Hollywood Screenplay Story Standard
What is the standard formula that almost all movies follow? Its simple. Act 1 establishes the characters and the story, In Act 2 something big happens and then the 3rd act is nothing more than the resolution of the action in scene 2.
Most movies follow this standard, with some notable exceptions. Pulp Fiction in 1994 was the first movie I can remember that was a huge departure from the standard and boring formula that was used for so long and for so many movies. The movie actually started at the end, and then revisited the beginning of the movie at the end of the movie, so the end result was a huge circle which was extremely unusual. This movie was nothing like any movie I had ever seen before then. Since 1994, there have been a number of movies that have tried to be different, but in trying to be different very often they try to be too much like Pulp Fiction.
The problem with following a cookie cutter formula is that it takes away from your creativity as a writer. My first screenplay definitely does not follow the standard Hollywood Paradigm. Its the story of a great high school athlete who 10 years after his glory years realizes that his life is boring and going nowhere and getting over what could have been is becoming impossible. This conflict which exists throughout the screenplay is affecting his relationship with his friends and with his new girlfriend. The story is told out of order and with flashbacks and I am very proud of the end result.
Since my first screenplay I have written 2 more but the other two follow more of the Hollywood standards because the stories made sense under those conditions. I have found breaking into this field close to impossible over the last 2 years and even getting an agent is extremely difficult. There are no easy answers to this other than continue to write and create.
I have also written a book about my completed career in IT, which is almost done, going through proofreading and is 645 pages describing over 30 years of hard word and hard times. I have found that writing this book is actually easier than writing a great screenplay because this book is a history of memories over 30 years and a screenplay is a made up story that has to pass many tests of quality, character development and dialog, to say nothing of the screenplay standards of formatting and quality. My book should be ready to publish sometime before year end and next year I may just release this story online as an ebook or a book that can actually be bought as a hard or soft cover book.
Script Writing Tips
Most movies follow this standard, with some notable exceptions. Pulp Fiction in 1994 was the first movie I can remember that was a huge departure from the standard and boring formula that was used for so long and for so many movies. The movie actually started at the end, and then revisited the beginning of the movie at the end of the movie, so the end result was a huge circle which was extremely unusual. This movie was nothing like any movie I had ever seen before then. Since 1994, there have been a number of movies that have tried to be different, but in trying to be different very often they try to be too much like Pulp Fiction.
The problem with following a cookie cutter formula is that it takes away from your creativity as a writer. My first screenplay definitely does not follow the standard Hollywood Paradigm. Its the story of a great high school athlete who 10 years after his glory years realizes that his life is boring and going nowhere and getting over what could have been is becoming impossible. This conflict which exists throughout the screenplay is affecting his relationship with his friends and with his new girlfriend. The story is told out of order and with flashbacks and I am very proud of the end result.
Since my first screenplay I have written 2 more but the other two follow more of the Hollywood standards because the stories made sense under those conditions. I have found breaking into this field close to impossible over the last 2 years and even getting an agent is extremely difficult. There are no easy answers to this other than continue to write and create.
I have also written a book about my completed career in IT, which is almost done, going through proofreading and is 645 pages describing over 30 years of hard word and hard times. I have found that writing this book is actually easier than writing a great screenplay because this book is a history of memories over 30 years and a screenplay is a made up story that has to pass many tests of quality, character development and dialog, to say nothing of the screenplay standards of formatting and quality. My book should be ready to publish sometime before year end and next year I may just release this story online as an ebook or a book that can actually be bought as a hard or soft cover book.
Script Writing Tips
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