Ever flipped your genre half way through?

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  • Ever flipped your genre half way through?

    Has anyone here ever began a script that would fall into a particular genre, but by the time the reader gets to the end, it has jumped into a different genre.

    And I don't mean the script went off it's story path by accident, but it was a pre-determined decision to always do that?


    The best film example I can think of is Dusk Till Dawn.

  • #2
    Re: Ever flipped your genre half way through?

    Twice, out of eight done. Total game-changers that permitted me to finish the story and be completely happy with the results!

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    • #3
      Re: Ever flipped your genre half way through?

      adaptation started out as a drama and ended as a thriller - but it was an ironic finger-pointing at screenwriting. you won't find that in other flicks.

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      • #4
        Re: Ever flipped your genre half way through?

        I just start writing without thinking of a genre in mind and hope it works out

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        • #5
          Re: Ever flipped your genre half way through?

          Hancock seemed like it did the same genre-switching thing as "From Dusk Til Dawn." "Guarding Tess" went from comedy to heavy thriller with the kidnapper burying the first lady alive in Act 3.

          However, I'm not a fan of any of those movies.

          IMO, half-way is too late to make a switch. (was that what you said?) It's one thing for a comedy to get dramatic toward the end, and sometimes a change in tone can really help parts of the script, but a big switch throws me off, unless it comes early enough. If you need to change it up, don't let me get too invested in the first stage.

          Take one glass half full of milk and one half full of orange juice. They each taste fine until you put them in the same glass...

          HOWEVER: I guess it could really depend on what your definition of "genre" is and how you're trying to "switch" them. "Hancock" and "Guarding Tess" could be called shifts in TONE, not genre. What starts as a romantic comedy could turn into a murder mystery, as long as the tone is consistent throughout (Manhattan Murder Mystery, or Big Lebowski.)

          But, if it works, it works. Maybe others can come up with examples of movies where it paid off, but I'm drawing a blank right now.

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          • #6
            Re: Ever flipped your genre half way through?

            "Something Wild" is the only movie I can think of that did this with success. At least once a year I hear someone reference "Something Wild" in a development meeting because of it's genre-switching.

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            • #7
              Re: Ever flipped your genre half way through?

              I thought Everything Is Illuminated started as a comedy then turned into a drama around the mid-point. Though there were elements of both all through. It was a bit odd going from belly laughs to stories about Nazi atrocities. But I liked the movie. (Don't know if the book had a similarly abrupt change).

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