Cultural Icons

Many people waited with great anticipation for the fourth Indiana Jones. After seeing the movie most people expressed that it was okay, but not great. But what was the problem with the movie? The story they developed for the fourth Indy movie broke one of the major rules surrounding the use of cultural icons. When a screenwriter decides to tell a story that is centered on an iconic figure, whether it’s Santa Claus, Spiderman, Zorro, or Indiana Jones, there are certain rules that must be followed. First of all, the rule the fourth Indiana Jones broke is that iconic figures are ageless. Could you imagine Spiderman as a middle aged Peter Parker balancing crime fighting with family and career? What about Parker paying a mortgage on a home in the suburbs? Of course not! Spiderman IS the financially strapped college student Peter Parker. To remove Spiderman from that setting is to undermine Spiderman. But this is precisely what the writers of the fourth Indiana Jones did to Indy. Now I realize many people so desperately wanted to see Harrison Ford return as the heroic archeologist, but the fact of the matter is he was simply too old to be Indy anymore. Indiana Jones, as an iconic hero, cannot age. Like Spiderman, forever frozen in time as the college student, Indiana Jones is locked forever as a fedora wearing middle aged bachelor college professor living in 1930’s who constantly runs into NAZI’s. Showing a weathered and aging Indiana Jones living in the 1950’s dealing with cold war politics, learning he has a son, and feeling compelled to get married shattered a cultural icon. I know the Harrison Ford fans out there won’t like this, but in order to do a fourth Indiana Jones they either needed to find another actor to be Indy or do a prequel with a younger Indy.

Another rule in dealing with cultural icons is that you can’t taint them with family problems. This was the problem with the second Zorro movie. Giving Zorro a wife and bogging him down with marital difficulties was like spray painting a stained glass window. Zorro is the picture of justice and the hero who fights for the oppressed. Seeing Zorro fighting with his wife and wandering around drunk out of fear of losing her was like giving Superman a heroin addiction.

Yet another big no-no in dealing with iconic figures is you can’t bring the problems of everyday life into the realm of fantasy. This was the big mistake made in the third Santa Clause movie with Tim Allen. Santa was living with Mrs. Claus in the magical land of the North Pole fighting with the in-laws and having marital strife. The North Pole is viewed as being a land of fun and fantasy. The whole excitement behind Tim Allen’s character being Santa was that he was taken out of our ho-hum world and got to live in the wonder and excitement of a world of childhood fantasy. The problems that occur in the North Pole have to be in keeping with the realm of fantasy. In other words, everyday problems don’t occur in the North Pole, rather the problems that occur there are also fantasy in nature. Jack Frost trying to take over Santa’s workshop is fine, but not marital problems. Those problems are only allowed to occur outside the North Pole in the real world.

The bottom line is that you don’t mess with cultural icons. You have to be true to who they are and the worlds in which they live.

The Lone Ranger





I just caught on to the buzz that one of my childhood favorites - The Lone Ranger - is being made into a movie by Jerry Bruckheimer. I hear the movie is going to be told from Tonto's point of view and they've already cast Johnny Depp in the role.  I've been combing cyberspace to find out who will be playing the masked man, but I have yet to find out anything for sure.  There is a rumor that they're considering George Clooney.  I personally think they should go with Josh Brolin or Christian Bale.  Western parts seem to fit Brolin like a glove while Bale is able to deliver that good-guy charm that is needed for the part.  I suppose they could even consider me for the part being that I have experience in the role, having dressed up as the Lone Ranger for Halloween when I was in third grade.

Bat Movie

Being that Christopher & Jonathan Nolan are among my favorite screenwriters (Memento, Batman Begins, The Prestige, The Dark Knight, Inception) along with Lawrence Kasdan (The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi, The Big Chill, Silverado, The Body Guard, Wyatt Earp) and Ethan and Joel Coen (Raising Arizona, The Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, O Brother Where Art Thou, The Lady Killers, No Country For Old Men, True Grit) I was excited to learn that the Nolan brothers have completed the screenplay for their third Batman flick called The Dark Knight Rises.  They tapped Anne Hathaway to play Cat Woman and Tom Hardy to play Bane.  Of course Christian Bale returns as Batman along with Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine, and Gary Oldman.  The news that is generating a lot of buzz is that Christopher Nolan has entered into talks with Joseph Gordon-Levitt (500 Days of Summer, Inception) to come on board.  Originally people expected him to appear as the Riddler, but word has it that Mr. Nigma will not be appearing in this movie.  So the rumors of who Gordon-Levitt will play have included Robin, Dr. Hugo Strange, Deadshot, Azrael, and even the Joker.

Something very encouraging is that Wally Pfister, who is the cinematographer for the movie, read the script and responded by saying, “Plain and simple – He’s done it.  It’s a phenomenal script.”  He described it as being “the perfect trilogy” and said the opening scene will blow your mind.

New Season; New Direction

It is now time to kick my screenwriting into gear because I am officially done with school!  I now have a BA in Social Science.  I'm just waiting to receive my diploma and get official word on any honors I've been awarded.  In my previous post I mentioned that I was going to college in order to become a teacher.  Well, that has changed.  In my journey to become a teacher I realized that my real passion is screenwriting.  It's what I've always wanted to do.  I also realized I already like what I do, working for KCRA 3 as a broadcast operations technician.  So, I decided that since school got me so used to managing my time wisely in order to balance family, work, and school, I'm going to keep up the momentum and replace school with screenwriting.  I already have a file loaded with ideas that are waiting to be developed.  And I just purchased Final Draft professional screenwriting software with a gift card my step mom gave me for Christmas.  (Thanks Becky!)  So I'm ready and eager to get cracking! 


Now that my journey into screenwriting has begun I'll be posting here more often so you can ride along with me on this road.  I'm certain their will be plenty of challenges ahead, but the cool thing is I'm not doing this just to get rich.  I'm doing this because I love movies and I love writing them!  I've got a creative itch I simply MUST scratch or I'll go psycho.  I've heard it said that the most valuable land on Earth is the cemetery because of all the dreams that are buried there.  I don't want my dream to go with me to the grave like a song that was never sung.  I simply must write!  I am compelled to do so! 


I'm starting a screenplay right now...stay tuned!

Talent

Man!  It has been ages since I posted anything here.  I have been swamped with school.  I'm working towards becoming a teacher, with one of the main reasons being so I can write screenplays during the summer.


I've heard it said that screenwriting is a great way to make money but a terrible way to make a living.  I actually have no plans of getting rich screenwriting or making a full time career out of it.  I just want to do it because I love it!  In fact, I think the money trap is one of the nasty pits we all tend to fall into.  We all have God given talents but so many of those talents remain dormant because there is a mentality that something is only worth while if it will actually make us a buck.  But whatever happened to that child-like sense of adventure we all had when we were kids that made us willing to do something just for the love of it?  I'm convinced that some of the best musicians, artists, and writers go undiscovered.  But it does not make their work any less meaningful.  I happen to believe that what we do we actually do for an audience of one...our Creator, the One who gave us those talents.  I think the thrill we feel when we engage in what we love doing is actually us sensing His pleasure.


Recently I was looking back on times when I used various talents I have and recalled how satisfied I was.  But when I counted the dollars I made while using those talents it came to a grand total of...zero!  In fact, I have found that when I attempted to use my talents to make a buck, the pursuit of money often mutated what I loved doing into something that I despised.  For example, I've always enjoyed video production.  But I've enjoyed using video to make short movies.  When I attempted to turn my talent into a video production business I found myself hating life as I was shooting and editing corporate videos.  It wasn't that I was just being picky and insisting on doing things my way, rather, it was that creating corporate videos was such a distortion of what I enjoyed doing that it dried up the creative well within me and turned my love for video production into disdain.


That's not to say that we shouldn't use our talents to make a living.  I mean, good grief!  We have to eat and have a roof over our heads.  But I think a job is a job and we shouldn't look at that as being our only outlet for our talents.  I've heard it said that there are two types of people in the workforce: those who live to work and those who work to live.  I happen to fall into the category of work to live.  My philosophy is, "Love what you do, but don't get your identity from it." 

A Fantastic Movie!

     What do you think are some of the best movies ever made? That’s a tough question to answer isn’t it? What I’ve found is that it is not only difficult to answer because we have to think back through all the movies that we’ve seen in our lives, but also because of the biases we carry when watching movies. For example, I am a HUGE Star Wars fan. So when I am asked about which movies are the best ever made, I feel a strong obligation to remain loyal to the Star Wars films. I can’t tell you how hard it was for me when the Lord of the Rings trilogy came out for me to finally admit that I liked them better than Star Wars. Even as I write those words I feel like a traitor for admitting that.

     Lilly and I just watched a movie tonight that I hadn’t seen for years. It was the film Amadeus that was released in 1984. I had forgotten what an amazing movie it is! After it was over I turned to my lovely wife and said, “You know, if I removed all my biases about movies and was able to take a purely objective stance, I would have to admit that Amadeus is one of the best movies ever made!” Apparently I’m not alone in thinking it’s a good flick. The movie won 8 Oscars including best picture, best director, best screenplay, and best leading actor, and was nominated for another five. It’s just funny that when people name the best movies ever made you don’t often here people mention Amadeus. Yet, that film has it all: fantastic character development with tremendous depth, amazing acting, an astounding sound track, and a story that turns what could have been your typical historical biography into an intriguing tale of conniving envy, betrayal, and tragedy. But perhaps what is most astonishing about the movie is that it was made in 1984 and plays as if it was released this year. Very few films can accomplish that!

     So, if you haven’t seen Amadeus, go see it! And if you have seen it, treat yourself to a second viewing. It’s well worth the time!

Where to begin?

     First of all, I’d like to say a big “Thank You!” to everybody for your overwhelming response to this blog. In the first week I’ve had over 60 visitors. Not a bad start! And your kind emails and comments have been a real encouragement. Many of you expressed the desire to see some clips of my old home movies on here. Don’t fret…they’re coming! (And Andy, the transfer is still in the works…hang tight buddy!)

     One of the big questions about screenwriting is where on earth does one begin? I think solid characters are the foundation of any good movie. In fact, some movies are completely character driven. This certainly is the case with comedies like Napoleon Dynamite, Nacho Libre and The Breakfast Club and also in dramas like The Big Chill, Driving Miss Daisy, and As Good as it gets. Having solid believable characters that the audience can relate to is crucial. I have seen several movies that had tremendous potential dive bomb simply over the lack of character development. That certainly was the case of the summer movie G.I. Joe. (Okay, it had major story and pacing issues too. What a disappointment! I laughed, I cried, I kissed ten bucks good bye!) So, because of the powerful role solid characters play in a movie, I like to begin the screenwriting process by developing my characters.

    This is the phase I’m in now with the screenplay I’m writing. I’m giving my characters a personality. The way I do this is I write down the names of my main characters. Sometimes coming up with a suitable name is a task in its self. Even though Shakespeare wrote that “a rose by any other name is still a rose” I tend to disagree when it comes to screenplays. Somehow I don’t think Darth Vader would have seemed quite as foreboding if his name was Jack Wilson. I can hear him speaking in his deep James Earl Jones Voice saying his memorable line to Obi Wan, “When I left you I was about to learn now I am the master!” To which Obi Wan responds, “Only a master of evil Jack.” For some reason it just doesn’t work for me. So names are important. The internet and baby books are great places to find suitable names. When I wrote 1987 in ninth grade I broke out the phone book. It’s a great source for last names.

     After I list the names of my main characters I begin to describe their personalities. I do this by asking my self questions about each character like: what is he/she afraid of? What does he/she desire most? What political views does he/she have? What kind of music does he/she listen to? What successes has he/she had in life? Failures? What kind of car does he/she drive? What kind of car does he/she really want to drive? Then I write the history or back-story of the character up to the point where the story begins. I use the answers to the questions I asked about each character to determine what kind of physical attributes and mannerisms he/she has. For example, a guy that was in a car accident as a kid may have a fear of driving and through out the movie he may always refuse to sit in the front seat. But here’s the real trick to successful characters; when these attributes are plugged into the screenplay, I don’t go spilling the beans about everything right away. That makes for poor character development. How many people do you know with quirks that just come out and say, “I do this because of that…” the moment you meet them? So when characters do that in movies its just plain weak! Watch G.I. Joe for tons of examples of this screenwriting flaw.  The trick is to just let the characters do what they do and let your audience be curious. People will be intrigued. And some mannerisms may never be explained…but that only adds to the reality of the character.

 Theater exit question: What movies have you seen that have excellent character development?