Pushing your own comfort zone

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  • Pushing your own comfort zone

    Question: Would you, Could you, Should you, or Have you - ever written the kind of movie you would never go to see?

    My gut feeling at first was that it's a very difficult thing to do and unlikely to be successful. But on the other hand, it may also be one of the things that separates the pro from the amateur.

    Has anyone here written a script in a genre they really dislike and had it turn out OK?

    Curious.


  • #2
    Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

    Originally posted by mlongton View Post
    Question: Would you, Could you, Should you, or Have you - ever written the kind of movie you would never go to see?
    Maybe there are writers who can do that - I've got no idea. But personally I would never even contemplate trying to write a movie I wouldn't want to see; quite the opposite. If it's not the sort of movie you'd enjoy I don't see how you could make the necessary instinctive connection with the chararcters and their situation but like I say, maybe there are writers who can.

    ETA: Why would you want to write a movie you wouldn't want to see? What would be the creative motivation?
    Last edited by DavidK; 05-23-2011, 03:49 AM. Reason: add
    "Friends make the worst enemies." Frank Underwood

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    • #3
      Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

      my first question back would be, why would you want to OR what's the point?
      my next comment would be, you're probably lying to yourself about actually wanting to see it.

      if you were offered a writing assignment it's unlikely it would be in a genre that you haven't proven you can write yet. it's no different than most jobs. you'd have to be qualified and willing.

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      • #4
        Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

        It happens all the time. Look at all the soulless crap that's released week in week out. Don't forget that screenwriting is a job. Some people do this for a living, others are luckier.

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        • #5
          Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

          I can't imagine anyone would ever hire me to write something without fight scenes in it.
          Chicks Who Script podcast

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          • #6
            Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

            The studios make lists of writers who are really good at particular kinds of writing, so when they need a writer for their next fight movie, they hire one from their list of writers who can write really good fight movies. They don't expect you to be equally good at all kinds of writing, so you might as well start with the types of movies you love and understand really well and find out which of those types of movies you are best at writing.

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            • #7
              Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

              These days I often write scripts in genres that normally don't interest me. That being said, I'm not all that interested in most feature films that are released- I watch a lot more television and very rarely watch films. The point that I'd be interested in watching a film would be if I hear it's good, and it's from a writer who I respect, regardless of genre. I apply the same thinking to my own scripts. Regardless of genre, if it's an idea I like, and I pour all the love and soul I can into the characters, I'm proud of the script. I've written a script that I might not go to see, but would enjoy if I did see it ... if it were made in a high quality way obviously.

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              • #8
                Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

                I think I'm almost invariably writing a movie because, on some level, it's a movie I'd like to see. If it doesn't have that, why am I writing it? Why am I fighting for it?

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                • #9
                  Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

                  I would say that's it's not about a movie that one would/must see, but more along the lines it's a story that must be told. If it's a story that you would not normally write, but you feel it must be told...then go for it.

                  Don't limit yourself. You never know what you will discover.

                  ETA: this goes to my philosophy of having a life of "oh wells," versus "what if????"
                  The best way out is always through. - Robert Frost

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                  • #10
                    Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

                    Originally posted by zenplato View Post
                    I would say that's it's not about a movie that one would/must see, but more along the lines it's a story that must be told.
                    I agree with this.

                    I think the problem, though, is that people who really don't know how to write a good story think that everyone wants to read their crappy story that must be told.

                    HH

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                    • #11
                      Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

                      Writing is hard, why would I want to make it even harder by writing something I don't care about that I wouldn't pay money to see?

                      I turned down an assignment last week because I wouldn't have any fun writing it... even though it was in my genre. Producer's idea, and not one I related to.

                      I'm currently writing a script that is not in my genres, but it is completely something I would pay to see because the story has a whole bunch of things that I've experienced - it's a coming of age movie, and I was once the picked on kid who was really good at something that didn't seem to matter to anyone else... and had to learn a bunch of hard lessons about how you can do everything right... and still get sh!t for it. There are no explosions. There are no car chases. There are no kung fu fights. It is totally *not* in my comfort zone.

                      And to me, that's what "pushing your own comfort zone" is - not doing hackwork, but trying to find yourself in some story that isn't "easy for you to write". Not that anything is ever easy. I think it's important to test yourself - challenge yourself, push past whatever your limits are and write something that may not be "easy". How else do you improve?

                      Even in scripts in my comfort zone, I challenge myself. I call it "self amuse" (like self abuse) and I'll do something like have a main character who never has a single line of dialogue, but you (hopefully) never notice that. Or create an off-screen character and try to make them so real you'd swear they were in scenes. Or purposely leave out a critical scene and see if no one notices (no one ever did). To me, doing these things is fun. And maybe preparing me for when some weird thing is required of a script - like sailors who can not swear like sailors if you want to get U.S. Navy cooperation... how can I make the dialogue real and gritty without any swears?

                      But if writing something isn't fun, I'm outta there*.

                      - Bill

                      *Unless it's a rewrite of my spec where I'm trying to protect the material... by effing it up for the producer myself. Not fun, but has to be done.
                      Free Script Tips:
                      http://www.scriptsecrets.net

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                      • #12
                        Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

                        Originally posted by wcmartell View Post
                        Writing is hard, why would I want to make it even harder by writing something I don't care about that I wouldn't pay money to see?

                        I turned down an assignment last week because I wouldn't have any fun writing it... even though it was in my genre. Producer's idea, and not one I related to.

                        I'm currently writing a script that is not in my genres, but it is completely something I would pay to see because the story has a whole bunch of things that I've experienced - it's a coming of age movie, and I was once the picked on kid who was really good at something that didn't seem to matter to anyone else... and had to learn a bunch of hard lessons about how you can do everything right... and still get sh!t for it. There are no explosions. There are no car chases. There are no kung fu fights. It is totally *not* in my comfort zone.

                        And to me, that's what "pushing your own comfort zone" is - not doing hackwork, but trying to find yourself in some story that isn't "easy for you to write". Not that anything is ever easy. I think it's important to test yourself - challenge yourself, push past whatever your limits are and write something that may not be "easy". How else do you improve?

                        Even in scripts in my comfort zone, I challenge myself. I call it "self amuse" (like self abuse) and I'll do something like have a main character who never has a single line of dialogue, but you (hopefully) never notice that. Or create an off-screen character and try to make them so real you'd swear they were in scenes. Or purposely leave out a critical scene and see if no one notices (no one ever did). To me, doing these things is fun. And maybe preparing me for when some weird thing is required of a script - like sailors who can not swear like sailors if you want to get U.S. Navy cooperation... how can I make the dialogue real and gritty without any swears?

                        But if writing something isn't fun, I'm outta there*.

                        - Bill

                        *Unless it's a rewrite of my spec where I'm trying to protect the material... by effing it up for the producer myself. Not fun, but has to be done.
                        Ahh, but you are limiting yourself. What I liked last year is not the same as what I like this year. What I would pay money for this summer, may not entice me next summer.

                        Don't fool yourself by placing limitations (and it's not just with writing).

                        To each their own, but sometimes self-discovery is not following the same path. For me personally, that's how I look at it.
                        The best way out is always through. - Robert Frost

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                        • #13
                          Re: Pushing your own comfort zone

                          Originally posted by NikeeGoddess View Post
                          my first question back would be, why would you want to OR what's the point?
                          Very simply - to get read.

                          I do okay with prodco's - there's a range of tastes there and if you do your homework you can find a prodco that might be interested in what you do. But there seems to be a serious disconnect between what appears in theaters and what agents and managers are interested in. I get the impression that agents and managers are interested ONLY in tentpole stuff. I don't write - and I don't normally see - stuff about teenage supehero time-travellers. Fact is, they're getting on my nerves. Maybe what I'm griping about is that the kind of movies I like don 't generally start out as specs.

                          My last script was an attempt to break out a bit - a genre I don't much like. It was hard to do but I got into it eventually - whether successfully I don't know. It's out at a few producers now.

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