By JT Velikovsky

So – if you’re still here – thanks so much for reading –and I’d like to round out this series of 10 guest-blogs for The Story Department with some food for thought on: holons and holarchies.

Understanding the rules which govern holons/holarchies (and therefore, memes in stories) explains how screen ideas, screenplays, and films (and even the film industry that produces them) – operate, due to the internal laws of holarchies…

Okay so – firstly – what the heck is a holonanyay?

The term holon was coined for a philosophical concept described by Arthur Koestler in The Ghost in the Machine (1967).

‘A holon … is something that is simultaneously a whole and a part’; Koestler defines a holarchy as a hierarchy of self-regulating holons. (Koestler 1967: 48)

i.e. Your body is actually a holon:

Atoms, Molecules, Cells, Tissues, Organs, and The Whole Organism – i.e. You.

How Holarchies Work(The Laws of Holarchies)

The following is an extract from the 1995 online essay “Holarchies” by Flemming Funch (Funch 1995: https://www.worldtrans.org/essay/holarchies.html) – I commend it to you.

My own additions to this extract from Funch’s(excellent) essay are inserted below, in italics.

The holarchy of the Feature Film domain Analysis: JT Velikovsky

THE LAWS OF HOLARCHIES

• A holon is a node in a holarchy.
• A holon looks up for what it needs to cooperate with and integrate with.

(e.g. A Screenwriter looks to a Producer, in the Field – to make their screenplay into a movie, by financing it – and then producing it)

• It looks sideways for what it needs to compete with.

(A Screenwriter competes with other Screenwriters, for limited resources: namely, Producers – and also the total economic capital isfinite/limited, so Producers compete with each other, for Film Financiers…)

• It looks down, for what it wants to command.

There is no-one “below” the Screenwriter in the film holarchy. (lol)

But– there are “film story” ideas (memes) “below” in the Culture – that a Screenwriter wants to `command’ (i.e. to select, vary, and transmit – into their screenplay and the culture)…Like genes in Evolution, right?

i.e. To recap – Evolution is just: the selection, variation, and transmission of genes.

So too – with memes (ideas/concepts) in culture…

i.e. In movie screenplays. (i.e ALIEN:`JAWS meets truckers-in-space.’)

When creating a film story, a Screenwriter selects, varies and then transmits these memes (story ideas / concepts) into their screenplay; a Screenwriter absorbs ideas and information (memes) from the Culture / Environment – and then combines, varies and selects all these for inclusion in their story/screenplay.

The complexity of this entire process is exponentially increased – when a Screen Idea Work Group (producers, etc.) is `infected’ with a contagious story meme (screenplay), created by (or, that emerges from) the writer…

• Each holon cannot be fully explained by or predicted by a study of its parts. It is something more. A holon is also part of something bigger that it is being affected by. But at the same time it has a high degree of autonomy, it has a life of its own.

A screen idea/film story – as a holon – may also take on a life of its own during the development of the screen idea: a Screenwriter can be fired from their own film project, and – a new Screenwriter can be attached…

i.e. In some cases – the film story memeplex-holarchy actually `mutates’ so much, that the original Writer no longer `shares the vision’ as the Screen Idea Work Group (Director, Actors, Producers), and chooses to `part ways’ with the story meme, and/or the Writer/s can also be replaced by the Screen Idea Work Group – against their will! (Ouch.)

Notably this did not occur with any of the Top 20 ROI Films – except possibly with ET.i.e. John Sayles wrote a treatment for what was – possibly – going to be the sequel to `Close Encounters Of The Third Kind’, but – Spielberg decided to take the story in another direction (and in another Genre, entirely) – and Melissa Matheson ultimately wrote the screenplay that became the film ET.

(But – Hollywood is like that, right? Hey – that’s showbiz.)

Holarchies extend throughout the Film system:

Ideally, like The Top 20 ROI films – your film story spreads all the way out– to the outer circle here: to the International Theatrical Cinema Audience.

The film industry is therefore a holarchy, and – a film story itself is a holarchy of memes.

Memes and memeplexes themselves are also: holons and holarchies.

And films themselves – are holons and memes.

All just something interesting to think about…

Till next time – Happy Screenwriting.

– JT Velikovsky

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JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.

His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

Photo Credits: JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.
His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

By JT Velikovsky

So – arguably, (if not: scientifically and empirically) what is another `pattern’ that can be seen in the Top 20 ROI Films?

Arguably, they’re all utterly-awesome movies:

Seriously! (Have you seen them all? Rush out and get ahold of copies now… Run, don’t walk-!)

Most people see this list, and think: “Wait – They look like a bunch of mindless Hollywood horror slasher movies to me. What could I ever really learn about screenwriting/filmmaking from these schlocky films?”

Irony alert: “mindless Hollywood horror slasher movies..?”

1) These are not at all `mindless’ films. As philosopher (and comedian) Chris Rock once said:

“If only smart people like your sh*t – it ain’t that smart.”(https://www.avclub.com/articles/chris-rock,13903/ )

2) These are not even `Hollywood’films. Only 2 of the 20 are actually Hollywood films: Star Wars and ET (the rest are all independent productions).

3) And – even if there are some `slasher’ films in the list, it’s actually highly likely (understandable) that, you may think of thesefilms as dumb and clichéd- as- you may perhaps actually be thinking of the: (usually: mindless, Hollywood) sequels to them.

But – have you watched `the originals’ in the Top 20 list, lately? Halloween, Friday The 13^th, SAW, etc – i.e. Thesuper-viral films that meant: they then went and made lots of sequels..?

– In most cases, the sequels to these films are not a patch on the original (Star Wars and Rocky excepted, but – the writer-hyphenates i.e. George Lucas, and Sylvester Stallone stayed creatively involved in all of them, right..?)

So – for what it’s worth (maybe: not much) – here’s my own personal opinion on them…

(i.e. Not that, my personal opinion about these films actually changes anything at all; they were indeed the Top 20 ROI films – so obviously, the International Movie-Going Audience: Loved Them).

As a screenwriter seeking to reach a wide audience with your film story – I believeit pays to watch them over and over – and be reminded, exactly why.

Note though: the Critics didn’t, necessarily regard them as very good..(!)SAW,for example,only scores 46% on Metacritic.

Yet, critical regard – and commercial success – are often very separate. (Spoiler alerts follow, by the way…)

Here are just some reasons I personally find these 20 films to be utterly-amazing works of cinema storytelling:

1) Paranormal Activity – This movie can actually make your hair stand on end. (Given the suspense generated up to that point – the scene where something drags Katie out of bed? – Really scary..!)Also – wonderful chemistry and charisma (and – humour!) between the two leads. And, amazingly: all set in one location – the house.Incredible.

2) Mad Max – one of the most kinetic action-horror films – either of its time, or now. All those low-angle shots of the road, for one thing; and the incredible stunts, for another (and all well before the age of CGI). Also: a deeply satisfying `Revenge’ tale. Though – it isn’t exactly pretty at times. (But – a “bloody revenge”tale can be like that…)

3) The Blair Witch Project – Also, arguably one of the scariest films ever. Given the hype, (and – that I was incredibly-sceptical about it being a `true story’) I found the film as boring as hell, up till about the last 3 minutes.  Yet that last scene made my hair stand on end, and the lingering feeling of dread stayed with me, for several days afterwards… Sometimes, a `great/shocking end twist’ is all it takes, to create an instant classic.

4) El Mariachi – again, incredibly kinetic filmmaking.So much great hand-held camera action. The dream sequences `work’… And the ECU shots, and sped-up sequences all give this film a unique rawness, and texture.

5) Night Of The Living Dead – of its time – it popularized the zombie film genre, which clearly has enormous currency to this day. And – as with the other low-budget films on the list – with a `rawness’ and shock-value power that still works.

6) Rocky – an exhilarating feel-good “underdog triumphs” story. Stallone’s charisma and performance was compared at the time to De Niro and Brando. (His acting salary since has also outweighed theirs…)

7) Halloween – a masterpiece of Hitchcockian suspense. Right from the opening sequence (inspired by Orson Welles’ A Touch Of Evil) we’re gripped… Also – and amazing synergy between the (John Carpenter!) soundtrack/music score, and the images. Also – started a trend in `slasher’horror films – that Scream later parodied. The first – and possibly still, the greatest – of the classic `psycho-sexual serial killer’ films.

8) American Graffiti – Lucas’s first film entry into the top 20 ROI list. A nostalgic cinema love-letter to the American teenage social/dating scene of `cruising in cars’, based loosely on Lucas’s own childhood in rural smalltown Modesto USA; and – a homage to classic popular rock n’ roll, and even the legendary radio DJ Wolfman Jack – who even acts in the film.

Also – without this film,Pulp Fiction would not have happened when it did; Lucas has noted in interviews, that `ensemble cast/character films’ – showing `different characters stories intercut’ were unthinkable at the time,as popular films. Lucas also had a very hard time getting this made, and even once made, the studio had little faith in it.(Irony.)

9) Clerks – a hilariously-perverse cast of comedic characters in a convenience store. Gritty, raw, energetic, anarchic.Arguably, spawned the entire `stoner film’ genre: giving us,among others, the classic characters of: Jay, and Silent Bob.

10) Once – an incredible insight into the world of indie musicians; a tragic love story; an amazing soundtrack (also, won the Oscar, for Best Original Song).

110 Napoleon Dynamite – a hilarious small-town deadpan comedy exploration of filmmaker Jared Hess’ own childhood – and also perhaps one of the best and most ironic `feelgooddance-scene endings’ ever.

12) Open Water – an emotionally-gripping – and devastating – suspense-horror-thriller, the JAWS of the indie film scene. Also, incredibly and tragically – based on a true story.

13) Friday The 13^th – incredibly, the result of consciously wanting to emulate the success of horror box-office smash, Halloween – and it worked…(!) Yet also with a brilliant story twist, involving the `real’ killer…

14) SAW – one of the most original and profound `spins’ on a serial-killer character yet – (spoiler) a sadisticterminal cancer victim – who wants his victims to appreciate their own lives all the more.

15) Primer – arguably both the most intelligent – and realistic– time-travel movie ever made, and also,the most accurate and realistic cinematic`character’ portrayal to date of: `scientist/engineer’ characters – and:how scientific discovery actually happens, in the real world.

16) The Evil Dead – arguably still one of the most genuinely terrifying horror films ever made. A kinetic camera and editing style, that still influences the genre even today. Loads of memes – that are still viral, now.

17) ET- The Extra-Terrestrial – a classic `boy and his dog’ (okay, alien) coming-of-age tale with a sci-fi spin that adds awe, wonder and magic to a heart-warming fantasy.

18) The Full Monty – a hilarious and deeply moving tale of `down-and-outers’ who face their own fears, bond – and find short-lived success together.

19) Star Wars – the classic space-opera that redefined both the sci-fi film genre (inspired by 2001, Buck Rogers and Flash Gordonamong others) and with Jawsalso ushered in the era of `blockbusters’, the hero’s journey – and transmedia storytelling – in popular film culture.

20) My Big Fat Greek Wedding – a heart-warming rom-com that crossed cultural lines by using Greek culture as a metaphor for allcross-cultural relationships. At the time – film executives wanted to change all the Greek characters to Italian, as they felt nobody had (successfully) shown Greek culture in a rom-com in this way. Thankfully, Vardalos stuck to her guns.

Anyway –so that’s just `my own personal take’ on the observable `pattern’ that:

i.e. These are all utterly-awesome films.

(None of that, actually `matters’, or affects their empirical ROI.)

Note: So I guess, I’m not a film snob. But – at the same time as loving these super-viral films, I also love films like Tokyo Story, The Conformist, and everything by Stanley Kubrick – arguably the filmmaker with the strongest social conscience ever… (Look at how anti-war Kubrick’s war films are. Anyway don’t get me started on what a God of Cinema Kubrick is – or you’ll be trapped forever, while I rave endlessly about his films.)

So- my advice to any aspiring (or even, working) Screenwriter:

Watch all 20 of these Top 20 ROI films –over and over;

I predict,you’ll see something new – and brilliant – in every one of them, every time you do…

PS – And also – take all of Karel’s screenwriting advice. (It also all applies to all these films!)

Okay – one more post – and then I’m outta here for now.

Next month’s post:

Part 12:

Some weird `film philosophy stuff’: On Holons and holarchies.

(i.e. …Huh?)

– JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.

His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

Photo Credits: JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.
His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

By JT Velikovsky

Some more findings from my doctoral research:

Ten Story/ScreenplayPatterns – In The Top 20 ROI Films

So – these are the top 20 ROI Films of the past 70 Years:

And – 10 Patterns In the Top 20 ROI Films:

#1 – Two-Part Structure – The story is always in 2 `parts’: i.e. “Before”, when everything is `going well’; then – disaster strikes; and the 2nd part is “After” – when everything goes badly for the hero/s due to `the disaster’.

(Note the similarity to Aristotle’s `2-part structure’ of ancient Greek plays. Not that, ancient Greek plays are films…)

#2 – Villain Protagonist: The villain `acts first’, and “drives” the story – and the hero is constantly reacting to the villain’s actions (and/or their outright attacks, on the hero/s).

#3 – Villain Triumphant – The Villain / `story-protagonist’ either:

1) wins (i.e. the hero either loses, or, dies), and/or

2) escapes justice, and/or

3) at the very least: escapes.

(Note: With Rocky – Rocky actually loses the fight, and Apollo Creed wins it.)

#4 – No Character `Arcs’ – With these specific films – by the film story’s end the hero/s has not undergone a `transformational character arc’; if anything – they are just even more like they were, at the start of the story…

#5 – The 3 Primal Themes – 1) Life & Death, 2) Family/Community, and 3) Justice/Revenge.

In other words: all very “survival of the `fittest’”.All about intense conflict.

#6 – Present Day Setting – the majority of the Top 20 ROI Films (17/20) are set in the Present Day (relative to when they were made).

This is logical – as period pieces and future stories are (usually) more expensive.

#7 – Temporally Linear – No `parallel narratives’ (like say Rashomon, or Pulp Fiction, or even reversed time like Memento, etc).

As cinematically wonderful as those non-linear story structures are (I would suggest, those three films are uncontested masterpieces) the structure of the top 20 ROI Films, is just plain: Linear.

There are sometimes narrative ellipses (eg Starting with `the Backstory’: 30 Years Prior, as with Halloween and Friday The 13th), but otherwise – the films are linear. The obvious `exception’ is Primer but, ironically – as a time-travel story, it is, actually,(even – ironically) linear.

#8 – A Love Story – This is not in all 20 (it is absent in The Blair Witch Project).

But is in the majority (19 out of the 20). So include one, if you wish – but it is (clearly) not mandatory for a High ROI Film. Blair Witch got in the list, without it.

#9 – Be a Writer-Hyphenate!– all 20 of the top 20 ROI films, the Writer (and conceiver of the Story) was involved in production (as Director, Actor or Producer, etc), and, did not simply provide the Story/Screenplay and then `step aside’ during production/further story development.

Note also how, this also correlates with DK Simonton’s finding in the excellent Great Flicks (Simonton, 2011) – whereby, overwhelmingly, the writer-director is more successful in realizing a quality (award-winning) cinematic vision.

(And, hey wait – Is this an argument for auteur theory? Yes, but only in the case of Writer-hyphenates with this empirical Top 20 ROI study, and, in the case of Writer-Directors in Simonton’s empirical study. Classical auteur theory posits the director as the `Author’ of the film. Contrapositionally, this new knowledge positions the Writer-hyphenate as `the primary author’ of the Top 20 ROI Films.)

#10 –A 10-Act Story Structure – and Average Scenes of 50 seconds– trending towards 1 minute

These 10 key ideas/memes/points above can potentially increase the statistical probability of your film going viral.

(Note: Do they guarantee it? No. Luck and timing/Zeitgeist plays a part; and this largely cannot be controlled… However – these (memes, listed above here) are: 10 things that can indeed be controlled, by a film storyteller/writer/director/creative producer.)

So – that’s just some of the patterns in the Top 20 ROI Films.

There are in fact, many more…

Experiment: Watch these 20 films – and read their screenplays, for yourself; see if you find any patterns…

Next month’s post:

Part 11: One more characteristic I’ve (just: personally) observed in the Top 20 ROI Films: namely – `Cinematic Awesomeness’.

– JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.

His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

Photo Credits: JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.
His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

By JT Velikovsky

So here is the list, again:

And –maybe the first thing we notice about the Top 20 ROI Films is that – they occur (actually, they: emerge – from the feature film system) almost exactly every 2 years on average, and – with a remarkable regularity:

Note the `10-year gap’ – in 1983-93… This era was dominated by `big-budget blockbusters’, that didn’t necessarily make a high ROI, due to their very high production budgets.

But, note also – the remarkable `the market correction’ of four Top-20-ROI films emerging all at once, in 2004 in the graph: when digital filmmaking (i.e. digital cameras, and editing equipment) became widely affordable…

(The four 2004 films were: Primer, Open Water, SAW and Napoleon Dynamite.)

Also – The Devil Inside (2012) was the film that proved the `frequency’ prediction correct… All very clear evidence of a system in operation.

i.e. Such as:

And – if you also want to see this system as a real-time online computer model in action, go here.

What About: Genre Patterns?

Genre patterns in The Top 20 ROI Films are as follows:

Note that `DRAMA’ -as a genre – is absent from the Top 20 ROI Films list…

Dramas are – arguably – the least-commercial genre, as almost a third of the bottom 20 ROI films are in the Drama genre.

Dramas usually win most of the Oscars, because – in fact – they are the hardest thing to do, well.

See: Best Picture Oscars list, at Box Office Mojo.

So – Does this all mean that `Horror’ is the only Genre that you should write, if you want a high ROI (ie high audience-reach, compared to production-budget) film?

Not at all… In theory – any Genre could work just as well as a high-ROI film, but given the evidence: Drama would arguably be – the most difficult/least probable to succeed.

Horror is already well-known to be highly commercial – but by no means is the only Genre in the list… Rom-coms, musicals, sci-fi and other genres all can clearly go extremely viral.

The Bottom 20 ROI Films

Patterns In the Bottom-20-ROI Films

`Bottom 20 ROI Films’ emerge much more frequently (one every 6 months, on average):

This finding fits with the prevailing situation where 7 in 10 films lose money:

And – has been the case – for at least 20 years… (see: Entertainment Industry Economics, Harold L Vogel, 1988-2011)

This is also remarkable when we consider that: 98% of screenplays go unmade –

So returning to a key point, from Post #1 of `Writing The High ROI Film’:

How do you get your spec screenplay into `the pile’ of:

The 2% that actually get made?

And then:

Is there anything we could arguably do in the screenplay – to try and ensure,

thefilm / story goes viral?

Yes, we could look at the patterns common to the stories/films in the Top 20 ROI.

Noting also that – these 20 films have an average budget of $1.9 million: and, a lower-budget screenplay always has a greater chance of being financed/made.

So – If I had any `general screenwriting advice’, it would be: always be writing 2 screenplays (or – write them alternately):

1) One `expensive’ one – i.e. where `money is no object’…

2) One screenplay that is very low-budget, and `realistic’.

The low-budget one will be more likely to get made, enabling you to perhaps then present the high(er) budget one, once you have: `a run on the board’…)

Next month’s post:

Part 10: `Story Patterns’ In the Top 20 ROI Films/Screenplays.

– JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.

His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

Photo Credits: JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.
His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

By JT Velikovsky

So – from the analysis in my doctoral thesis – here are some of the key ideas (memes) that were in the Top 20 ROI Films: (and – multiple spoiler alerts…)

One lesson from all this is, clearly:`Write What You Know’.

Note how many of the above stories are based in the life experience of the writer.

These are essentially: personal films.

So,then –are `viral’ films necessarily `new’ ideas..?

(Hardly… Look at how `classic’ many of the ideas/memes above are. However – they involve combinations of popular memes, resulting in hybrid vigor for the memes of the final film story.)

Next month’s post:

Part 9: Some strikingGenre and Frequency patterns – in the Top 20 ROI Films…

– JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.

His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

Photo Credits: JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.
His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

By JT Velikovsky

So – If these are The Top 20 ROI Films of the Past 70 Years:

Then – okay, so, what’s ROI (Return On Investment) and why should any feature film screenwriter actually care?

That sounds like: `Marketing talk’, right?

Or even: `Accountant-talk’.

i.e. Maths stuff…! (Ugh, right?)

This ROI stuff all sounds like, the polar opposite of: Creativity.

Well, it is – and it isn’t… (Warning: Irony proximity alert…)

Because–overall, it sounds like, we’re now just interested in: making buckets of filthy lucre.

i.e. Making: `empty-headed commercial trash’, right? Rather than `telling great stories’?

Wrong…! (imminent irony alert…)

Because – when you realize that: the filmmakers themselves didn’t necessarily make lots of money from these Top 20 ROI films.

The producers and distributors did.

For example – John Carpenter made $30k on Halloween, and it made: $50 million.

i.e. Filmmaking is not driven by money, it is driven by passion – and innovation.

In a word: Creativity.

Also –note that, The Top 20 ROI films:

1) Didn’t have especially big initial marketing budgets; (usually around $1m-$2m or so…)

2) Didn’t have `stars’ in them;

3) 18 of the 20 films, didn’t even have `name directors’ attached, and:

4) 18 of the 20 were independent films – and not `Hollywood’ films.

Bizarre – but: all true.

So – it means – there must have been some other reason/s (other than, those things above) that they all went so viral… (i.e. reached the widest audience– when we compare their audience-reach at the theatrical cinema box office – to their production budget).

And – what is that reason?

One thing:

The Story – in each and every one them.

Because (as bizarre as this may seem) underneath – they are actually:

All The Same Story.

By that, I mean – we can see the exact same story-structure (think: something vaguely like the Hero’s Journey monomyth – except: it isn’t exactly that, as- not all of them have the Hero’s Journey in them, brilliant though that Story Structure is) and –actually, about 20 other things that they all do the same, that also: the Bottom 20 ROI films tend not to do…

Don’t get me wrong, 4 of the top 20 ROI films DO have The Hero’s Journey monomyth in them. And it’s a wonderful story pattern.

It works, and we can thank Joseph Campbell for that.

On that – note also that George Lucas is the only filmmaker with 2 films in the top 20 ROI films.

His first film that entered the list was American Graffiti (1973). But it was of course the later Star Wars 1977 that was the `classic’ hero’s journey film.

Lucas did Anthropology in college, before he became a filmmaker. And – one of the first texts they hand you in that class, is: The Hero With A Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell.

So Lucas combined that with about 20 other influences and ideas (i.e. memes), to create the story that became Star Wars.

George Lucas was unable to afford the rights to the 1930’s film serials of Flash Gordon. (And – thank goodness for that. Hard to imagine Flash Gordon – even remade by Lucas – being anywhere as cool as Star Wars – 1977)

So – in writing Star Wars, Lucas has said he was inspired by: the serials Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, Dune (the novel by Frank Herbert), Asimov’s Foundation trilogy novels, andamong other films: The Hidden Fortress, Yojimbo, Metropolis, 633 Squadron, The Dam-Busters, 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Wizard of Oz.

In fact – if you watch old Buster Crabbe Flash Gordon and Buck Rogers episodes, you’ll notice more than a few similarities in Star Wars (1977)… right from the `opening title scroll’, to – the character archetypes, the settings, the scenes, the scenarios (an evil empire – and a rebellion) and even, some of the character names…

And so, next up: some of the Story Memes in the Top 20 ROI films…

i.eAll smash-hit films are brand-new `original’ ideas, right?

Irony alert: Nope.

They are usually: two or more very `old’ and `common’ ideas (read: existing, popular memes) combined…

Next month’s post:

Part 8: Some of the key memes in The Top 20 ROI Films.

– JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.

His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

Photo Credits: JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.
His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

By JT Velikovsky

So – what struck me – in reading those 100 Screenwriting Textbooks – was firstly, this:

A lot of what they said was a consensus – but –in many cases, they also all said different stuff to each other.

(i.e. So – wait, which one of these books is actually right? Are they all right? Some of them contradict each other…)

The second thing I noticed, in reading them was: almost none of them used an empirical methodology.

And – the ones that did? Looked at films written/made by – very experienced, very `credited’ very `produced’ writers… (for whom: `the rules of the game’ are a little different, to someone aiming to `break in’…)

Let me give an example:

So – James Cameron’s scripts – since and including The Terminator, all read a certain way in terms of tone, genre, story.

But – James Cameron is also: a writer-director. When he writes a line in his script (noting that, the actual screenwriting is shockingly, awesomely great) he also has an idea about, how he’s going to shoot it, for whatever budget he’s going to get. A spec screenwriter can’t expect to have their script financed as easily as a Cameron picture.

Another example is Shane Black –who, famously, sold a spec (The Long Kiss Goodnight, which is a much better script than film, in my opinion) for $4m.

Note that – he includes `throwaway gags’ in his screenplays, like in Lethal Weapon:

EXT. POSH BEVERLY HILLS HOME – TWILIGHT

The kind of house that I’ll buy if this movie is a huge

hit. Chrome. Glass. Carved wood. Plus an outdoor

solarium: a glass structure, like a greenhouse only

there’s a big swimming pool inside. This is a really

great place to have sex.

Scene 49/Page 43 – LETHAL WEAPON (screenplay by Shane Black, 1986)

But – prior to becoming a highly paid screenwriter, Shane Black was also in the movie Predator (1987)…

So – the authors of these Screenwriting Manuals had: screenwriting/story/narratology `theories’ that were not derived from any`specific data set’ – but, overall seemed to be based largely on intuition – and their own experienceof: reading many scripts…

i.e. The authors had (often) been professional script readers (as, had I, as it happens) and had therefore seen (and even: read) thousands of screenplays (as had I) and – they had `gleaned some patterns’ from that whole experience.

Which – is all completely logical, and understandable:

i.e. If you look at about 1000 of anything, e.g.: patents for mousetraps; prime numbers; bikinis, man-kini’s) you are bound to spot `patterns’ in there somewhere, right?

We humanoids are good like that: pattern recognition (aka `intelligence’) is apparently one thing that we have lots of, and apparently, more than any other lifeform that we share the planet with. In fact we’re sometimes too good at it, see (or Google): Pareidolia. (Namely – seeing significant patterns where, there’s actually just chaos, e.g. Say, `The Virgin Mary In My Toasted-Cheese Sandwich’). To my thinking, a lot of screenwriting manuals accidentally fell into this trap. Some of the stuff they thought made a successful screenplay: doesn’t necessarily. i.e. The empirical evidence shows otherwise.

There were of course many screenwriting books that had a lot of fascinating theories, and yet they seemed to use arbitrarily-chosen films, to illustrate their point.

Their example ranged from: Oscar-winning big-budget films – to low-budget indie films. But – aren’t the rules different, for how different types (and even: genres) of films get financed – and then, made? (Actually, yes.)

So I went off looking for screenwriting books that had very strict criteria for their data sets.

There weren’t many: and some, for example, looked at films that made over $250m at the box office.

But – when I researched how many of those $250m+ films were spec screenplays, hardly any of them were…

So – it didn’t make a lot of sense to teach spec screenwriters how to write high-budget screenplays if: they were rarely-if-ever, made from spec scripts to begin with. Most of those, were adaptations of existing successful novels. And – that’s fine to study too, but – only super-experienced screenwriters get hired to adapt best-selling novels, right?

So – I went looking at different `sets’ of films. Highest International Box Office. Biggest Budgets.  Movies With Lowest Budgets to Earn $1 Million at US Box Office, etc.

And–some interesting patterns emerged, once I looked at a very specific data set:

The Top 20 Return-On-Investment Films Of The Past 70 Years.

Interestingly, the average budget of these films is: $1.9m. (Even with, the $10m and $11m ET and Star Wars in there. Some of these incredibly-viral feature films were made for $7k. Amazing.)

And again, the key point is, the data set itself is empirical.

That is – anyone who wants to study the Top 20 ROI Films of the Past 70 Years – is stuck with: this exact same set of 20 films.

(A Side Note – When they see the list, some people want to know if, these figures are `inflation-adjusted’. Answer: No, they’re not, but – neither is the international box-office total in each case – so: it doesn’t actually matter. The point is – if you divide the box office by $10, you get the approximate number of people who bought a cinema ticket to see these movies. Also, to be really accurate – you also need to adjust for ticket-price inflation… But – the ROI at the time the film was released means that `the dollars of the budget’ were of equivalent value, at the time that it was made – and seen.)

Anyway – the bigger point is –a pretty bad (sloppy) way to `analyse’ film stories/screenplays is, this –

Just think of a pattern: Say, “Films with love stories in them.” Then – pick films with a good love story, regardless of whether that film actually reached a wide enough audience to make a profit…

Or – say, an extreme (i.e. exaggerated, for the purpose of illustration here, and because sarcasm is also sometimes fun) let’s examine `serious’ sci-fi films where say: The Alien Guys All Arguably Look Kind of Pretty Damn Silly.

Battlefield Earth would likely qualify, as would Enemy Mine. And then,we might come up with a theory that: this is a good thing to do in your film – and it will succeed (in `finding the film’s intended audience’).

Arguably though, Battlefield Earth totally sucks as a movie, and also: empirically, didn’t do so well, in `finding its audience’. (The film cost $80m – not even including the Marketing – and made only $29m back,at the international box office. Yikes.)

So – a scientific and empirical approach to film narratology means – we need to actually first clearly define the data set.

And then – look for patterns – within that data set alone.

E.g. Say maybe, “I am now going off to find: the Top 20 Films at the Box Office – With A Talking Mouse in Them.”

e.g. Presumably, the resulting list of (say) 20 films would include Stuart Little. And, maybe some Mickey Mouse movies, etc.

Then say – okay: so that is the list of the Top 20 Talking Mouse Films, and, we can’t change the list…i.e. – It is, what it is.

So –we say: I’m now going to analyse them – for any common characteristics.

And – maybe on examination,you may find:

1) the mouse always white

2) there is always a love story

and

3) there is always a cat, as the villain.

(Then again, that stuff all feels pretty obvious – as the `Talking Mouse Genre’ is usually just like that.)

Anyway, as I say – some very interesting patterns emerged, from a very specific data set:

The Top 20 Return-On-Investment Films Of The Past 70 Years.

Next month’s post:

Part 7: `I’ll elaborate.’

– JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.

His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

Photo Credits: JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.
His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

By JT Velikovsky

So I’d like to continue this series of guest posts for The Story Department with a reference to something that really struck me as stunningly and mind-splitting, profoundly-true– when I first read Dancyger & Rush’s ) Alternative Scriptwriting (2013).

(Ironically – I’m not specifically recommending that particular Screenwriting Manual over all of the 2500+ that currently exist…- It’s great, but – you sort of need to just read them all.)

And, if I knew of a shortcut around all that – then I would suggest it…

But (as I mentioned before) if you’re a screenwriter – as Creatology/Creativity expert Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihaly and others have repeatedly found – you sort of need to spend about 10 years, absorbing/internalizing the domain of Screenwriting.

And even: Filmmaking. i.e. Read as many film and screenwriting books, as you possibly can. Write as many scripts as you can.

(Practise, practise and then, practise, some more.)

But – one point from that Dancyger and Rush book I’d raise is: about the inescapability of irony, for screenwriters.

Sooner or later – as a screenwriter – either: the Irony of Everything In Life hits you – or, if not, then – you start looking for the irony in everything, anyway.

(It’s gotta be in there, right..?)

One film where examples of irony leap out everywhere, is the film American Beauty:

… Almost everything- and every character – in that film is deeply ironic, right?

*Multiple Spoilers Alert: Re: American Beauty (1999) *

1) The alluring `worldly’ girl that everyone assumes to be a sex goddess is- in fact: a virgin. Irony.

2) Lester Burnham – the man that we assume is going to be murdered by Ricky Fitts (see opening voice-over) is killed in another way, entirely. (Neatly-avoided spoiler there.)

3) The `happy’American wife – with the rose garden, the white-picket-fence, and The Suburban American Dream is: deeply unfulfilled. Again with the irony.

4) The super-macho badass-tough military by-the-rules `Structure and discipline!” guy is actually gay. More irony.

5) Ricky Fitts, a drug dealer, is oddly: a man of integrity in many ways. Ironic.

6) A rose (like the `American Beauty’ species) is beautiful – but also: has thorns.

I could go on –but, I am sure you get the idea…

So – I’m going to say other stuff in this post, and then: point out the irony.

Also – Some Other Backstory Stuff About Me:

So, I’m a produced feature screenwriter, a High-ROI-Film Story/Screenplay Consultant – and I’ve been fortunate enough to have had 10 feature screenplays either optioned, sold, or made. – I’m not boasting; quite the opposite…

Ironically – Given the amount of feature film screenplays I’ve actually written (over 30) – my track record/`hit rate’ with spec screenplays is kinda: the opposite of impressive.

But – it’s also very typical: 98% of screenplays written go unmade…(!)

So – in my view, Possibly The Biggest QuestionFor a Spec Screenwriter is: How exactly do you actually manage to get your screenplay out of the `98% Unmade’ script pile – and over there,into the `2% That Get Made Into Movies’ pile?

(Getting a screenplay optioned is great; sold, even better; but made is actually `the goal’, right?)

Well, some more backstory – before I try and answer that `Big Question’ – in the 15 years I’ve been writing feature screenplays (and, as I say, I’ve written over 30 – and just on that – I kind of think there is something wrong with me…) I’ve learned a few things that aren’t really taught, or even mentioned very often (if at all) in most of `the 2500 screenwriting manuals’.

I know this, since, as a research project –one year, (1995) I once read over 100 screenwriting books – and I summarized each of them, into one page.

The PDF of that Screenwriting Literature Survey I did at film school is here, and, is actually free.

So – If you ever decide to sit down, and read 100 screenwriting manuals in a year, then: I can relate, (and also – I feel your pain. I mean – Why would any ever do something like that?)

Well, the answer, in my own case is:

I wanted to try and get all the knowledge ever written on screenwriting that I could find, into my head (at the time, there were only around 100 Screenwriting books, and it has since grown to become over 2500…) – and then,maybe see if, my head would maybe do something interesting – like – inflate, and allow me to levitate or something. (It didn’t work, but I still feel it was worth it, just to see.)

Anyway – once I had the knowledge from those 100 books `inside my mind’ – a whole bunch of odd things emerged for me.

Some parts of the knowledge in the screenwriting domain didn’t quite add up.

And also – some deeply interesting patterns emerged…

Next month’s post:

Part 6: `I’ll explain what they were.’

– JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.

His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

Photo Credits: JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.
His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

By JT Velikovsky

Taking up from last month, we move on to – Why it’s good to be a produced screenwriter.

Because… (as `obvious’ as this sounds)…

You’ve just jumped off the list of: unproduced feature film writers – and over onto the `produced feature film writers’ list.

You’ve now shown, whoever looks at your next (or: even older, bottom-drawer) script/s that – You understand what it takes, to write a feature film that can be made.

(If your produced feature film also made money – and garnered awards: then, even better… You definitely `have the attention of your Reader’. At least, moreso, than if you didn’t have that credit… The script itself, in every case, still has to blow them away.)

My Key Point On All This, Being: Even if you then pull out your 5 expensive `Star Wars meets Avatar’ scripts, you’ll still be getting a more sympathetic read – than if you haven’t as yet, gotten `a run on the board’…

And even besides all that, it’s also entirely-possible that – the (self-imposed) constraints of the `low-budget’ script/s you’ve been working on, will mean:

Your `creativity muscle’ (your imagination; your writing problem-solving skill) is possibly: now working way `harder’ – and better – than if you don’t ever have those constraints…

I mean: If you can make a 90-page script about (say) 4 people trapped in a lift “work, dramatically” (without ever reading like: a `filmed stage-play’), then just imagine what you can do, with: a 120-page, big-budget blockbuster where: money’s no object, and you can have all the `impossible’ effects – and all the imagined film stars – and even your `dream director’ – and: whatever else you want.

An Analogy: It’s a bit like – that awesome montage sequence in: Conan The Barbarian (the 1982 John Milius version) where Conan goes from:rangy teenager pushing The Wheel Of Pain – to -Mr Olympia/Mr Universe, Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Or, it’s kind of like the cinematic `cut’ where: the bone, tossed up into the sky by the ape in 2001: A Space Odyssey becomes – a floating space-bomb.

If you do ever try this method – writing the same story – as both a cheap – and an expensive screenplay…

Overall – your screenwriting skills probably will be shaped – and honed – by the restraints – and will likely leap ahead, quantumly.

Though – I am pretty sure, `quantumly’ isn’t a real word.

(And I also note, you should always aim to avoid adverbs – i.e. `-ly’ words – in screenplays.)

Anyway –so, that’s my 3 key pieces of advice.

i.e. Not just: “A.B.C. – Always – Be – Closing”- from that awesome scene in Glengarry Glen Ross.

(Though – you kind of have to do that, too, right-? i.e. Reading between the lines, on every one of your screenplay pages, you also need to `say’, in effect: YOU MUST MAKE THIS MOVIE…)

But – with all that in mind:

Always be writing two scripts…

1) A “sky’s-the-limit” one…

And:

2) A “cheap and cheerful” one.

(i.e. Write the cheap one, `cheerfully’ – even if: it’s a horror film. It may just be – the first of your screenplays to get made…)

Next month’s post:

Part 5: `On Irony in Screenwriting.’

– JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.

His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

Photo Credits: JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.
His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

By JT Velikovsky

Taking up from last month, we move on to – `General Screenwriting Advice, Number 2’ – (and also, #3).

Advice # 2 – Always be writing 2 screenplays.

(And – if not at the same time, then: alternately. Sort of like, how directors like Martin Scorsese and Ridley Scott tend to alternately,make: `one movie for the studio – and one film for me’…)

And – these 2 (suggested) types of screenplays are:

a) Your any-budget/sky’s-the-limit creative masterpiece – (I am not being sarcastic) where, the budget of the produced film –assuming that it is made – is no object, and: your own Creativity and Imagination are the only limitations.

Dream big. i.e. If you could tell any story you wanted, even if there is not enough money in the world to produce the film – this is `it’. Bigger than Ben-Hur. More Alien even than Avatar. Wetter even than Waterworld. More Martian than John Carter (of Mars). With even more Stars, and even more Wars, than: Star Wars.

And also –the 2nd kind of script – the `opposite’ kind of screenplay, in many ways:

b) An extremely inexpensive/low-budget script to produce. (For example, Paranormal Activity: say, all set in one house/building, and, with a max of say, 4 actors. No explosions, no crazy stunts, no crazy visual-FX that can’t be achieved cheaply.) i.e. Totally `test’ your own Creativity out. i.e. Set yourself some `near-impossible’ parameters…

Example: set the whole film, in a lift. (See: DEVIL or, THE LIFT). And maybe only allow yourself 4 characters: say, maybe 3 `good guys’, and a villain. – If you can make that screenplay work, then – you can probably make any screenplay work: brilliantly. (It doesn’t need to be a `found footage’ film, nor, a horror film…)

Note also that – in the big-budget one, you probably can’t really go nuts with your own personal philosophy, or, with some daring (or crazy) new Theme.

If there is a lot of money involved in making any given film, then the film financiers probably will want to `play it safe’- with `conservative’ themes.

But – in the `cheap’ one? You can put your heart and soul, and whatever `risky’ Theme/Philosophy you dare: Marxism. Anarchy. Polygamy. A POV-shot Colonoscopy. Anything.

Chances are, if it’s very low-budget, the `edgy’ message in the `cheap’ one won’t get filtered out by: The Way That The Financing Works, on medium or big-budget films. (i.e. Say, anything over $2m)

(Although – the movie Fight Club is a notable, incredibly-rare exception: when Rupert Murdoch saw the film – and found out what it was really about – it was actually too late, for Fox not to release it. $60 million had already been spent on, what is, now: an uncontested cinematic masterpiece.)

For more on détournement – see here and see also: `culture jamming’.

And – I even go so far as to advise this (though – this one is only for the truly daring / the crazy-brave narratologists among us):

3) Just for the exercise, try and tell the same story in those two different screenplays: one `expensive movie’ screenplay; and one, `super-cheap movie’ screenplay.

– It will soon make you think very deeply about the Story you want to tell, and, Why you really want to tell it…

i.e. To illustrate – a (totally crazy) hypothetical question – Could you tell the story of Avatar (2009), all set in one room?

(Actually – Yes… It could be all set in a single boardroom, with the `company man’ Selfridge – and the hard-assed security chief Quaritch, interrogating Jake and Grace, for 3 hours. And, they could explain `exactly what happened on Pandora’. Sure – it isn’t anywhere near as visually – nor viscerally – `exciting’ as Avatar. But – see a film like 1998 Australian thriller THE INTERVIEW or maybe K-PAX (2001) for how that might work.)

And – for an extreme example of minimalist cinematic storytelling – see: BURIED (2010).

You can actually set a feature film: entirely inside acoffin, with one guy (and, a snake). And still: tell a great cinematic story. (i.e. Does the `typical’ number of: scenes, settings, and locations – and even cast – all really matter, as much as we might usually think..?)

Buried (© 2010 Lionsgate (US) Warner Bros. (Spain) Icon Entertainment International (UK/Australia)) Written by Chris Sparling.

So – whether or not you even choose to risk/dare with `Option #3’ above:

If you are `always writing 2 scripts’ – with these sorts of parameters (i.e. 1) no parameters whatsoever, in the first instance – and –2) with loads of self-imposed production budget constraints in the second), and – you write 5 screenplays of the first kind – and 5 screenplays of the second kind, the odds are then higher that one of those 5 `inexpensive’ scripts may well be snapped up, and made.

Note: You probably won’t become rich from it –nor, buy a Hollywood mansion from the proceeds of that script, but:

You’ll then be a produced/credited screenwriter.

And – this is usually a very good thing.

And: Why..?

Next month’s post:

Part 4: `Why it’s good to be a produced screenwriter.’

– JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.

His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.

Photo Credits: JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky

JT Velikovsky is a million-selling transmedia writer and consultant (films, games, TV, comix, novels) and produced feature film writer.
His doctoral thesis research on Film/Story/Screenplays of The Top 20 ROI Films can be found here.