December: Classic 80s Movie Month
I posted this on Friday.
Something that has emerged this year on the blog is a rotating monthly series of daily posts occupying the Noon (Eastern) 9AM (Pacific) slot. Thus far, we have had the following:
April: Story Idea Each Day for a Month
May: Movies You Made
June: 30 Days of Screenplays
July: Movie Story Types
August: Scene Description Spotlight
September: Scene-Writing Exercises
October: Hidden Movie Gems
November: 30 Things About Screenwriting
We had such a successful run with the guest posts for Hidden Movie Gems, it occurred to me why not give it a go again with something I have been wanting to do for awhile: Classic 80s Movies.
Two things. First, if we look at some of the titles of non-sequel, non-franchise movies that have fared well at the box office this year like World War Z, The Heat, Meet the Millers, The Conjuring, Identity Thief, Now You See Me, and This is the End, they have one thing in common: They are all high concept movies. Not to say high concept has ever gone away in Hollywood, but it does seem to me, at least anecdotally, to be front and center in the minds of The Suits at present. And what better way for a screenwriter to bathe in the commercial waters of high concept than by diving into the 80s which gave us a tsunami of hits like The Karate Kid, Top Gun, The Breakfast Club, and Ghost Busters.
I’m looking for a minimum of 22 guest contributors for a Monday through Friday run, but if we can get 31 to go with the series every day in December, great!
Here is who and what we have thus far:
J. Hörnschemeyer: A Fish Called Wanda
Dean: Say Anything
Jacob Moreno: Real Genius
TheQuietAct: Trading Places
jbwilke: War Games
bigjonslade: Better Off Dead
Simon: Top Gun
David Laudenslager: Tron
writerhaha: 48 Hrs.
jhenderson: Back to School
Mary Pocrnic: Back to the Future
Chris Neumann: Coming to America
Illimani: Jumping Jack Flash
Daryl: Night Shift
Melissa: Working Girl
Tor: Beetlejuice
Tor” Batman
Nick West: Blade Runner
Barbara Thomas: Scrooged
Paul Graunke: Tender Mercies
plinytheelder: Die Hard
Dean Scott: Ghost Busters [original title]
Zach Jensen: Full Metal Jacket
Jeffrey Field: Broadcast News
JasperLamarCrab: Robocop
Adam Thompson: Scarface
blknwite: Rainman
Here is a template you should use for your guest post:
Movie Title
Year
Writers (both screenwriters and any authors whose books were used as the basis for adaptation)
Lead Actors (Just the main ones)
Director
IMDB Plot Summary (You can find that directly under the Your Rating box. If you don’t feel the summary does the story justice, feel free to write up a logline of your own.)
Why I Think This Is A Classic 80s Movies (Feel free to write as much as you’d like up to a half-page or so.)
My Favorite Moment In The Movie
My Favorite Dialogue In the Movie (IMDB has a Quotes section for almost every movie, so you can find key dialogue in your movie’s site.)
Key Things You Should Look For When Watching This Movie
Please use this exact template to help me in the editing process.
If you can find a YouTube clip from the film or its trailer, include that URL.
When you are done with your guest post, you may simply copy and paste the content into an email to me.
I will run the posts in the order I receive them.
Here’s the other thing: If this series proves popular, I’d like to follow it up with other decades: Maybe the 70s next. Then the 90s. How about the 60s? Yet another way to try to excite people to watch movies. Better yet, provide information and guidance on which key movies to cover
If you are interested in doing a guest post, please indicate in Comments or send me an email with the movie you would like to cover.
If you would like to check out some examples of guest posts, you can go here to see the Hidden Movie Gem series.
Flashdance, Splash, Fatal Attraction, The Terminator… the list of high concept 80s movies goes on and on. Here’s your chance to feature a personal favorite. And for every contributor, I will send a special gust of creative juju your way.
Thanks to all in advance for your guest posts. Should be a fun series and a great opportunity to delve into the concept of high concept.
Comment Archive