So La Femme had an interesting post a while back on Premise Testing, but I wanted to debate and go deeper to just what makes a solid, commercial, Hollywood premise, and just what we should be thinking of/ ticking off on our Premise Testing List.
From La Femme's old post on Premise Testing, she says:
"Here is a worksheet I would recommend using for every premise you come up with. Simply fill it out in pencil and voila, watch the skeleton of your story come together.
Title:
Premise line:Genre:Hook:
Theme:
World (location/situation):
Main Character:
Wants/Needs
Flaw
Age/stage of life
Antagonist:
motivation/goals:
Set up or inciting incident:
1st act break event:
Midpoint reversal:
2nd act break event:
Ticking Clock:
Showdown or Climactic Scene:
How does this story fit into the current zeitgeist?
What age is the audience for this story idea?
What is universally resonant about this story?
Approximate Budget:
List Three Movies which are in ANY way similar:
When was each released?
What was the box office?-
Now, the above is a solid breakdown of your idea. But I wanted to go deeper still and create a Premise Testing List of things writers should/could be thinking about for amping up that Hollywood mainstream idea.
So I'll start off with...
1) CASTABLE.
Are your protag or antag - or even supporting cast members - "castable"? I remember reading GALAHAD, and thinking "Wow, who wouldn't want to play ANY of these characters?". You've got Lancelot. King Arthur. Galahad. And lots and lots of famous and popular characters -- all of these are "castable" roles that I'd imagine any actor would kill to play.
2) RELATABLE.
KNOCKED UP is a great premise because we've all (at least most of us) have had a "scare" moment with someone, and KNOCKED UP takes it to its limits and presents the idea of: What if someone you had a one night stand with, you got pregnant? That's a relatable idea. One that I think male and female's alike can relate to easily. Therefore "relatable" in a premise would be a bonus that makes your concept even more attractive to Exec's in Prod. Co. and Studios, right?
3) OVERSEAS ATTRACTION.
If THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR isn't a blatant attempt to "cash in" on the ever growing Asian market, I don't know what is. KUNG FU PANDA pi$$ed off the Chinese Government, because they said they should've thought of that premise themselves, not the US. Clearly commercial ideas need to travel well overseas (isn't it something like half the money a project will make in its lifetime - will come from overseas markets?) so clearly it's time to think about ideas that will play out well all around the world.
4) FRANCHISE.
Okay, one movie can sum this up nicely. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. Whether you love or hate them (or think Ted & Terry are some of the smartest writers in Hwood) "franchise" is something we should all hope to cash in on (and we'll be laughing to the bank).
If anyone else has other things to add to this, then let the debate carry on...!
EJ
From La Femme's old post on Premise Testing, she says:
"Here is a worksheet I would recommend using for every premise you come up with. Simply fill it out in pencil and voila, watch the skeleton of your story come together.
Title:
Premise line:Genre:Hook:
Theme:
World (location/situation):
Main Character:
Wants/Needs
Flaw
Age/stage of life
Antagonist:
motivation/goals:
Set up or inciting incident:
1st act break event:
Midpoint reversal:
2nd act break event:
Ticking Clock:
Showdown or Climactic Scene:
How does this story fit into the current zeitgeist?
What age is the audience for this story idea?
What is universally resonant about this story?
Approximate Budget:
List Three Movies which are in ANY way similar:
When was each released?
What was the box office?-
Now, the above is a solid breakdown of your idea. But I wanted to go deeper still and create a Premise Testing List of things writers should/could be thinking about for amping up that Hollywood mainstream idea.
So I'll start off with...
1) CASTABLE.
Are your protag or antag - or even supporting cast members - "castable"? I remember reading GALAHAD, and thinking "Wow, who wouldn't want to play ANY of these characters?". You've got Lancelot. King Arthur. Galahad. And lots and lots of famous and popular characters -- all of these are "castable" roles that I'd imagine any actor would kill to play.
2) RELATABLE.
KNOCKED UP is a great premise because we've all (at least most of us) have had a "scare" moment with someone, and KNOCKED UP takes it to its limits and presents the idea of: What if someone you had a one night stand with, you got pregnant? That's a relatable idea. One that I think male and female's alike can relate to easily. Therefore "relatable" in a premise would be a bonus that makes your concept even more attractive to Exec's in Prod. Co. and Studios, right?
3) OVERSEAS ATTRACTION.
If THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR isn't a blatant attempt to "cash in" on the ever growing Asian market, I don't know what is. KUNG FU PANDA pi$$ed off the Chinese Government, because they said they should've thought of that premise themselves, not the US. Clearly commercial ideas need to travel well overseas (isn't it something like half the money a project will make in its lifetime - will come from overseas markets?) so clearly it's time to think about ideas that will play out well all around the world.
4) FRANCHISE.
Okay, one movie can sum this up nicely. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN. Whether you love or hate them (or think Ted & Terry are some of the smartest writers in Hwood) "franchise" is something we should all hope to cash in on (and we'll be laughing to the bank).
If anyone else has other things to add to this, then let the debate carry on...!
EJ
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