Heck with Valentine’s Day, I Have A Message For The ScreenWriters
Hey Writers, We’re glad you’re back. Getting tired of reruns. But I’ll admit – three months of your strike sort of weaned me off TV and movies. So – you have your work cut out for you.
I hear y’all can’t remember what you were writing.
Here’s a thought: sit down and watch the entire year’s worth of episodes up to now.
Actually, I have a better idea — Review every project you’ve been on for the past five years. Look at the ones that canceled or tanked at the box office – and ask yourself where they went off the tracks. See if there are any threads connecting the successes; threads connecting the failures.
Maybe this time off will turn out to be good. I think writers (and speakers, for that matter) get a little stale. We go into a rut and lose sight of the bigger picture. Quite frankly, some of your projects in the past that were good at the beginning really started to suck a few months before they were canceled.
Every provider of any service should do that, really: face the truth. Look at our assumptions, and decide where we could have done better. We also need to find the places where we soared and acknowledge those. It helps when we can pat ourselves and our teams on the back for a job well done. That’s a great motivator for greater success.
What made Juno so amazing? That’s worth a study. I’ve been under a rock for the last year, so I’ll admit I didn’t know jack about that movie. I went to it with no conceived ideas, no trailers in my head, no op ed pieces. It grew on me after half an hour. My movie mates, already prepped by apparently a load of PR, were onto the whole plot from the beginning. Not me. It was a wonderful dish that unfolded. Never mind the whole political statement some groups are trying to inject into it.
Review of your work is a great exercise. It’s important to name the turn of a phrase, the unfolding of a plot line, the wordsmithing that brought a character to life. I’m in an industry where we get evaluated every time we work. It can be quite humbling or exhilarating, depending on whether or not we connected with our audience.
I’m a fan of quirky comic-dramas. Some oldies come to mind: I loved Birdcage, My Blue Heaven, Mars Attacks. They are great spoofs, have wonderful unexpected twists, and just make me laugh. In the midst of a crazy world full of complex problems, these are nice brain vacations. Yes, I like CSI and all those TV dramas, too. But after a hard day at work, ironic spoofs with heart always pull me in.
When it comes to TV, there have been some expertly written shows that suddenly tanked. One wonders if the writing staff changed, if they all got bored, or if they just ran out of ideas.Perhaps every time a show tanks, there should be a blog by the writing team that allows their customers (that would be us) to give them feedback and tell them where they lost it. Hey – like I said, that happens to me every time I work. In the middle of the comments I always find a gem or two that makes me a better speaker.
Two examples come to mind: Men in Trees and Dead Like Me.
Men in Trees is a wonderful little sitcom. It has Friends potential. Well, if the writers remember their characters as well as the viewers do. I’m not sure if your male audience likes it, but we ladies LOVE that show – as a matter of fact, I would guess a lot of women decided that Alaska should be on their next itinerary because of MIT. We talk about it. We care.
The characters are well-developed and interesting. There are great plot lines woven throughout the season. About a month before the strike I started to not like the show. I wonder if the writers were ALREADY on strike, and just weren’t telling anyone.
Suddenly Men in Trees went off the tracks. Where, before, quirky little things would happen that were slightly probable in a wilderness town, suddenly events took a “Days of our Lives” turn. Three or four stupid plot lines developed. People started acting out of character. It was like going to a family reunion in a parallel universe. And you messed with Patrick. Come on… bring him back. He was part of the glue that held the show together. His innocent truthfulness made up for Marin’s harshness and Jack’s obtuseness.
And then, days before the strike, the writers left Jack, the key male character out in the middle of the ocean on a life raft. (Wonder what Jack did to piss off those writers!) I found myself not caring. What had been a fun romp to watch now was a daytime soap opera stuck in a nighttime slot.
I noticed the same thing happen with Dead Like Me. A friend recently gave me the whole two seasons. I had seen one show in reruns on Showtime and then couldn’t find it anywhere. The plot line was intriguing: some people die and don’t get to “cross over” – instead they become reapers and take people’s souls out of their bodies before an accident, so the soul won’t feel any pain.
But it isn’t Stephen King-like. It’s a quirky comedy-drama that makes you think, isn’t pretentious, and has some great character development with wonderful lines. More importantly, you find yourself caring about the ensemble.
I watched the whole first season in a weekend. Didn’t get a lot done (including blogging. Sorry!) Mandy Patinkin and Ellen Muth are the key players, and they do a superb job.
As I watched the second season, and got to the 12th episode, I could see the train leaving the tracks. They left Mandy’s character out of most scenes, focused on the wrong characters, and forgot who they were. Suddenly it WAS a Stephen King flick. There were some creepy scenes with the reapers killing someone. Totally out of character. Not funny. No longer a comedy. One wonders if the writers of this show went on strike back in 2004 and didn’t tell anyone. Or were they trying to tank the show.
MGM is thinking of making a movie out of this little TV show. If they do, I’d like to fill out an evaluation form. Maybe we all should.
My point? When you’re telling a story, whether it’s on stage, in a book, or on the screen: remember who the characters are. Because your audience does.
And take time to review your wins and your misses. It’ll make you a better writer, speaker, and business person.
Beth
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© 2008 Beth Terry Seminars, Inc.
