate piece? A doctor who sees a girl who has a loser roommate in college that is going follow a legend about a guy who died after coming back from the war with PTS and tries to defend some civil rights activsts?
ReplyDeleteThat could be one wonderfully funny, scary, poignant, inciteful piece of work if you balanced everything. That would be quite a challenge.
Joey,
ReplyDeleteThis sounds really cool. As a screenwriter myself - this is a very daunting task. I'm actually sort of nervous for you. lol. But really, I think it's a fantastic idea and I'm sure you'll pull it off beautifully. I have to agree with Jeff though, how do you plan on connecting all of these? And do you plan on making these storyboards into a film? That probably would be WAY too much work considering they each would be 20 minutes long and it would take you probably over a year to pull of a decent looking film. Basically what I'm asking is, what's the final product? Just a bunch of scripts and storyboards? Maybe at the very least you could do sort of a pre-viz and film each frame of the storyboard for x amount of time, while you get actors to do the voiceovers of the script. I know they use this technique on a lot of movies and I'd be more than willing to help you read and put together some of it. Just an idea. Good luck!