Revenge Movies Are A Dish Best Served Bold (Part 1)
Few themes are as relatable as revenge. We’ve all been wronged and considered various responses to that wrong. Not many of us use violence or extremes toward the wrongdoers, but there is a place we all go to where those remedies are at least internally considered. That’s what makes revenge stories so powerful. A […]
Why High Concept Films Are Popular In Hollywood
It’s one of the mainstays of Hollywood – the High Concept. Some add the word pitch to that to indicate that it’s done mostly to people interested in buying a project. Either way, it’s an important part of how the business in show business is done. What Is High Concept? In a nutshell, […]
Structure, Structure, Structure? Where Art Thou? (Part 2)
House Of Gucci The movie of Patrizia Reggiani (Lady Gaga) who married Maurizio Gucci (Adam Driver) and then was convicted of his murder is also a seemingly schizophrenic one. In one half you have this storybook romance between Patrizia and Maurizio and the growth of Gucci as a brand; then around midpoint things turn […]
Structure, Structure, Structure? Where Art Thou? (Part 1)
For many years, film structure has mostly followed the three act structure we’re all aware of: Act I is the setup, II is the journey, and III is resolution Acts I & III comprise each about 20-25% of the script and Act II around 50%. Recently some films have seemingly defied this traditional structure – […]
Clichés, Tropes & Stereotypes (Part 2)
Flip It By now you must be seeing some obvious techniques here. Tropes must be subverted to not become clichés and character types must not be reduced to clichés to remain archetypal and stay above the ordinary. In Casino Royale, the 2006 Bond reboot, the writers/producers saw an opportunity to tweak some of the […]
