Producer's disturbing script wanted ad

[Carlton Redford]

An excerpt from a Scripts Wanted ad on InkTip's e-zine makes me wonder where the business (and our culture) is headed. And I know that these kinds of movies do make plenty of money when produced, more's the pity:

"We are looking for 'inventive' horror scripts, along the lines of 'Saw III.' By 'inventive,' we mean that the story has lots of cool, unique gadgets with which to chop, slice and dice the victims."

[Jcorona]

That doesn't disturb me. Now if he asked me for a loan after I submitted the script, that would disturb me. Now if I loaned it to him, that would disturb me more.

Thank you,

Corona

[jtwg50]

There's a producer who knows his genre!
I see nothing wrong with it, at all. If you measure the "Saw" films on ratio of budget to gross, all three are among the most successful films in recent history -- especially the first one.
It's a shame more producers don't quantify their genres and position their needs with the same precision (no pun intended). We'd all benefit from a better business model, because it is, after all, a business.

[Kel]

I wonder if he'd like my script GINSU.

[scripter1]

"help yourself' ?

Don't you mean save yourself?
But lets not mince words.

[sasqits]

it wasn't the gadgets that made Saw a succes.

It was a complex villain and the idea of how far would you be willing to go to help yourself?


Wrong.

[scrub 9x]

Wrong.

Double Wrong. Reverse the reverse.

[CutteRug]

We are looking for 'inventive' horror scripts, along the lines of 'Saw III.' By 'inventive,' we mean that the story has lots of cool, unique gadgets with which to chop, slice and dice the victims."

In a business sense, this doesn't disturb me. It's concise, focused and considering the current trend - smart business thinking.

On the cultural end of things - I'm with you Carlton. It's a depressing commentary on the state of our collective consciousness that these kinds of movies are the slam dunk sells, while concepts that appeal to subltler human sensibilites than our fear of torture and dismemberment often languish. :(

But that's the state of things. What I strive to do is 'sugar the pill', writing stories that get butts in the seats with an enticing concept, then engage the senses with an emotionally engaging ride, and THEN nudge the consciousness toward things like empathy and compassion.

And even while I'm trying to lure my audience (and myself) away from bloodlust and fascination with pornographic violence, I still realize it's always been a part of human nature. We're part spirit, part mind, and part animal.

That's the rub. :rolleyes:

Cheers,

Cutt-

[odriftwood]

Recently heard just the opposite from a producer. He asked if a horror script I'm submitting is slasher or supernatural. I said supernatural and he replied "thank God... I'm so sick of SAW type scripts...." to each his own...

[sasqits]

Double Wrong. Reverse the reverse.

Sorry for being right. Most people don't go to a movie called Saw b/c they want to see people save themselves. They want to see people get hacked up in inventive ways. That's most people.

Some people, like me, enjoyed both aspects of the movie. Some enjoyed one or the other, which is why the movie was the success that it was, but most were in it for the inventive goring. That's why the sequels were also a success. The plots are essentially the same - how far do you go to save yourself. So why do audiences keep going back for the same plot? B/c the inventive goring is not the same.

Thank you