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I'm watching Oliver Beene, and I am smiling.
First of all, I love this show. It's got a great dynamic that comes from an odd child growing up amidst outcast friends and insane parents. I can relate. I think a lot of people can relate, which is why the "perfect family" sitcoms have been replaced by the "dysfunctional family" sitcoms. Goodbye Ward Cleaver; hello Al Bundy.
The other reason I'm smiling is because I feel encouraged. In an earlier column, I wrote about finding motivation. One thing I find highly motivating is when I see a TV show or movie that's exactly like something I'm working on. Of course I also feel frustration, seeing as how my idea is now pointless and my work on it is worthless.
One thing I notice in my writing is a fun reference to familiar material. This week's episode featured a cute update on the Androclese and the Lion story with a nice nod to the childhood classic My Bodyguard. It was an excellent blend. The best dramas add a little comedy and the best comedies teach us to laugh at the harsher things in life.
So, I'm gonna keep it short this week and give all you writers a tip that I have found working in my favor recently. While a lot of us have great ideas, we often have trouble with the more intricate parts of screenwriting like character development, subplots, subtext, giving a crap or actually sitting down and writing 110 pages. Since sitting and moving our fingers seems to be such a monumental task, I've found a shortcut we can all use.
It's called TV.
Yes, TV - the great mind-number of the American masses. Tune in, tune out - sit on your ass and move your fingers across the remote. The beauty of it is that the little magic box does all the writing for you. It's a modern miracle. There's stories about everything, real and fake, and all you have to do is stare. It feels so good...
Wait... that's not what I meant.
What I meant was that your half-assed movie idea could actually make a great television idea. The characters are built right in, and if you're a fan you already have some of the story written via ongoing subplots. You just have to fit your story into the continuity. Your self-appointed assignment just went from 110 pages to barely 40. And, the best thing is, it is easier to get a start in TV than it is in movies. It is also easier for a producer or agent to read a script when the story and characters are familiar. I've noticed that people on the receiving end of a pitch react a lot more positively when they have a reference point. When something you wrote is based on a true story or is a new take on a classic theme, people respond more positively because it's like an old friend. It's easier to absorb. Think of the difference between someone pitching a vampire movie with a modern variation as opposed to someone trying to describe the guy from Jeepers Creepers.
Yes, Hollywood is at least consistent in its insanity. Whereas familiarity breeds contempt everywhere else, Hollywood cries out for familiarity. Burned out on Freddy and Jason? Let's make them fight each other. Big success with Alien and Predator? Call Michael Buffer because we're coming up on fight night. Hollywood is more receptive to a script where Sasquatch battles the Wolfman than it will be to a script where you come up with something completely original. In space, nobody can hear you scream, and in Hollywood, nobody can hear you speak... unless they're already familiar with your voice or your words sound familiar.
Remember - it's not what you got... it's "What ELSE you got?"
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