Beeblebrox said:
That's not what filmy is saying at all. He's saying there is a hard and fast "industry" definition of each genre, and your "horror" pitch had better have supernatural elements, and that there are lengthy discussions about why you've classified your movie in a certain genre.
Hmmm. Is that what I said?
I don't recall saying that your horror script BETTER HAVE supernatural elements. I also didn't say there was a HARD and FAST industry definition of each genre...
I do remember saying that it is perfectly acceptable to call your screenplay a “horror thriller.” --Is that what you consider hard and fast?
I wasn't aware that I was going to have to give a history lesson here...
Horrors started out BEING horrors because of the supernatural element to them. Supernatural doesn't have to mean what we generally think of as supernatural i.e., ghosts, monsters, demons, zombies, wolfmen, vampires, etc...
A supernatural element can be as simple as Michael Myers not dying. In a more recent film, WOLF CREEK, the supernatural elements were the crater and everyone's watch not running anymore even though those elements were not fleshed out to any conclusion. The Australian Outback in and of itself can be supernatural if, for no other reason, than it is foreign to most audience members i.e., out of their natural world.
In HOSTEL, the supernatural element is the fact that people are selling people to be tortured... No witches, no goblins, LOL.
What I said was that generally speaking, horror screenplays are fantasy or supernaturally based. I also said that the lines have obviously become blurred but the fact remains that most good horror scripts have supernatural elements to them.
Granted, I've only optioned one screenplay (a thriller) and sold one screenplay (a horror thriller) so I'm not claiming to be the end-all expert as you seem to think I'm claiming to be. In addition to these screenplays, I've had too many meetings to count where I have IN FACT discussed genre at great length.
As a matter of fact, in the script I sold a few months ago, I've had several meetings as well as conference calls where several producers and I discussed the supernatural elements of my screenplay.
I also never said that you would have a meeting just to discuss the genre of your screenplay... I wouldn't go so far as to say that having a meeting about genre is absurd but genre does in fact come up.
In almost every meeting I've ever had (remember, too many to count), the meeting was with producers and execs that have already read the script. They already know what they think. Now they want to know what YOU think and you had better be able to discuss this AT LENGTH with them if you want to do business.
In these discussions, I've had to heavily discuss character arc, theme, supernatural elements, strong vs. weak first acts, subplots... You name it, I've discussed it and I've discussed it with some pretty big wigs over the years...
But you're ABSOLUTELY CORRECT in that I certainly cannot attest to your experiences within the subject matter as you cannot attest to mine but what I do know is this...
Once you tell a producer, director, or studio exec with some status what genre your screenplay is and you do sit down for a meeting, genre is not a dead horse (like this thread)... You need to be prepared to discuss and defend the genre you've selected for your screenplay.
All these people will discuss your script with you on the basis of genre... Some might want you to make it into something else (I've had this discussion too many times to count) i.e., some other genre while others might want you to increase other elements within the genre you've selected... Anything could happen and ANYTHING can be discussed in a meeting.
I also mentioned NOTHING about a pitch in my previous posts in this thread however, I can tell you that I have in fact pitched several times to studio execs and producers in Hollywood... A few of these screenplays have been in the horror genre and one of the first things I was asked was to discuss the supernatural elements...
In my first horror script, I too thought there were no supernatural elements since it was reality based. It was in fact, the producers that asked me to discuss the supernatural elements and it was in THAT discussion long ago that I was taught that supernatural doesn't necessarily have to mean ghosts, monsters, witches, vampires, etc...
I'll finish this dead horse with just one last caveat...
Hollywood professionals do talk genre. They expect you, the screenwriter, to absolutely be familiar with whatever genre your screenplay is. In fact, the more expert you are about that genre, the better because producers, directors, and studio execs WANT their screenwriters to be the experts INSTEAD of them.
filmy
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