Stay open, stay fluid...
This year there were notably less American films, and no blockbusters, at the Cannes Festival that just ended. Instead the focus was on Independents, which is good news for screenwriters directors and other industry folk who struggle to get their work funded. Hollywood will still be a draw, a place to build your chops, find work in television, be a reader, and just plain arm yourself for the tough business that filmmaking is. At the sametime, Hollywood is simply not what it used to be. Jobs done by the creative ‘middle class’ are disappearing. The assistant directors, the grips, and sound recordists. And yes, even working writers. According to several professors at film schools, students’ attention spans are shrinking…no Bela Tarr for them, who by the way, died just a few months ago. Add to the short attention spans, we now wrestle with the implications of AI. Yet, looking on the bright side, for the few true creative souls out there all that could spell a great future. So think of new ways to tell your stories. Paint with words. Surprise yourself. In a changing world, stay open, stay fluid.
julie strong.art
But let’s leap back into the future.. Recently I saw a film about the personal effects of war, called A Little Prayer, War movies are a genre that will always be popular because conflict is the inherent premise and without conflict you have no story; but what was interesting to me with this film is that it demonstrates that there are a myriad ways to tell a story about the same subject. A Little Prayer, is a story about a family, parents, a wife, and a young man who has returned from war. He is outwardly a normal person but is in fact a broken young man and an alcoholic, unable to deal with civilian life. Screenwriter/director Angus MacLachalan gives us an honest, witty, bittersweet script where the entire structure matters, as much as the nuance; in this gem of a film that unfolds at a quiet musical pace.
On that noteI leave you to ponder your next script and as you are writing it, never forget that often, what you see as the ending should in fact be the opening. But most importantly, remember, no matter what the genre, it is the humanity in the story, the humanity in your characters that resonate with an audience.
Keep writing and stay in touch.
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Until next time….