Foot In The Door- an idea

[chinton]

Hey you guys Im about to start writing my first screenplay. never done it before so I thought I would try. Im thinking of an idea of how desperate people will go to keep their job in Hollywood. I was thinking about a man who gets a big break in a Hollywood production. The only problem is he starts to think that maybe the director will go to anything to get that shot. Once he realizes this he decides to stay and keep his job. After all this is his big break but stays one step ahead of his sadistic director.

How does it sound? Im going to start writing it ina few weeks. I also have one other idea thats been percalating but I need t work that one out some more.

[Beeblebrox]

I think the obvious first question is what sort of experience you have with this type of situation. Do you work on film productions?

The reason it's important is because many of the people who will read your script do work on film productions. And if you don't, there's a good possibility that your stuff will come across as phony.

[chinton]

darn t hats a good point. I did work on Cat In The Hat but not for the entire production. I see your point. Your asolutely right

[Ronaldinho]

Honestly? I hate it.

Generally, I think movies about making movies are a bad idea.

But the bigger problem is that unless you have a unique perspective and a lot of insight, the only thing you can trade on is cliches. I mean, it's one thing for Francious Truffaut to make "Day For Night" -- the man had spent 20 years on film sets by that point. Even Altman making "The Player" or Mamet making "State and Main" (neither of those people's best films, by a long shot) are at least people making those movies from their own experience. (And even then, IMHO, they both struggle to stay above cliche).

The thing is that it seems like every aspiring screenwriter wants to make a movie about breaking into Hollywood, and every fringes-of-the-industry writer wants to make a movie about how Hollywood has stamped out their individuality. But nobody ever wants to see these movies.

Beeble's point about having to really know your stuff about Hollywood to write it is true, but I think the larger point is that such films have an inordinate tendency to turn into specious navel-gazing. Can't you think of something more interesting to write about?