December: Classic 80s Movie Month (Update)

I posted this several days ago:

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.

The response has been 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

Guy Burdick: Home for the Holidays

Bretton Zinger: The Breakfast Club

We are on our way into turning this into a 31 day series for December, so if you are interested in doing a guest post on one of your favorite 80s movies with an eye toward high concept, please stake your claim in comments by naming that movie, one not already on the list.

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.

NOTE: I have already received some guest posts, so please email yours to me ASAP for purposes of editing and scheduling.

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 would like to check out some examples of guest posts, you can go here to see the Hidden Movie Gem series.

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