Went to hear a screenwriter speak.
The kind who teaches at the university level.
The kind who charges $400 to read a script.
No, I didn't pay that much to hear him talk.
And it made a nice date.
But damned if he wasn't rehashing every screenwriting book I've read.
Which, in turn, are usually rehashing Aristotle.
And it's good to be reminded of the basics, but...
Lately I feel like Treplev in The Seagull; "We need new forms!"
Anyway, BELOW is what he had to say, nutshell version:
1) Tell a good story, a lie that looks like the truth. Make it exciting and make it make sense.
2) Write good scenes so that good actors will want to be in it -- for all actors, not just the lead.
3) Make sure your story is credible. Do research and/or write from your own experience.
4) Make sure your story contains, and builds, tension. Order of events is everything.
5) Hope and Fear -- audiences go to the movies to worry.
6) Your story must change and be changed by your protagonist. The world should change.
7) Leave the audience with a question; was it worth it? Your character won, but at what cost?
Like I said, standard Aristotle.
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