I have a fantasy that, some day, I'm going to write a screenplay and have it made into a super-successful movie. I'll then turn out the 2 requisite sequels (each of which will earn slightly less money than the original) and ride off into the sunset with Kim.
I don't believe that developing the screenplay is the hard part. Instead, it's all about the ability to pitch your idea. With your pitch, you have to get the production company hooked. The pitch has to be simple, straightforward, and compelling.
I was reminded of the importance of a great pitch when I was flipping through channels using the Verizon Fios guide this past Sunday. I was trying to find a movie to kill some time. Here's what I stumbled across: "A simple farm boy teams up with a mysterious hermit to rescue a princess ..." Because I was using the guide function, the rest of the description was cut off. But, with just those 14 words, I was hooked.
What was the movie? It was Star Wars, of course. The full description goes on to say "... before joining a group of interstellar resistance fighters in conflict with an evil galactic empire that has recently completed construction of a devastating superweapon." I didn't even need that part. My guess is that, when George Lucas was pitching the idea, his audience didn't need the second part either. Like me, they were probably on board as soon as he got to "mysterious hermit."
In any event, I need to keep working on my screenplay ideas. I used to have a lot of hope for a comedy in which Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and George W. Bush team up in "The Quest for Osama bin Laden" but that one doesn't seem relevant anymore. So, I'm going back to another idea that I think has potential: "A middle-aged, down-on-his-luck custodian (Owen Wilson?) gets a job as a retirement community maintenance man. A group of widows (Helen Mirren, Jane Fonda, and Betty White?) place a bet to see which one of them can get him in bed first. Hijinks ensue." I just need to work on the ending.
