Go Into The Story Movie Analysis: Straight Outta Compton

Starting Monday, we begin our next installment of the Go Into The Story Movie Analysis series: Straight Outta Compton, screenplay by Jonathan Herman and Andrea Berloff, story by S. Leigh Savidge & Alan Wenkus and Andrea Berloff.

To date per Box Office Mojo, Straight Outta Compton has grossed $119M in domestic theatrical revenues. The movie’s production budget is a reported $28M. In other words, the movie is a big hit even before rolling out in international markets.

Our schedule for discussion next week:

Monday: General Comments
Tuesday: Plot
Wednesday: Characters
Thursday: Themes
Friday: Takeaways

Why watch movies?

Because to be a good screenwriter, you need to have a broad exposure to the world of film. Every movie you see is a potential reference point for your writing, everything from story concepts you generate to characters you develop to scenes you construct. Moreover people who work in the movie business constantly reference existing movies when discussing stories you write; it’s a shorthand way of getting across what they mean or envision.

But most importantly, you need to watch movies in order to ‘get’ how movie stories work. If you immerse yourself in the world of film, it’s like a Gestalt experience where you begin to grasp intuitively scene composition, story structure, character functions, dialogue and subtext, transitions and pacing, and so on.

Movies must be in your lifeblood — and the best way to do that is to watch and analyze them.

This series is your Call To Adventure! So do yourself a favor: Watch Straight Outta Compton and join the discussion beginning Monday, August 31.

If you have found interviews and/or analysis of the movie, please post in comments.

The movie’s website here.