Chronicle has the same vibe as Akira. So I hope Chronicle does well so the Akira production learns and makes their movie REALLY ****ing good.
Also, the script was very well written. Not necessarily groundbreaking stuff but I really loved how he wrote with the camera movement and cuts. Very organized and well paced.
So how is this judging the originality of a screenplay based on a logline (not written by the author) any different than judging whether a person is a good writer based on his/heronline nickname?
I didn't say the screenplay is not original. I said it "doesn't sound very original from its logline." Please read more carefully in the future. Believe it or not, it is possible to judge a movie concept by the logline--this is, in fact, the entire purpose of loglines.
Originally posted by sbbn
any different than judging whether a person is a good writer based on his/heronline nickname?
Did someone do that? I have no idea what you're talking about.
Originally posted by sbbn
Having actually read the script I personally think your comparisons of this script to other movies is weak,on par with saying all cars are pretty much the same because they all use a motor.
Great. Awesome for you that you have your own opinion and everything, but what's it to me? Especially with that terrible, terrible analogy.
Originally posted by sbbn
I never once thought Spider-man when I read Chronicle.
Again, thanks for the glimpse into your thoughts, but I don't care.
Originally posted by sbbn
I have no idea where you are getting radio-active spider or anything like that... In the screenplay what the boys are exposed to is never said to be radio-active, there are no spiders or other biting insects bugs or whatever, the boys don't get bitten by anything giving them super-powers, and they don't dress up in spandex or shoot webbing, climb up walls, etc.
I can't believe I have to explain this on a screenwriting forum...the radio-active spider-bite doesn't actually matter. It's just a plot device to give Peter Parker super-powers. The stuff in the cave in Chronicle is the same. So, to review:
Spider-Man: A teenage boy gains super-powers.
Chronicle: Three teenage boys gain super-powers.
Perhaps the similarity is clearer now?
Though after seeing the trailer, it looks more like Akira (telekinesis).
Originally posted by sbbn
Originality is in how an idea is expressed,
No, it's actually not. Execution can help, but 99% of originality is concept.
Originally posted by sbbn
not in coming up with ideas and themes and genres and characters that have nothing in common with anything ever written before (good luck with that!).
I'm 99% sure I didn't claim that. You know what, I'm going to go the full 100%. I'm 100% sure I didn't claim that.
Originally posted by sbbn
And I would humbly submit that it's pretty damn hard to judge the originality of a screenplay and how the ideas in it are expressed if you've never read the screenplay.
And I would humbly agree. Because I didn't do that either.
I would like to note that I also never said it was bad or would be bad. I was not knocking it. The trailer looks good. It's the number one movie in America. I would like to see it. It just isn't "very original." Max Landis is both an Akira fan and a comics fan, so I don't think he would claim it is.
Sometimes something that seems original is original. Sometimes it's just because you're unfamiliar with the genre.
I've just read Chronicle. It's an undated draft that I think came from the Mediafire Beast (R.I.P.), so chances are it's not the one that was shot.
Nothing very original, but pretty entertaining nonetheless. I think the camera POV brings nothing to the story, but I can see others here liked it very much; to me, it is just a gimmick that actually hurts the flow of the story -and the way it reads. I liked how spare the description paragraphs were, but that probably comes with the camera POV angle.
I really like the dialogue when the characters were relaxed and having fun, but the three main characters sounded very much alike. Also, the character of the abusive father was flat and cliched, to the point of being cartoonish.
The story seems to lack focus, and slows down a bit much in the middle, but it delivers in the final pages. In this particular draft, pacing didn't feel too good.
I would totally go see this movie, and if this script is representative of Landis' other work, I can understand why he's finding success.
I'm certainly not a professional writer, and I may come off as jealous here but...
I'm reading Good Time Gang... granted I've only just got to act 2, normally i wouldnt stop reading, but this must be a really early script. The dialogue is insanely blockey, sometimes half a page at once. There are a lot of other things I've been taught that are wrong with it... but I'm not Max Landis, so I guess there's some leeway there. I'll come back with full review, because so far it's not grabbing me.
the dialogue was strong, agreed... didn't care for the cajun woman, but the rest were good.
Got a Losers vibe from it, but some of the action was definitely cool. I guess we've entered the "Jonah Hill, action star" phase.
and what i meant was, if I were to submit a script with a ton of "-ing" words in action lines, huge blocks of dialogue, weird cut to's, and a few other things, I'd get mauled... but that's just what I've read and been told over and over.
FYI I do believe Max is around DDP, maybe he'll chime in. I've met him a few times. That's all I'll say about that.
I'm glad Chronicle is doing well, I really liked the film, despite being horribly underwhelmed by the script. Good story, but it all felt like it was written by a high schooler.
I heard Max on a podcast argue against nepotism, saying he isn't "Hollywood royalty", then went on to explain how his father facilitated his first sale. Great for him, and he's proven to be a hard/prolific worker, but you do have to wonder, if he hadn't sold his first script that way, what would have happened instead? Of course, anything said is purely speculation.
And I don't know why everyone always says Max has sold three things, he's sold like 6.
Chronicle, Amnesty (Ron Howard directing), Frankenstein re-whatever at Fox, Pied Piper at Fox, Goodtime Gang, and then the sci-fi project at Disney. All in the past 3 years. Killing it indeed. Obviously doesn't matter what people here think, he's laughing all the way to the bank.
He's either literally written one per month since he turned 21 or he's been writing 5 per year since he was 14.
That's a crazy number if true.
I haven't read any of his scripts, but I liked Chronicle. I wonder if he intended for it to be shot in the found-footage style because while it was an asset early, I felt it became a hindrance late. They just went willy nilly into any and every camera.
****SPOILER****
My one problem with Chronicle was the jump in the 3rd act. It felt really rushed and while I understand the kid was bullied by his dad and misunderstood, it was like, "puking on a girl while getting a bj ruins your life?" Because he went bat**** after that.
I'd say the hoe who went down on him after one night and got puked on would get ridiculed more.
****SPOILER****
But the entire first half of the film was fantastic. That's exactly what my friends and I would do if we obtained super powers in high school.
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