Raiders of the Lost Ark

I seek rewatchability

Maximum Z analysis, appreciation, Back to the Future, characters, determination, feedback, genre, goals, Gregory Peck, inspiration, perseverance, Raiders of the Lost Ark, rewrite, screenwriting, script, Some Like It Hot, Star Wars, story, storytelling, The Magnificent Seven, To Kill A Mockingbird, writing, writing group
Never gets old. Never.
Never gets old. Never.

It goes without saying that any screenwriter is a movie buff. We have to be. It’s our love of movies that got us into this in the first place.

We’ve all got our favorites. Countless genres are spanned. Writers, directors or performers we can usually rely on for solid, quality work. Who hasn’t claimed to have seen a particular movie “over a hundred times”?

So what is it about them that makes us have no problem with watching them over and over, as opposed to seeing something once and being done with it, or maybe even abandoning ship around the halfway point?

A favorite film motivates repeat viewings. You’re enjoying the whole experience so much that when it’s over, you’re already looking forward to seeing it again.

Consider the films in your home collection. What is it about them that made you go so far as to want to own them?

For as much as I talk about STAR WARS, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and BACK TO THE FUTURE, all of which I could watch over and over, I’m also perfectly content with something that doesn’t involve special effects, like TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD, THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN or SOME LIKE IT HOT.

What do all of these have in common? For me, it all boils down to fantastic storytelling with well-crafted three-dimensional characters, both of which also motivate and inspire me to be a better writer.

Which is what it all comes down to. The writing, which starts with us.

Not only are we striving to create a story, but we want to make them so amazing that they’re practically irresistible not only to the people who make the movies, but the movie-going public.

While working on that latest project, we imagine what the finished product would look like on the big screen and hope the audience is having such a blast watching it that they’ll want to come back for more.

But imagining is one thing. Actually making it compelling and involving is another.

We must continuously write, rewrite, hone and polish each individual piece of work to make it as involving and engaging as possible.

Not sure if yours is? Ask somebody. Writing group, trusted colleague, paid analyst. Doesn’t matter. Always be striving for greatness, my friends.

Our work is definitely cut out for us.  It’s hard enough to write a good script. It’s even harder to write one people want to continuously return to.

What happened to the action movie?

Maximum Z action, analysis, characters, Die Hard, plot, Raiders of the Lost Ark, story, storytelling, structure, writing
Often imitated, rarely equaled
Often imitated, rarely equaled

A little over a week ago, a friend posted the following question on Facebook – “Is RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK the best action movie of all time?”

As would be expected, this led to a somewhat lengthy discussion. Several other titles were bandied about (DIE HARD, ALIENS, several John Woo HK films), and was summarized quite succinctly with “The main lesson here is that the 80s were a goldmine for high-quality action films.” (mea culpa – I’m the one who said it).

All I can think of for the 90s are TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY and SPEED.

While you’re thinking about those, compare them to some more recent ones, such as:
-THE EXPENDABLES – a nostalgic remembering of the genre itself
-THE EXPENDABLES 2 – silly, over the top parody
-PACIFIC RIM – cool to look at, but that’s about it
-FAST & FURIOUS 6 – haven’t seen it, but I’ve heard nothing but good things about it
-THE LONE RANGER – couldn’t bring myself to see it, but will catch it on home video. Is it as bad as they say?

Now there’s this. Oy. Someday I’ll discuss how much I dislike reboots.

So why do action films from 20-30 years ago still hold up?

Looking at strong examples of the genre, they all have: Original stories. Smart writing. Three-dimensional characters. Action that enhances and supports the story.

If you’re writing an action spec, these should be your goals and objectives. Yes, it’s a lot of fun to blow shit up, but don’t use an explosion or shootout just for the sake of having one. It’s pointless.

Make the action part of the story, not what the story’s about. Use it to move things forward. Ratchet up the tension and create more conflict for your hero.

Need a refresher course in how it’s done? Pick one you’ve always liked, and watch it as a writer. Take notes. See how it all fits together. Then see if any of it can be applied to your story and rewrite accordingly.

If only all learning could be this enjoyable.

Ambition, expectations and that sort of thing

Maximum Z Back to the Future, Raiders of the Lost Ark, screenwriting, Star Wars, story
Great satisfaction comes from checking off each item

I want to write the next STAR WARS.

By which I mean I want to write an entertaining epic that appeals to all ages and results in an appreciation that lasts much longer than anyone anticipated. 35 years later and still going strong? Incredible!

I want to write the next RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK.

By which I mean I want to write a thrilling adventure that grabs you from the start, never lets go and takes you on the cinematic equivalent of the most intense roller coaster ride ever.

I want to write the next BACK TO THE FUTURE.

By which I mean I want to write a smart comedy that deftly handles one of the most complicated subjects out there, has a perfectly bulletproof script and is a textbook example of setup and payoff.

What else do these films have in common?  Sure, each was a box office smash. That would be nice too. High-quality sequels? Also a plus. But it all comes down to an original story that really entertains. Something the movie-going public hasn’t seen before and will remember long after they leave the theatre.

Difficult? Sure.

Impossible? Not necessarily.

Worth pursuing? Absolutely.

Grab ’em early and don’t let go

Maximum Z Indiana Jones, Lucy Steele, Men In Black, outlines, Raiders of the Lost Ark, screenwriting, story, train, westerns, writing
And this is just the beginning…

I printed out a months-old version of the LUCY outline yesterday as part of the plan to launch a massive rewrite to incorporate some recent ideas. As I was looking it over, it dawned on me – the opening sequence just ain’t strong enough.

The way it’s written now, it would last about 3 pages, which really isn’t enough. The opening sets the tone and mood of the whole story. If I can’t hold your interest here, then you’re not going to want to work your way through another 100+ pages.

Think of the opening sequence in RAIDERS. It runs about 10 minutes, and does a phenomenal job of establishing the character of Indiana Jones.  I need to do the same thing.

This is where that ‘having fun while you write’ thing comes into play. And I get to do it with trains in the Old West.

Throw in a bottle of RC Cola and some Moon Pies and it’s an ideal writing session.

-Movie of the Moment – MEN IN BLACK III. Fun, clever and a definite improvement over the previous sequel. Setups and payoffs were obvious from the get-go. Josh Brolin did a great job as a young Tommy Lee Jones.  If this opens the door to a MIB IV, they should go the FANTASTIC VOYAGE/INNERSPACE route and do microscopic or nano-technology-based aliens. You heard it here first, folks!

This also confirmed for me once again that Smith needs to stop playing it safe and really try something new. Wasn’t he Tarantino’s first choice for the lead in DJANGO UNCHAINED? But he’s got a good thing going that brings in big bucks, so I don’t see that ever happening.

Follow that bad guy!

Maximum Z antagonist, creativity, Movie of the Moment, originality, plot, Raiders of the Lost Ark, screenwriting, story, writing
Villains should be just as interesting as heroes; maybe even more so

It’s been a real process working my way through the end of the current project’s Act Two. I know what comes before it, and how Act Three plays out; it’s all that stuff in the middle that’s throwing me.

So while that occupies part of my attention, I also need to build up the antagonist’s story line.  Right now, he’s pretty absent from most of the story, which is not good. I came up with some stuff early on, but it was too silly, so out it went.

I thought about watching/studying something to get a better sense of how to approach this, but I’m not sure what would be comparable.  Basically, the protagonist is actively pursuing the antagonist, who doesn’t know it and is going on about his usual bad guy business until the protagonist catches up to them.  My first thought was RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, but any other suggestions would be welcome.

Developing that storyline will also mean cutting back on protagonist scenes.  At first this was a negative, but eventually became a necessary positive.  The last thing I want to do is drag this out.

-Movie of the Moment – BATTLESHIP. Wow. Somebody was actually paid to write this? Shouldn’t they have done a couple of rewrites before production began? This reeked of amateur. Cliched characters straight off a checklist. Bad guys with ambiguous intentions. Unoriginal dialogue. Predictable to the nth degree. Major overuse of rock music to ’emphasize’ the mood of a scene.

Imagine a second-rate 80s action flick spruced up with 21st-century special effects.

What’s even worse is that this is NOT the last movie based on a board game. Apparently we can look forward to catching RISK, MONOPOLY and CANDYLAND at the local cinema sometime soon.

And the studios wonder why they’re losing money.