The Best Movies You've Never Seen

[ConspiRaider]

I've just completed my second feature-length screenplay and am now flinging it, and the first script, into the moviemaking machine for considered perusal. Or just to see if anyone even notices them. Odds? No one will. And for all I know - maybe both scripts are appallingly putrid and deserve their projected indifference. But on to my point.

Years ago I knew a young screenwriter in my apartment complex and we became friends. He gave me two scripts he'd written and I raced through them both. That's because they were really good. Original, creative, interesting, good characters, the whole nine yards. Afterwards I asked him, rhetorically: "Why am I reading these scripts in my little apartment? Why have I not already seen these on the big screen?". Of course he did what everyone does. Hiked his shoulders, a shake of the head, a sardonic little grimace.

What unknown screenwriters do, such as myself, is write what are called "spec" scripts. For "speculation". No one asks us to write them, there is no outside investment, absolutely no guarantee that it will ever be sold. Because you're unknown, you're really stuck with doing original material. A lot of movies you see are adaptations of books, short stories, novellas, magazine articles and so forth. It's easier writing those movie scripts. Adapting is really just tweaking material that has already been tested and approved. But we new writers don't generally get to do that. You need permissions and approvals for adaptations - lawyers, negotiations, compensations and so forth. Those are the haunts of literary agencies and established writers.

So it is actually an upside that a "spec" screenwriter has to create something entirely new, front to back. Something fresh and unique, that the moviegoing public hasn't quite ever seen before. New stories, new twists, new angles on characterizations.

And yet Hollywood hardly wants that. What they want is Jackass 2, Spiderman 3, Charlie's Angels 4. As gigantic corporations have swallowed up the entertainment industry, they've brought their guaranteed bottom-line and feet of clay and play-it-safe concepts into the moviemaking mix. Remake it. Sequel it. Comic-book it. They've gotten more and more away from what moviemaking actually is: Simple storytelling. Nothing more than people using their imaginations to relate a unique story in an interesting and engaging manner.

Anyway it's time to get started on the next script. Just throwing ideas around in my head at this point, vague general thoughts. Like with the first two scripts. I'll enjoy it. And my work may very well be substandard. It will be original though. But I've seen great work from new writers out there. And I definitely believe that some of the best stories you haven't heard or seen - you never will. Because like no other time in its history, Hollywood is moving away faster from the concept of moviemaking as art. As great, original storytelling.

 

[calebprime]

not sure if you're looking for comments, but btw, i've always really enjoyed your writing.

I'd go to see your film, especially if it fell into one of these 4 categories:

1) Desperate middle-aged guys who go on the road:
About Schmidt
Broken Flowers

2) Desperate middle-aged guys who consult evil shrinks

3) Desperate middle-aged guys who are Charlie Kaufman characters
Adaptation
Being John Malkovitch (my all-time favorite film)

4) Desperate yuppies with imaginary evil twins
Fight Club

I notice there's space for you in 2) esp. now that Lecter is old hat.


But what about all the indie stuff? What's your take on that?

 

[Solus]

I'd like to see a WW2 movie but from the german perspective. Opposite of saving Privite Ryan it would follow a German unit instead. I'd use whatthey did in hunt for red october: for the first minute the characters speak German but then the actors go into speaking English; that way the audience bonds with the characters better. Interesting movie because it would never be done by the likes of spielberg.

Not very original but different for sure.

 

[ConspiRaider]

not sure if you're looking for comments, but btw, i've always really enjoyed your writing.

I'd go to see your film, especially if it fell into one of these 4 categories:

1) Desperate middle-aged guys who go on the road:
About Schmidt
Broken Flowers

2) Desperate middle-aged guys who consult evil shrinks

3) Desperate middle-aged guys who are Charlie Kaufman characters
Adaptation
Being John Malkovitch (my all-time favorite film)

4) Desperate yuppies with imaginary evil twins
Fight Club

I notice there's space for you in 2) esp. now that Lecter is old hat.


But what about all the indie stuff? What's your take on that?

I'll maybe hafta do something like that, and it'd be autobiographical, since I now am a desperate middle-aged guy

I'm stepping through major genres, and my next project looks like it will be a Western. I'll have to twist it, of course, but I really really like The West and I want to do a movie regardless. The challenge will be to twist it to the point that an audience might want to see.

Indie is fine but the problem is, of course, that it hardly gets seen. Almost no indie films are seen by the general public. I was in an indie as an actor, budget of about a half a mil, good story (romantic comedy). A nice little movie that had a few things to say. Well, it had a premiere in Ojai, California, where we filmed, and another down here in Hollywood at the American Film Institute. And that's it. It's gone where nearly all indie films go - The Storeroom of Indie Purgatory and Obscurity.

I really would rather write films that at least in my mind - are worthy of standard distribution, widespread viewing. Or at least shoot for that.

 

[ConspiRaider]

I'd like to see a WW2 movie but from the german perspective. Opposite of saving Privite Ryan it would follow a German unit instead. I'd use whatthey did in hunt for red october: for the first minute the characters speak German but then the actors go into speaking English; that way the audience bonds with the characters better. Interesting movie because it would never be done by the likes of spielberg.

Not very original but different for sure.

That's a nice idea. Something like Das Boot, or Run Silent, Run Deep. Even the Battle of the Bulge (with Henry Fonda) was interesting in that respect because we also saw the battle through the eyes of the Panzer commander, played by Robert Shaw (to perfection of course).

As I run through major genres, I'll eventually get to a war pic. But now I'm dialed into a Western...

 

[fuelair]

I've just completed my second feature-length screenplay and am now flinging it, and the first script, into the moviemaking machine for considered perusal. Or just to see if anyone even notices them. Odds? No one will. And for all I know - maybe both scripts are appallingly putrid and deserve their projected indifference. But on to my point.

Years ago I knew a young screenwriter in my apartment complex and we became friends. He gave me two scripts he'd written and I raced through them both. That's because they were really good. Original, creative, interesting, good characters, the whole nine yards. Afterwards I asked him, rhetorically: "Why am I reading these scripts in my little apartment? Why have I not already seen these on the big screen?". Of course he did what everyone does. Hiked his shoulders, a shake of the head, a sardonic little grimace.

What unknown screenwriters do, such as myself, is write what are called "spec" scripts. For "speculation". No one asks us to write them, there is no outside investment, absolutely no guarantee that it will ever be sold. Because you're unknown, you're really stuck with doing original material. A lot of movies you see are adaptations of books, short stories, novellas, magazine articles and so forth. It's easier writing those movie scripts. Adapting is really just tweaking material that has already been tested and approved. But we new writers don't generally get to do that. You need permissions and approvals for adaptations - lawyers, negotiations, compensations and so forth. Those are the haunts of literary agencies and established writers.

So it is actually an upside that a "spec" screenwriter has to create something entirely new, front to back. Something fresh and unique, that the moviegoing public hasn't quite ever seen before. New stories, new twists, new angles on characterizations.

And yet Hollywood hardly wants that. What they want is Jackass 2, Spiderman 3, Charlie's Angels 4. As gigantic corporations have swallowed up the entertainment industry, they've brought their guaranteed bottom-line and feet of clay and play-it-safe concepts into the moviemaking mix. Remake it. Sequel it. Comic-book it. They've gotten more and more away from what moviemaking actually is: Simple storytelling. Nothing more than people using their imaginations to relate a unique story in an interesting and engaging manner.

Anyway it's time to get started on the next script. Just throwing ideas around in my head at this point, vague general thoughts. Like with the first two scripts. I'll enjoy it. And my work may very well be substandard. It will be original though. But I've seen great work from new writers out there. And I definitely believe that some of the best stories you haven't heard or seen - you never will. Because like no other time in its history, Hollywood is moving away faster from the concept of moviemaking as art. As great, original storytelling.

A) http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Pitch...4-1969734?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1178488621&sr=1-6

B) Syd Field on Screenwriting (also Amazon)

C) Be in Hollywood and

D)Get an agent who has real contacts and KNOWS HOW TO PITCH!!!

 

[ConspiRaider]

A) http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Pitch...4-1969734?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1178488621&sr=1-6

B) Syd Field on Screenwriting (also Amazon)

C) Be in Hollywood and

D)Get an agent who has real contacts and KNOWS HOW TO PITCH!!!

Roger that, FA, thanks much.

Syd's book I've had for quite awhile, it's good. He focuses on Chinatown as a teaching script. Chinatown's a helluva script, terrific movie. Also have William Goldman's book on the screenwriting biz. In his, the entire script to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is found therein.

I am in or near Hollywood and am working on getting an agent. But that's almost like working on getting aboard the next Space Shuttle It's almost impossible to get an agent, for writing or for acting. Still, you try. You do what you hafta do. Other than casting couch, which I'm the wrong sex for anyway. Yes, I've got halfway decent gams and I could go to Sweden for the operations - but I've also got my reputation to consider. Oh wait - this is Hollywood...

The 2 completed scripts are out there, being looked at. Entered in screenwriting contests, because even being a top 20 finalist or so lends some credibility to the script. Such that a production company or agent might then devote a bit of time to read it. But that's a mighty big might.

The difficulty will not deter me, of course, because I'll just keep writing regardless of what they do.

 

[Brown]

The most important part of being a good spec scriptwriter is to be polite.

When you're polite to the people you wait on, they will tip you more. Ask them if they want fresh pepper. Offer to refill their water glasses. Recommend a good house dressing. Say "sir" a lot. This will help increase their generosity when it comes time to tip.

All right, it's a cliche to say that all budding screenwriters are "doing time" as waiters, hoping for the next big break to come. But like many cliches, there's some truth in it.

I used to write scripts just for my own enjoyment. I made the mistake of showing them to some people, who said, "Wow, this is really good! You should try to sell it!" And being uneducated, I looked into doing just that. I had a job at the time and did all my research in my spare time. I networked with some acquaintances at Paramount and Disney, so I could learn who to talk to.

The first rule, I found, is to get an agent. But this is a huge roadblock and and of itself. Got no references? Tough. Got no credits? Even tougher. Got no money? Tougher still. Got no connections? Boy, are you in trouble. Oh, but I have got a killer screenplay. Agents don't care about that, or more accurately, they hear that line so much that they automatically assume such a claim to be nonsense.

I've shared with the forum a few of my ideas. See, for example, this thread about a story set on a space station resort. An integral part of my story involves being exceptionally accurate with the space station physics, something that has never been done in any film. Although this thread delves into some of the physics surrounding the story, I have kept the plot of the story to myself. (I've also written a murder mystery set in a closed school--although I cannot find the thread in which I discussed it--and a story in which a near-impossible event occurs, where the story revolves around how such a catastrophe could have occurred, either accidentally or intentionally.)

I have no illusions that any of my stories will ever be made into a movie. But I suspect that if I were to pursue bringing one of these stories to life, it would be by a vehicle other than Hollywood.

Traditional movies are on the road to extinction. Right now, the need for good material resides in television. (And what a need! Most of the stuff television produces is crap!) With a few connections, you could get a budget for a pretty decent production.

By the way, I actually have successfully brought one of my stories to life, but it was not via Hollywood. I wrote a scenario pertaining to a news anchor whose son was shot dead. In this story, there was no question that the news anchor, a celebrity, shot the kid. The issue was whether the shooting was self-defense or not. And of course, various witnesses had different stories to tell, and the fact that the defendant was a celebrity just about turned the whole thing into a circus. This story (titled State vs. Darnell) became the basis for the national intercollegiate mock trial tournament sponsored by the American Mock Trial Association in the late 1990s. All around the country, college students were bringing to life characters that had originated from inside my own head. Seeing these characters come to life was indeed a surreal experience. And although I received credit as an author, I got no payment of any kind, other than the sheer gratification.

 

[fuelair]

In some areas, Orlando/Miami being one, if your script can be shot inexpensively there are often people looking for them to shoot - but most are looking for horror/action with naked females and hick cops. If interested, SF conventions , hanging around Full Sail or UCF or Valencia, and playing around the internet might be helpful. Oh, and hitting mini-film festivals.

 

[Pope130]

I'd like to see a WW2 movie but from the german perspective. Opposite of saving Privite Ryan it would follow a German unit instead. I'd use whatthey did in hunt for red october: for the first minute the characters speak German but then the actors go into speaking English; that way the audience bonds with the characters better. Interesting movie because it would never be done by the likes of spielberg.

Not very original but different for sure.

"Cross of Iron", "Enemy at the Gates", "Night of the Generals". Cross of Iron is exactly what you describe. A Waffen SS infantry unit on the Russian front.

Robert

 

[Vanda]

I'm not an artist or writer, but I love movies. I love smart suspense/thrillers, unfortunately, there aren't many. I'd love to see an atypical western film. Cowboy-noir?

 

[ConspiRaider]

I'm not an artist or writer, but I love movies. I love smart suspense/thrillers, unfortunately, there aren't many. I'd love to see an atypical western film. Cowboy-noir?

I'm in research now, for the Western, will be for the next month or two. Going on locations in June to get as much local flavor as I can, get steeped in this stuff, do a step-back of about 130 years or thereabouts.

And then hopefully I can twist something into shape. Westerns are dead. Therefore I have to figure a way to get folks into the seats to see a Western. It's a great challenge. Just what I like

 

[Piscivore]

I'm in research now, for the Western, will be for the next month or two. Going on locations in June to get as much local flavor as I can, get steeped in this stuff, do a step-back of about 130 years or thereabouts.

And then hopefully I can twist something into shape. Westerns are dead.

Not entirely- the cable channels are still making them, sometimes good ones. Look at "Open Range".

A friend of mine- writer and actor- and his friend- director- just finished shooting their movie and are getting it ready to shop it around to distributors. They asked me to try out for it, they wisely did not make use of my limited acting skills. But indie may be a way for you to go. Look at Clerks, and Pi.

 

[ConspiRaider]

Not entirely- the cable channels are still making them, sometimes good ones. Look at "Open Range".

A friend of mine- writer and actor- and his friend- director- just finished shooting their movie and are getting it ready to shop it around to distributors. They asked me to try out for it, they wisely did not make use of my limited acting skills. But indie may be a way for you to go. Look at Clerks, and Pi.

Cool. And you're probably a good actor, just selling yourself short. I'm an actor as well but in my case - I actually AM putrid. I doubt I could even pull off playing a hitching post in this future Western.

I am going to try and write a script good enough for A-list. That's what I'll shoot for. But if it doesn't measure up or attract the right attention, may have to go indie or cable. A Western can be low budget. But the direction and performances have to be spot on for it to have a chance...

 

[Piscivore]

Cool. And you're probably a good actor, just selling yourself short.

I'm NOT an actor. I was shocked they even asked me to try out, I had never even considered the possibility before. I am, in fact, barely tolerable in most social situations, let alone one so... public, so exposing as acting.

It was a lot of fun, though.

 

[TheGline]

I would love to see an adaptation of Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination. There was supposed to be one in the works, but it never materialized. The Count of Monte Cristo's one of my all-time favorite books, so I have an affinity for stories adapted from it (Oldboy, for instance).

 

[gumboot]

"Cross of Iron", "Enemy at the Gates", "Night of the Generals". Cross of Iron is exactly what you describe. A Waffen SS infantry unit on the Russian front.

Robert

"The Bunker" is okay.

The problem is, people want to tell their own stories, not someone else's. Spielberg isn't a German. The Germans exterminated many of his ancestors, you might recall.

Having said that, his series "Band of Brothers" had some powerful moments of "crossing over", in particular a German commander's speech to his soldiers who are about to be disbanded post-surrender (last episode, I think).

Germans might make a film about Germans in WW2 ("The Bunker" being an example) but Germans aren't especially keen on making WW2 films, for obvious reasons.

And Germans seem to love horror films at the moment ("The Bunker" is actually a horror/thriller as well).

I know the feeling. There's a gaping hole in New Zealand war films, partly because we can't afford to make them, and partly because we don't want to make those films. But we're missing out on some incredible stories.

There's a couple I want to write up as screenplays at some point.

There's the tragedy of Passchendael, the incredible victory of Bapaume, and others. (WWI).

In the pacific in WW2, there's a story of an RNZAF patrol over a Japanese held harbour. One of the NZ fighters was shot down, and the pilot landed in the middle of the harbour. It wasn't safe for the rescue aircraft to come into the harbour to pick the guy up, but the tide was pulling him out to sea.

The entire squadron stayed over the harbour for several hours, to keep the enemy patrol boats and fighters away from their single comrade, so he could escape. A storm was sweeping in between them and their home base, they were low on fuel, and not equipped for night flying. Yet as the day wore on, they kept fighting. At last after hours and hours the tide turned and the pilot was swept back in and captured.

The squadron dejectedly turned for home. In the dark, in the storm, they lost their way. None of them returned.

-Gumboot

 

[Piscivore]

In the pacific in WW2, there's a story of an RNZAF patrol over a Japanese held harbour. One of the NZ fighters was shot down, and the pilot landed in the middle of the harbour. It wasn't safe for the rescue aircraft to come into the harbour to pick the guy up, but the tide was pulling him out to sea.

The entire squadron stayed over the harbour for several hours, to keep the enemy patrol boats and fighters away from their single comrade, so he could escape. A storm was sweeping in between them and their home base, they were low on fuel, and not equipped for night flying. Yet as the day wore on, they kept fighting. At last after hours and hours the tide turned and the pilot was swept back in and captured.

The squadron dejectedly turned for home. In the dark, in the storm, they lost their way. None of them returned.

-Gumboot

A whole squadron sacrifices their lives to dangle false hope for hours just out of reach of one of their own commrades, holding off the inevitable capture with no other result than prolonging his anxiety, fear, and physical discomfort?

That's delicious. I think I just had an evilgasm.

 

[kittynh]

cool! I was going to post about a lost movie that I would never see, but had read about. We're losing a lot of old movies.

Westerns are great. Please write a good one that will get made!

are you inspired by your favorite movies in your writing?

 

[ConspiRaider]

cool! I was going to post about a lost movie that I would never see, but had read about. We're losing a lot of old movies.

Westerns are great. Please write a good one that will get made!

are you inspired by your favorite movies in your writing?

Hi Kitty New Hampshire -

Thanks much, and I'll certainly be attempting to write an A-list Western! The research will be deep, but enjoyable. I'll need it as a referent for weaving the story.

I think for inspiration, that's primarily my fascination with the wonder of people. In my writing I'm heavy on characterization. I'll spend a whole lot of time figuring out who the characters are, what they do, why they behave in their respective manners. I'm tremendously fascinated with people regardless of their so-called station in life. Station in life is artificial - people are real, and always interesting. Ever notice that? You talk to somebody and they reveal things about themselves or their experiences and you find yourself being amazed. And it consistently underscores - to me anyway - just how incredible we are, and how often we squander the wonder that is us. Or squelch it in others (via oppressive governments or cultures or religions, for example).

Also, movies and books are great at inspiration. I consider movies works of art. Like standing in front of The Potato Eaters by Van Gogh and staring at it for four hours. Movies are - or should aspire to be - modern works of art. I'd rather watch one great movie 5 times than 5 mediocre movies once. And books - I've devoured them since I was a wee lad. This tiny little thing, this book, with boring lines and paragraphs. Except that their world creators, if well written. Just beyond belief.

I've been a sometime actor, a skimmer through that. But it helps in writing, especially when one considers stage acting. In stage acting, the job of the actors is to pull the audience into their world, make them forget they are in a theatre. The audience is up there with you as it were, observing and experiencing your reality. No special effects or quick cuts or other distractive tricks in the movies or TV. It has to work on a legitimate level. It's why they call stage acting "legit". If you fail at stage acting - they won't come back after intermission. The word gets out - the show closes. So for me - I try to remember to keep the movie audience member in the world created up on the screen. The best way to do that, in my opinion, is give them characters they can relate to, empathize with. I strive to do that in my scripts.

I'm going to blitz Hollywood with scripts until they capitulate. Just a question of time, and volume.