Which Screenplay Should You Write Next? (Part 2)

This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series What To Write:

Based On Something Else

3 Body Problem was based on an award-winning book series by Chinese sci-fi writer Cixin Liu. It took the science fiction market by storm and had a lot of people scrambling for the TV rights.

Netflix won the most recent rights battle and released a successful adaptation, but even before they were aware, a 30-episode Chinese adaptation was filmed and released.

Trying to adapt any existing intellectual property (IP) not your own to the screen is almost impossible for we mere mortals. There are giants in the industry throwing money at these projects with wild abandon. There are ways around this, however. Public domain material, legends and fairy tales, or fictionalized versions of famous people (Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Killer) can be done.

Also, reaching out to lesser-known authors may get you a chance to adapt. Be aware that most times the subsidiary rights (subrights), the rights you need to adapt an IP, is usually held by the publisher of the material. I do know several authors whose sub-rights are held by them, not a publisher, so what does it hurt to ask? Nothing.

A news story I read once about an animal control officer inspired my script Execution about a former cop facing an impossible choice. Rainman about an autistic savant (Kim Peek) spun me off into a different script called The Left Hand of Darkness. Almost anything can be an inspiration for a great tale.

Subvert The Genre: Being Guy Ritchie

Guy Ritchie is probably one of the more creative absurdest gangster writer/directors we have. He subverts what is normally a very violent genre, the gangster saga, by adding just the most ridiculous characters and situations.

The Gentlemen series on Netflix is hilarious and dangerous. A lot of Ritchie’s material walks that jagged line between comedy and violence. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare to name a few, skillfully subvert your expectations. In the case of The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare Ritchie takes a true story, a difficult period in the world’s history, throws in a gaggle of goofballs to populate it, and mixes well.

Elmore Leonard did it before Ritchie with Get Shorty and way before any of our current filmmakers, films like Capra’s Arsenic and Old Lace starring Cary Grant, Damon Runyon’s Pocketful of Miracles and  Hitchcock’s The Trouble with Harry roared to box office success. Pocketful was actually a remake from a 1933 film called Lady For A Day so even back in the dim days of Hollywood, subverting genres was always a thing. Tapping into that subversion is almost required of any writer. We upend convention for the purest of motives – monetary gain.

High Concept

Hundreds of articles have described the logic behind a high concept story. ‘Aliens arrive on Earth to teach us how to save ourselves’ – Arriva”. ‘In Space No One Can Hear You Scream’ – Alien.

Choosing to write something that has an easy-to-grasp concept that is also intriguing is a solid way to increase your chances of a sale.

One of my first pitches, when Cinetel was looking for a writer to do a sequel for one of their successful movies, was, “A serial killer who isn’t a serial killer is killing people who are already dead.” That got me my first script assignment despite having no professional experience.

Most genre films (horror, thrillers, sci-fi, rom coms, etc.) have a solid high concept behind them. Any Sherlock Holmes movie/ TV show is basically high concept by its nature. The most recent iteration starring Benedict Cumberbatch maintains the spirit of the consulting detective stories but subverts the time period and Arthur Conan Doyle’s original plots to brilliant effect.

Docudramas

Dramatized real events is a growing genre. It came out of the True Crime world – another great way to go, by the way. They are dramatized recreations of a person or events. The Thief, His Wife and the Canoe is an example, based on a true story about a man who faked his own death. Scoop is a new release about Prince Andrew’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. “Borgen” isn’t exactly a docudrama or true crime but like West Wing it peers into the inner workings of government dramatizing important procedures and aspects – a peek behind the curtain if you will. The People vs. O.J. Simpson is an obvious story about a case that polarized the world and is still garnering headlines.

YA – Young Anything

Are you a Rambo fan? How about Young Rambo? We can’t do it (rights issues), but Sly Stallone could. Mr. Stallone, I’m available. Call me.

Young Indiana Jones, Young Sherlock Holmes, Young Frankenstein, Young Guns etc. all work because you’re imagining someone or something famous in a different light and situation. How about The Young Black Stallion? 2003 movie.

The Crown was a massive success because it took us to Queen Elizabeth’s (then Princess Elizabeth) youth. Along the way forward it covered Prince, now-King, Charles, Princess Diana, the children of all the monarchs since King George V as youngsters who grew up in the monarchy.

Going back in time (prequels) to envision a younger version of anyone or anything is the very heart of a lot of compelling dramas. The recent Predator: Prey (5th film in the series) takes the franchise back to America in the 1700’s.

Faith-Based/ Spiritual/ Uplifting

There is a tremendous upside to anything faith-based. The messages are almost always positive and you feel good writing them. Anything inspirational makes an impact on your life and can be written about successfully because it changes your world view.

Movies like Seabiscuit, A Beautiful Mind, Unbroken, The Book of Clarence etc. inspire and re-affirm life and people do respond to them. The market for these films is burgeoning. We all need to feel good about ourselves and our world in such unsettled times. Far worse ways to speak whatever truths you have simmering inside you.

Subvert The Narrative

Underworld, based on material by Kevin Grevioux, Len Wiseman, and Danny McBride has familiar tropes: vampires and werewolves (called lycans) but uses those tropes in ways I’d never seen before.

Selene (Kate Beckinsale), a Death Dealer and vampire, wages war on lycans who used to be the vamps’ slaves. The unfolding story illuminates the war between the two groups and shatters everything Selene believed in. The opening sequence is exhilarating using bullets infused with ultraviolet that kills vampires, and other bullets with silver nitrate inside that kill lycans. Plus, they are not supernatural creatures but rather mutated humans. On and on the authors re-envisioned these very familiar types to create a world and characters unique.

Not as fantastical, but so very successful was/is Law and Order. The idea of half of the episode of a standard cop show being the investigation and the other half about the prosecution made producer Dick Wolf a billionaire. Columbo showed you the killer and then challenged the seeming stumbling detective to prove it. Instead of ‘who done it’ it was a ‘how done it.” Brilliant.

Classic Adaptations

Romeo and Juliet has been made and remade. Use the basic storyline to create your own love story. Ladyhawke took the star-crossed lovers concept to new heights with its amazing premise.

As I’ve mentioned before in other articles, Sons of Anarchy is based in Hamlet. Likewise, The Lion King. House, M.D. is Sherlock Holmes. Clueless is based on classic literature by Jane Austen.

There are thousands of classics that detail basic human truths that can be adapted to today’s markets. The public domain material available to you is legion.

It’s A Brave New World

Among all this is also the recognition that content delivery systems have changed and  material for web series, YouTube, TikTok and other streaming is tremendously viable. Writing something and shooting it yourself (live action, animatic, animation) can lead to a deal for a feature or series.

The Simpsons one of the most successful series ever (now in its 35th season) started as a segment on the Tracey Ullman show. Mama caught the attention of Guillermo Del Toro as a short and was produced as a full-length feature. Lights Out was a creepy, horror short filmed in a bedroom and hallway that became the 2016 film of the same name. Scavengers Reign was based on a short called Scavengers that creators Joseph Bennett and Charles Huettner did.

Whiplash which led to Damien Chazelle’s Best Picture Oscar nomination, was a proof-of-concept short he made that showed the absolute abusive intensity of the teacher character played in both the short and the feature by the incredible J.K. Simmons which made it irresistible to production companies.

Other Ideas In Brief:

-Any current events or sociological phenomena are rife with possibilities. Just remember, that by the time you write it, get it sold, then made, it might be years from that nascent thought and not so current.

-Are you funny? Comedy is always in fashion. It doesn’t always transcend markets, but it can get you a deal quicker than almost anything else, if you are indeed capable of delivering the laughs.

-Christmas/holiday movies really do well if they’re clever and interesting enough and there always seems to be an open market for them especially at Hallmark.

-Teen stories be it homecoming, prom, or just high school life will always do well. Yellowjackets, Friday Night Lights, Wednesday, Sex Education, and Blood and Water show the diverse tapestry available. Consider the hit Stranger Things which combines teens, horror, and mystery. Huge hit.

-Inspired-by remakes: Double Indemnity was remade into Body Heat without any rights being violated. Take the core concept (betrayal, noir-style) and go nuts.

-Sports movies based on teams, players, or events like Miracle On Ice like when the American hockey team beat the heavily-favored Soviet juggernaut in the 1980 Olympics are terrific concepts. The recent Boys In The Boat proves that.

-These days, animation with its low point of entry is a great choice. Plenty of software out there to make your animated ideas a reality; but really, does anyone really think South Park is brilliant animation?  It’s brash, funny, genius-level social themes but no one cares about the fact that characters don’t walk but rather bump along, and sometimes their faces hinge open to talk.
 
In Conclusion

Some suggestions here involve IP rights. Check with an attorney before assuming you know how that all works for whatever project you’re thinking about. There is no law that says you can’t write something; there are however, plenty of laws protecting any sale based on those rights.

So, look around. Ask yourself what am I not seeing in film or TV that I can use to make my scripts soar and make my stories unique? I challenge my students to think so far outside the box the box disappears.

There are tens of thousands of stories you can write.