tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post7252433283789252331..comments2024-03-07T20:15:45.996-08:00Comments on The Bitter Script Reader: Reader question - Writing a big-budget writing sampleThe Bitter Script Readerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-4817885514650721692010-12-08T06:41:12.652-08:002010-12-08T06:41:12.652-08:00That's really helpful thank you. The spec tha...That's really helpful thank you. The spec that got me my agent & my first couple of commissions was set in the 1920s, and a lot of people commented that it was great to read something a bit different and ambitious - though to be fair I am here in the land of period drama! Useful to know there is no point in trying the same trick to crack the US...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03834547095612951725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-27539380001104417102010-12-07T14:27:44.976-08:002010-12-07T14:27:44.976-08:00Emily - the Cleopatra as a superhero thing? Total...Emily - the Cleopatra as a superhero thing? Totally feel that way. Most of the time they read as cheesy or campy and probably would never work in a million years. The Abe Lincoln thing probably stands a good chance of reading the same way. When it was an original kind of idea, I think the novelty might have helped get attention. With "Pride, Prejudice & Zombies" and the ilk all having gotten a lot of attention, that particular subgenre has been robbed of its uniqueness.<br /><br />Period action specs MIGHT be an exception provide we're not dealing with a straight up Braveheart or Troy type thing. Like if you've got Trojans vs. Martians, maybe it would do something for you. Trojans vs. Spartans? zzzzzzz....<br /><br />Subtexter - yeah, "period" is anything that's not present day. The budget is only one part of the reason why these things aren't hot - audiences just aren't going to many of these, and it seems like the further back the film reaches, the harder it is to hook the audience. Something set in the 60s might get by on nostalgia factor (even so, I can't think of too many successes that have been period films). Anything pre-WWII is going to be a hugely hard sell.<br /><br />I see some writers who try to recapture their childhood by setting stories in the 70s and 80s. Many times, these stories could be transplanted to the modern day with little that's lost. If there's any way to tell your story in the present day, do it. <br /><br />I once read a comedy that was set in 1978 for no reason other than that was when the writer was the age of the main character. If you took the date off it, there'd be little to tip the reader off that it was a period piece, so I wanted to say to the writer, why are you making this harder than it needs to be?The Bitter Script Readerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16575166527272639709noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-51184343424691431082010-12-07T14:16:01.823-08:002010-12-07T14:16:01.823-08:00Is it correct to assume that anything other than p...Is it correct to assume that anything other than present day constitutes a "period piece" simply because of the production cost of recreating a different era? Or would something set in the 1970's or 1980's be better received than a story set in the 16th century?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-71974144381668890542010-12-06T11:59:01.318-08:002010-12-06T11:59:01.318-08:00Ha, right now I'm writing a PERIOD SCI-FI, so ...Ha, right now I'm writing a PERIOD SCI-FI, so I'm really screwed.JamesHutchinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18341541404361783072noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4706282221761427996.post-87655740339915247552010-12-06T11:23:16.420-08:002010-12-06T11:23:16.420-08:00Do you feel that way about period action spec like...Do you feel that way about period action spec like Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter or a story that made someone like Cleopatra into a superhero?Emily Blakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02163221455899041141noreply@blogger.com