The Setting: Where does your movie take place in time and space. Do you envision a space epic or a medieval earth? Or is it simply in a small town somewhere? The Protagonist(s): Who is the main character? You don’t need traits yet, just a vague outline of a person. Are they a space pilot? Are they a stable boy? A dental hygienist? The Conflict: What does your character want? Do they want to be a hero? Do they want to fall in love? Do they hate their job/boss?[1] X Research source
Space Epic + Pilot + Desire to be a Hero = Star Wars. Medieval + Stable Boy + Hero/Love = A Knight’s Tale. Small Town + Dental Hygienist + Hate Job = Horrible Bosses. Juvenile Detention + Idealist Councilors + Kid Who Don’t Want Counseling = Short Term 12.
“What if. . . " are the two most important words for brainstorming. Jurassic Park, for example, is the result of “What if people brought dinosaurs back to life?” “What would happen if two of my favorite movies collided?” Look up a news event that interests you. What would happen if you were there? Write about your interests – any of them. Clerks was built out of nerdy passions and rooftop hockey, Superbad comes from a love of classic teen-party movies, Lincoln was written by people passionate about history. Nothing is off limits.
Use these things as jumping off points – the starts of plots or ideas that your imagination can then take off with.
Do you love horror films? Then your movie idea must involve coming up with a good villain. Once you have the monster or bad guy, you have your movie idea. Do you love Rom-Coms? Then you need a girl and a guy who don’t seem like they should fall in love (Republican and Democrat, one is married, one’s an alien, etc). Do you love Sci-Fi? Think of an invention you wish existed, from time-travel, space ships, or teleportation to a device that builds new planets. Your story will be the repercussions of that invention.
Austin Powers is simply a comedic twist on spy movies, particularly James Bond, that had dominated the theaters. The plot is the same, it just happens to have jokes instead of action scenes. O Brother Where Art Thou is a retelling, nearly scene for seen, of Homer’s The Iliad, but it is set in the bluegrass soaked world of the rural South. Avatar is strikingly similar to Dances With Wolves, but by setting it in space James Cameron was able to get a brand new take on things. Warm Bodies has all the trappings of a Rom-Com, but one of the main characters is a zombie. This quick “mash-up” of movie types helped it stand out immensely.
Back to the Future: A young man is transported to the past where he must reunite his parents before he and his future are gone forever. [2] X Research source Jaws: A police chief with a phobia for open water battles a gigantic shark, in spite of a greedy town council who demands that the beach stay open. Ratatouille: A Parisian rat secretly teams up with an untalented chef to prove that anyone can cook, despite what the critics, and pest-control, might think. [3] X Research source
The Set-Up: Give the characters, the setting, and the world. This is the first 10% or less of your movie, and it introduces us to the movie. It should not be longer than 10 pages. In Star Wars, George Lucas introduces the premise of space warfare, the conflict (“Help me Obi-Wan, you’re my only hope”), and many central characters (Luke, Leia, Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C3-P0). The Change of Plans/Opportunity/Conflict: Something happens that sets your conflict in motion on page 9-10 – Erin Brockovich gets a job, the school of Superbad throws a party, Neo is introduced to The Matrix, etc. The next 10-20 pages show your characters dealing with this change. In Star Wars, this is when Luke turns down Obi-Wan, but sees that his family has been killed. He agrees to go on the quest to save Leia. The Point of No Return: Up until this point, the characters are working hard to make their goals a reality. But, at the halfway point of the movie, something happens to make it impossible to turn back. A Bond villain attacks again, the Gladiator arrives in Rome, Thelma and Louise rob their first store, etc. In Star Wars, they are trapped at the Death-Star halfway into the movie. They cannot make it to Alderaan as planned, and must fight their way out. The Major Set-Back: Since the point of no return, the stakes have gotten higher. To the characters and audience, all hope seems lost. This is when the girl and guy break-up in every romantic comedy ever made when Ron Burgundy gets fired in Anchorman, and when John McClane is beaten and bloody in Die Hard. This comes at the 75% mark. In Star Wars, Obi-Wan has died and the Death Star is in motion. The only chance to win is a last-ditch effort to blow up the Death Star. The Climax: The characters make one last, all-out push to reach their goals, culminating in their biggest challenge of all. This is the run through the airport moment, the final holes in Caddyshack, or the final showdown between hero and villain. Once resolved, the last 10% of the script ties up loose ends and shows the aftermath of the climax. [4] X Research source In Star Wars, Luke makes his heroic final run on the Death Star, blowing it up despite all odds being against him.
In Star Wars, George Lucas introduces the premise of space warfare, the conflict (“Help me Obi-Wan, you’re my only hope”), and many central characters (Luke, Leia, Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C3-P0).
In Star Wars, this is when Luke turns down Obi-Wan, but sees that his family has been killed. He agrees to go on the quest to save Leia.
In Star Wars, they are trapped at the Death-Star halfway into the movie. They cannot make it to Alderaan as planned, and must fight their way out.
In Star Wars, they are trapped at the Death-Star halfway into the movie. They cannot make it to Alderaan as planned, and must fight their way out.
In Star Wars, Obi-Wan has died and the Death Star is in motion. The only chance to win is a last-ditch effort to blow up the Death Star.
In Star Wars, Luke makes his heroic final run on the Death Star, blowing it up despite all odds being against him.
Make sure your characters are round. This means that they have multiple facets, not just an “angry man,” or “strong heroine. " Round characters have strengths and weaknesses, which make them relatable to the audience. Give your characters a desire and a fear. Even if there is only one of each, a good character wants something but is unable to get it. Their ability or inability to get over their fear (of being poor, of being alone, of space aliens, of spiders, etc. ) is what drives their conflict. Make sure your characters have agency. A good character is not moved around because your script needs them to go somewhere. A good character makes choices, and the plot follows. Sometimes this is one choice that drives everything else (Llewellyn, No Country for Old Men, Luke Skywalker joining Obi-Wan in Star Wars), sometimes there are a series of good/bad choices at every turn (every character in American Hustle). [5] X Research source
What happens if, instead of succeeding in the climax, the characters fail? What happens to your “round” character if they refuse to change? What happens if protagonist isn’t really the main character, such as in Ferris Beuller’s Day Off, where Ferris’s friend Cameron is the real character showing growth?
Keep a notebook you fill up with ideas as you come up with them Try brainstorming with a friend to bounce ideas off each other twice as fast. Work through this process with each idea – fleshing out a movie idea into the crucial parts is how you’ll know if it is an idea worth pursuing.
