Let's write a movie script

I'm not a writer. I'm an iron worker. I have an idea for a story and wanted to find someone or all of you, to write it so I can see it on the big screen. I've had this idea since I was...6 years old. That might sound odd when I tell you the idea. So here goes...oh and if I can't find a writer...then maybe we can do this together.

en.wikipedia.org...

I don't know how to add a link to something so if that didn't work, go to wikipedia.com and type in solipcism.

What if (now pretend this is you) a guy goes to the movies and watches a movie called: The Solipsist. Later on in the story he would find out that he literally is the only one that truly exists. It might raise some questions in his mind. He would probably ask himself who everybody else is, walking around on Planet Earth, believing they're just as real as he is, how they got there and what purpose do they serve.

I'll give you the basics of how a movie script is written. Here is The Matrix script, which you may have already read it. www.imsdb.com...

But now let me give it a format. Here are a couple other links (that I hope work) www.filmscriptwriting.com...

And this one is very important. www.monomyth.info...

Here are the basics from the Screenwriters Bible. They use this book in some of the art colleges across the US.

Situation, conflict, resolution. That's the basic flow of every movie ever written. Let's brake it down even more.

The CATALYST kicks things off. It's part of your story's set up
The BIG EVENT changes your characters life. We move to act 2.
The PINCH is a major moment in your story's middle;often a point of no return for your central character.
The CRISIS is the low point or a moment that forces a decision that leads to your story's end. We move to act 3 (the end)
The SHOWDOWN is the final face-off between your central character and the opposition. Good vs evil.
The REALIZATION occurs when your character and audience sees that the character has changed.

So...let's come up with a character that has a clear and specific goal, a strong opposition to that goal, leading to a crisis and an emotionally satisfying ending.

So to express our concept, we'll put it in the form of a logline (TV guide one-sentence version of the story)

A man watches a movie called The Solipsist and he wonders if that could be him. His question is answered with a YES, but from who?

Here's another way to express the concept to a movie producer just to plant a seed. The Matrix meets The Truman Show. Boom!!! He sees the concept and he's sold.

If we can do this, the title for OUR film will be: I AM

So please help me to see this film before our world ends here in the not too distant future.

Quite the esoteric plot there my man.

What about the love interest if the protagonist is the only person in existence?

That would seem sort of masturbatory given the circumstances.

[edit on 6/1/2009 by whatukno]

I like it!

I have written a number of scripts and I found this program invaluable for getting the plot, action, dialog into the proper format.

Down load is free.


celtx.com...

Once you get familiar with this program the script almost writes itself.

Now selling a script and getting it produced is something else entirely.

I have been working in the Movie industry now for over a year and EVERYONE has a script. Join us!!!

Classic theme there!

Wow. I love those types of stories. The kind that make you really THINK!

A love interest could be incorperated, in fact - it could really add a lot to how the character handles his newfound revelation.

I've still learning the basics with regards to the whole process, but I'd love to help out in some way.

Unfortuanately, dialogue has never been my strong point.

I could help with storyboarding and imagery though, if you like.


(just curious though - how does this film end? on a happy note, sad note - or one of those "wow, I gotta talk to my buddies about this movie I just saw because the ending was just so....oh wow....I need to talk to my friends about this and get some other opinions - that was intense!" kind of note?)

Personally - I'm hoping for the "leave the theatre wide eyed and going OMG DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?" with that lightheaded feeling kind of note.

(those movies just ROCK!)


But it's your project, so....what say you?

I'm here to tell you, Squire that dialog poses not problem for me.

I found this an invaluable tool....

www.amazon.com...

Whatever the script, I should be the lead and Liz V should be my love interest

Cmon a guy can dream right?

I like it. So let's see, the main character is living out his normal life, but something starts to go astray, perhaps his perception of the world starts breaking down. Perhaps he goes somewhere only to find that because he has never been there before it doesn't exist.

reply to post by whaaa

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Ok. I will down load this program if I'm going to be the dialog guy. So I read the reply above yours and he was talking about a love interest. So...in the beginning of the story, during character introductions and foreshadowing, we could give the character a love interest. We could give him anything we want. Remember, those around him "believe" they are just as real as him. That means...the hero will love these beings no matter what they are. He's known them his whole life and yes just like some of you, he loves and hates different parts of the human race. Obviously, this is a sci fi flick. So we got the love interest part down. Maybe...after he sees the movie called The Solipsist, we could show how he seems disturbed by what he just saw...trying to hide it from his Love so he can doesn't come off as crazy...he holds his thoughts back. Then maybe we can have her be the one that brakes the news to him. Maybe we can make her the only one that KNOWS but has always been there to keep him in check. We can also do some foreshadowing. During intros...we can do a scan of his apartment and show a small dispersed pile of dvds...they would have to be the type of films that made the audience walk away saying "What if that could be me?". We should make it apparent that something is trying to communicate with him through TV or movies. We could even have whoever is trying to communicate to him, tell him what methods HE used to speak to him. Not as foreshadowing but that could be the part of the revelation once he is in touch with this Higher form of intelligence. What do you guys think?

reply to post by GENERAL EYES

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You can help with whatever you're comfortable with! Hahaha. I'm not comfortable with anything. Everything I say is just to help you guys come up with a story. Got the love interest part down so you asked how this story might end. Here is a possibility...maybe we could have him become diagnosed with solipsicm syndrome but at the end of the film, we can reveal that he is in fact...alone. He was right all along. Maybe we could use that type of ending to set it up for a second film. If not, here's another ending possibility...for you to understand this ending I would have to brake the film down for you. So let me give it a try.

CATALYST: Hero watches movie called the Solipsist that raises some deep questions in him.

*Just a note; at some point in the beginning, we have to include some back story. Maybe this character can be a little "peculiar" like how we are. We're a little strange. (Strange but lovable boy has always wanted to be a hero.)

BIG EVENT: Boy actually achieves some form of abilities i.e. anything you can imagine. Maybe we can show him showing his girl friend what he can do with his new found abilities. This changes his life from this point on and raises even more questions in him. After achieving these abilities he is put in a...

PINCH: Contacted by the "Creator" and it is confirmed that he actually is the only one that exists. Then the Creator gives Earth A D-day. This puts him in a...

CRISIS: Is told by the Creator that he is the one that will complete D-day. Asks why he has to do it and the Creator informs him that Earth is ready for anything...except him. He tells the Creator that he won't do it. This propels the Creator to take matters into his own hands. This moment brings us to the...

SHOWDOWN: The Creator uses anything you can imagine to destroy mankind. And I mean anything. All things from biblical proportions to aliens. Anything to destroy the population. This takes us to the...

REALIZATION: Creator wins the battle against Earth and destroys the population. After this is achieved, the Creator reveals the truth to him. He wanted to build a hero. A hero that loves unconditionally. A hero for another mission.

That's just an example. We can go with it...tweak it, or maybe even scrap it and stick to our log line (our TV guide one-liner)

You know, another thing I was thinking could be a possibility could be that...the central character could be the antagonist/bad guy. His primary opposition character could be the Protagonist/good guy. You guys let me know what you think so far.

One other thing guys. What I want to happen is obviously for the audience to walk away having put themselves in that character's shoes. Only this time, after putting themselves in the character's shoes...they will be asking themselves the same question the hero did after he watched The Solipsist. This is a movie inside of a movie. Because all audiences can somehow relate to central characters in some way, this particular experience will bug the hell out of them because...the character experienced the same thing!!! He had the same questions!!! Do you guys realize what a twisted movie this would be?! Man, don't let an actual solipsist watch that movie!!! Hahaha. They'll never come back to reality.

Weird, no flags, am I (no pun) the only one to do so and if so why I must ask...

Like the character in your Script I too have wondered from time to time "what If" however if I were to name it the title would have to be "Who Am I?" JK, I Am is cool, wait cool is not cool right?

Listen I am just leaving for a couple of weeks, U2U me mid June and we can talk. Or wait Have your people U2U me and... never mind, MUST find Sleep!

Yep chaos at my house as we plan to try and get to bed early for a 4 am wake up to hit the road.

Later.

reply to post by donutviper

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One other thing Could you maybe get writer status and move this little gig to the collaborative writing forum? Just asking.

reply to post by donutviper

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Love is always bitter sweet, for this character he is a true lover, but without a true love, unless she is the one to help him unlock his reality. She has to be hard to get though, like a friend, you know 'friend'.

I have an idea for a timeless sci fi drama that differs greatly from star trek stargate, and any other star prefix in the title, maybe we could include some random ideas and get a good script together. Maybe make our own movie.

Mine is to cool to release right now im sitting on it. sry.

reply to post by mastermind77

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Well, you see the problem with me is...I'm not a writer. I just really want to see this flick in all its glory. If you have a good story you should probably get that book I mentioned earlier. Can you help me with this one?

Welcome new writer!

Don't be shy, join us in some of our other endeavors such as....

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by whaaa

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Wow you weren't kiddin. What a great tool to have! It's got a video tutorial!!! Perfect for a guy like me. This is so much better than my notepad waa waa waaaaa

hahaha jk man. Thank you so much! I'll see what I can do

I lack the talent to write a haiku. I think I might offend someone if I tried or just sound silly. Lemme give it a try...

To be, or not to be,
I think, therefore, I AM
That is the question

That's all I got. Thank you William Shakespeare and René Descartes

First of all let me say best of luck with your project!

Secondly, if you ever need any assistance, feel free to u2u and I will help if I can.

I've worked in the film industry for coming up on 25 years and my concentration has been in Indie films.

I will pass on what my writing prof. said to us in college.

There are three rules of writing;
1. You have to start writing.
2. You have to finish what you write.
3. You have to finish what you write.

As easy as it would seem to throw some words down on a page, writing can be a tedious and laborious process.

Start with your log line as you suggested.

Expand that to a pitch sheet or outline. This should be anywhere from three to ten pages and would be the framework of the story. This is normally what writers who are looking to get paid to write a script, instead of doing spec work, will memorize and "pitch" to studios to get them to give them some cash to write the script. Even though you won't be pitching to a studio, you should treat it as such and "pitch" your story to friends to see if the story makes sense and excites them.

I also would recommend buying a dictaphone of some sort if you can. Nothing is worse than coming up with a great idea and not being able to remember it. Also, great for long car rides and throwing ideas around in a group as it allows you to go with the creative flow and not have to stop to write notes every two minutes.

When you feel confident in your outline...dive in.

Try to set aside a specific amount of time and time of day that you can commit to working on it. Think of it as a job and treat as such, even if it is just an hour every morning.

Try to write a page a day. Not that you have to write a page every-time you sit down, but if you plan on actually writing that day, try to knock off at least a page.

One page translates into approx. one minute of screen time. Try to keep that in mind if you see you've written fifteen pages of a scene that should only occupy a couple of minutes. Shoot for a completed script of around 95 to 110 pages. Not to worry if the first couple of drafts are longer, but the finished project should be somewhere in this range unless you end up writing Lord of the Rings.

Keep going until you are done. Now, take a long nap. Seriously, put it down and leave it for a week. Go back and try to read it with a fresh eye. If it looks reasonable, you'll want to pass it a round to a few people and see what they think. Take their notes and yours and go back and start your second round. If you feel it needs more work before you let others see it feel free to go back and tweak it, but don't make yourself crazy. I've read countless scripts where, when I asked to see the writer's first draft, it was actually better than his tenth draft.

If you can get your hands on it, I would recommend Final Draft for scriptwriting as it is the industry standard. Also, if you are lucky enough to get that far, it integrates into budgeting and production scheduling software.

www.finaldraft.com...

Best of Luck,

Lello

reply to post by lellomackin

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Well thank you for that huge reply hahaha. Actually, I do spend quite a bit of time on this one story. I like the 3 rules your prof. gave you in college...because he's talking about people like myself. Sometimes I will just sit there and think...I think the longest thought was about 2 hours. Head in hands, pacing back and forth. I like that program link you sent me. If I was single and could afford it I'd buy it right now today. I'm getting desperate to see this get done. I guess that's why I need the help of ATS.

Yea, about the long reply...well, you got me. I tend to talk a lot, lol...and here I go again.

I guess that's why I went into entertainment. Like I said, 25 years doing this and I've seen a lot of great projects die on the vine for various reasons, lack of stamina being the main culprit.

I would look at ATS like this; Say you're renovating a house, you may be able to buy people some beers and get them to come over and destroy a few walls or come over when you're done and say whether it looks okay or not, but don't expect anyone but yourself to be there everyday doing the hard labor. Not to belittle anyone, but that's how I see it.

On the other hand, I think you would be surprised at how far you can take your idea on your own.

You're not gonna die if it's not done in a week or a year, right? And you have a burning passion to get it out, right? Use it. If you are sitting around with your head in your hands thinking about it for lengths at a time, you're in. You're mentally, psychologically and physically committing time to this. Go for it. You really don't need anyone else at this stage.

And if you think it's going to somehow detract from the rest of your life or you don't have time, whatever, 90% of the best creative work that I was able to come up with to apply to a film project has been in the car, having a coffee, a smoke, having sex or sitting on the can. That's why I mentioned getting a recorder of some sorts, great for the can(and good for sex too).

The whole process is a big massive stone. Start chipping away at it, you really have nothing to lose. You may find you have a proficiency for it.

Might as well give it a shot and get it somewhere. Who knows, maybe you'll finish the whole damn thing and end up getting an award at some festival or another. Trust me, I've seen weirder things happen.

At the very least, you should think it through to the point that you have a solid concept of what you want.


Regards,

Lello