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50 Shades Of Elitism by Samuel Caine

Oh, yes. This post is going exactly where you think. I’m going to talk about the much discussed 50 Shades of Grey, but I’ll confess now – I’ve not read it. This is not a critical analysis, or an endorsement of any kind. I am not defending the divisive contents of the book, which raise all sorts of issues about the glorification of consensual sexual violence, but it is a defence of sorts: it is a defence of the author and the book’s readers against the elitist demons in all of us…especially me. Over the past few months, as the… Read More »50 Shades Of Elitism by Samuel Caine

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Genre & Tone, A Case Study: BEETLEJUICE

This post is inspired by  two separate Twitter conversations over the last two weeks between myself and Michelle Goode & Claire Yeowart and then Hina Malik – so stand by for some serious musing. Years ago I attended a conference held by The British Board of Film Classifcation (BBFC). It was a very interesting  – and of course the notion of film censorship reared its head. Since the majority of us in the room were students, many of us expressed outrage that censorship existed at all; we claimed that as artists we should be “trusted” to make the “right” stuff.… Read More »Genre & Tone, A Case Study: BEETLEJUICE

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Case Study: All About Symbolism in ALIEN (1979)

Symbolism in Screenwriting Many spec writers want to introduce symbolism in their scripts. And why not? Sometimes the best writing we see “hints” at other things; there are multiple ways of “reading” it — and us screenwriterly types can pat ourselves on the back for “seeing” it. So Think LAYERS When it comes to symbolism of any kind, think LAYERS, like an onion. You can do this any way you want: visual metaphors, allusions, motifs, character traits. There are no rules, remember. However, the biggest issue I see when it comes to symbolism: It’s not clear what the screenwriter is… Read More »Case Study: All About Symbolism in ALIEN (1979)

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The Great Characterisation of Hayao Miyazaki by Eleanor Ball

I recently saw Ponyo! It’s a cute and fantastical animated children’s film based on the story of the little mermaid. When people think of Hayao Miyazaki they often think of the beauty and mythology of his films. If you’ve seen Spirited Away I’d be surprised if you haven’t been genuinely moved by the scene in which a train ripples softly over a one-inch deep lake. His films, both written and directed by him, are perhaps too beautiful, because it can overwhelm some sparks of genius that normally we’d be appalled to miss. Namely the strength of the protagonists. Miyazaki’s girl… Read More »The Great Characterisation of Hayao Miyazaki by Eleanor Ball

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Genre Vs Drama: Right At Your Door

SPOILERS I frequently read spec scripts that fall somewhere *in-between* genre and drama. This is a significant issue for writers in terms of getting their spec noticed, since it can be difficult for others “higher up” the food chain – agents, producers and the like – to assess whether said script *can* work and even, if the writer really knows what s/he is doing: did they MEAN to write it like this? Or is it a mistake? Do they know WHO they are writing for? 2006’s Right At Your Door is a FAB idea. Charting the drop of a dirty… Read More »Genre Vs Drama: Right At Your Door

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Monster Munch: KILL/EAT EVERYONE… And The Other Stuff

SPOILERSI’ve been talking and thinking a lot about creature features recently thanks to my mate and co-writer Jared (yes, the one who was about 47 hours late AND went to the wrong Coach & Horses that time. I will never forgive him and you shouldn’t either). I’ve read A LOT of creature features via Bang2write over the years (though interestingly, hardly any in the last eighteen months or so). One thing spec creature features (CFs hereafter) usually do well is THE KILLING. And that’s unsurprising, since THE KILLING (and ripping, tearing and maiming) is easily the most “identifiable” element of… Read More »Monster Munch: KILL/EAT EVERYONE… And The Other Stuff

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Kicking Arcs: Action Hero Journeys

SPOILERS PRESENT: TAKEN Following last week’s post about Horror Vs. Thriller, long term Bang2writer and all round top fella Ian Noakes had this question for me: In the movie TAKEN with Liam Neeson, does Liam have any kind of flaw he needs to overcome by the end of the story or doesn’t he change at all? If he does have a flaw, do you see it hindering his mission to find and save his daughter? It’s very tempting to view genre films as *mere* plot, with little room for characterisation – and this is one of the most oft-cited arguments… Read More »Kicking Arcs: Action Hero Journeys

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Disney’s Tangled: Go See It

MILD SPOILERS So, I loved Tangled. That’s right: someone as evil and twisted as yours truly loved not only a Disney movie, but one involving acres of musical numbers, cutesy animation and a princess who wears pink for pretty much the majority of the movie. But then, I’ve never been one who says Disney Princesses are *against* little girls’ best interests, story-wise. As undoubtedly shocking to some progressives as that statement is, I’ve always been of the opinion that whilst not ideal, Disney Princesses offers something a HUGE majority of kids’ movies don’t: female characters at the heart of the… Read More »Disney’s Tangled: Go See It

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Streetdance 3D: More Please

SPOILERS So I watched Streetdance 3D recently. Actually I watched the 2D version, cos 3D gives me migraines, but you catch my drift: I watched *that* UK Dance Movie; the first one ever, apparently. The US in particular has a rich history of dance movies going back to the age of Fred Astaire and the Goldigger movies, so I’ve always wondered why the UK doesn’t do them. Certainly as a young kid/teenager I watched all of the usual suspects – Dirty Dancing, Fame, Footloose, Strictly Ballroom, Saturday Night Fever, Stayin’ Alive, even Coyote Ugly, Step Up and Save The Last… Read More »Streetdance 3D: More Please

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Guest Post – Fidelity Criticism: Good Book, Bad Movie… Bad Book? GREAT Movie

A friend of mine at some point in the last year and a half asked me if I’d seen Twilight yet. I said no, because I hadn’t (and still haven’t), and asked her what she thought of it. She said it was bad, but that it was way better than the book, which she found utterly insufferable. As such, there was a case made for one medium proving a superior means to tell a story. Twilight’s failings as a work of literature were turned, at least partially, into successes. One definition of fidelity criticism reads as “The criticism of translation… Read More »Guest Post – Fidelity Criticism: Good Book, Bad Movie… Bad Book? GREAT Movie

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Guest Post: 5 Films That Just Don’t *Get* The Book

When Mark from LocateTV asked me if one of his team could write a guest post for the blog, I was only too happy to oblige! Melissa Campbell writes here about adaptation and how books don’t always *get* what the source material was truly about. For those of you who don’t know, on LocateTV you can check local TV listings throughout the US, the UK and Ireland, and you can set up email alerts to let you know when your favourite show or actor is on. Enjoy…———–We often groan when we hear a film is based on a best-selling novel.… Read More »Guest Post: 5 Films That Just Don’t *Get* The Book

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4 Big Non Linearity Mistakes In Screenplays

Non Linearity is big news I’d venture for every ten spec screenplays I read, at least three will feature non linearity. Renowned non linear movies include Pulp Fiction, Memento, Twelve Monkeys, The Bourne Supremacy, Slumdog Millionaire, Groundhog Day and Premonition. Non-linearity sometimes finds its way into TV spec screenplays too  – particularly of the supernatural genre – usually in the form of flashback. (For the purposes of this post, note that when I say “non linearity”, I mean the “beginning, middle, end” will not necessarily be in *that* order). I love non linearity. Done well, it can really add a new… Read More »4 Big Non Linearity Mistakes In Screenplays

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