Raising the Stakes

Collapse

Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Raising the Stakes

    Do you think it's more important to have "high stakes" in a drama or action/adventiure picture than it is in movies like Dodgeball or Old School?

    Thank you.
    "Entertaining the world is a full time, up at dawn, never ending siege, the likes of which you will never fully understand."
    Billy Thrilly 2005

  • #2
    Re: Raising the Stakes

    I think you do Billy.


    Oh you're serious, okay well, if an action adventure doesn't have high stakes then the protag comes across as a twat. Why is he bothering? In a comedy - well at least you get a laugh.
    http://wasitsomethingiwrote.blogspot.com/

    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Raising the Stakes

      The stakes have to be worth it. They must justify the actions taken. If Hans Gruber was a mild mannered accountant who was merely embezzling a few thousand from the bank then John McClane would have got some stick for killing them all one by one. But because his wife and many more lives were at risk McClane was justified in his actions.

      The actual event or stakes could be trivial, if it can be shown to have a significant impact on the characters concerned. Michael Douglas in Falling Down went postal after being stuck in a traffic jam, but it was clear that this was merely the straw that broke the camels back.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Raising the Stakes

        a comedy - well at least you get a laugh.
        That's exactly how I feel.

        Thank you.
        "Entertaining the world is a full time, up at dawn, never ending siege, the likes of which you will never fully understand."
        Billy Thrilly 2005

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Raising the Stakes

          Sometimes the stakes are exactly the same, and it's the approach, tone, and genre that make some stakes feel higher than others.

          In Dodgeball, the main character was going to lose everything. He was losing his house, his business, and his friends, who would all have to find somewhere else to hang out (like a locked ward).

          That would be a perfectly legitimate problem in a drama. Of course, the solution would have to change...

          kullervo

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Raising the Stakes

            Originally posted by kullervo
            In Dodgeball, the main character was going to lose everything. He was losing his house, his business, and his friends, who would all have to find somewhere else to hang out (like a locked ward).
            Yeah, but it's such an obvious "stakes."

            He's gonna lose his gym unless they win $50,000. Big deal. Heard it.

            I'm just saying that in comedies it seems that almost no effort is put into coming up with original stakes that really will have consequences.

            AND I AGREE WITH THAT. It's a comedy. Give us some dumb stakes and make us laugh.

            Am I wrong?
            "Entertaining the world is a full time, up at dawn, never ending siege, the likes of which you will never fully understand."
            Billy Thrilly 2005

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Raising the Stakes

              Originally posted by billythrilly7
              Yeah, but it's such an obvious "stakes."

              He's gonna lose his gym unless they win $50,000. Big deal. Heard it.

              I'm just saying that in comedies it seems that almost no effort is put into coming up with original stakes that really will have consequences.
              This is very true, which is why most comedies have no third act any more. Unless you count the obligatory "running through an airport" as a third act.


              Dodgeball seems to come up on this board a lot. Let me just say this again: it is a parody of sports movies. It's not something one should hold up as an example of... well, anything except parodies. It' like looking to Scary Movie 2 for horror movie structure.
              It's a celebration, bitches.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Raising the Stakes

                Well let's apply it to real life.

                Will I run across shattered glass barefoot while terrorist fire automatic rounds at me to save my local gym or to help a goofball golfer beat a bastard judge in a round of golf? No.

                I'm not risking my life to save my Grandmother's house or my Dad's brake pad factory. But I would risk my life to save the city of San Francisco from a terrorist armed with VX rockets--especially if my fiance was stuck in San Fran.

                That said, I would probably be willing to get in a car with a skinny smartass brake pad expert and drive all around the midwest trying to sell brakepads to car parts distributors if it could save my the town I grew up in from financial ruin. And if I were a really overweight slacker who has done nothing but smoke pot and perfect the art of keg standing, there would probably be some comedic fodder there.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Raising the Stakes

                  This is the principal problem with many of today's comedies. Attempting to fit them to a "stakes" structure takes all the fun out of them. The best comedies of today (and yesteryear) are those that allowed the comedy to arise naturally from the situation, rather than forcing comedy into a "stakes" game. Films like Bottle Rocket, When Hairy Met Sally, The Philadelphia Story, Raising Arizona, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High don't attempt to make some big statement about some high stakes scenario, but rather show quirky or interesting characters in really funny situations. And satisfyingly so.
                  http://confoundedfilms.com

                  http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Raising the Stakes

                    HAIRY!!!!!!!!!!!

                    You and I agree about something!!!!!!!!

                    Oh my god!!!!!!!!!
                    "Entertaining the world is a full time, up at dawn, never ending siege, the likes of which you will never fully understand."
                    Billy Thrilly 2005

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Raising the Stakes

                      P.S. I hope you don't mind if I copy and paste that and use that exact post when responding to some development exec about my brilliant high concept and/or low concept comedy when he says "raise the stakes."
                      "Entertaining the world is a full time, up at dawn, never ending siege, the likes of which you will never fully understand."
                      Billy Thrilly 2005

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Raising the Stakes

                        Feel free, and please don't credit me, so he won't throw me out the same door he throws you.

                        Also, please keep in mind: Hairy doesn't write comedy.
                        http://confoundedfilms.com

                        http://www.myspace.com/confoundedfilms

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Raising the Stakes

                          Thank you and although you may not write comedy, you gave me the perfect answer I was searching for.

                          What does Hairy write? Film noir, huh?

                          Okay, because of our beautiful unification in the last few posts, I will not make a snide comment about film noir, whatever that is.
                          "Entertaining the world is a full time, up at dawn, never ending siege, the likes of which you will never fully understand."
                          Billy Thrilly 2005

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Raising the Stakes

                            A comedy without stakes quickly degenerates into a collection of skits.


                            The stakes and goal are necessary to give the story a purposeful direction and advancement.


                            If you think the stakes in Dodge Ball, the pinnacle of writing, try telling the same story without them.

                            Remove the desire to get the girl or keep the gym or show up the bad guy or even win the competition. What have you got?

                            A bunch of guys playing dodge ball. The end.

                            I don't know about you, but it doesn't sound like much of a story to me.

                            My humble .02


                            Fortune favors the bold - Virgil

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Raising the Stakes


                              Bottle Rocket, When Hairy Met Sally, The Philadelphia Story, Raising Arizona, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High




                              What about Chaplin and Keaton's comedies and "Some Like It Hot" or the great ones by Mel Brookes like "Young Frankenstein" and "The Producers?" I can list hundreds of great comedies that havew stakes. My guess is that all comedies have stakes but the degree of the stakes vary depending upon the story that's being told.

                              Comment

                              Working...
                              X