Reader Question: What kind of chances does a period piece have as a spec?
Question from Violet:
Can you talk about what kind of chances a period film has as a spec? I’m not talking sweeping epic, just a character focused coming-of-age drama set in the 1940s. How do studios and producers feel about period pieces that aren’t based on pre-existing material (book, fiction or non-fiction) but are based on/inspired by true events. Does the inspired by true events help? Of course, I realize that it largely depends on how well I can use the true events for the purposes of the story.
Let me frame my response with a quick review of the perceived minuses of period pieces. (A) In order to create an authentic replication of the past (e.g., cars, wardrobe, building exteriors, furniture), a period piece typically costs more money to produce. (B) The CW (Conventional Wisdom) is that the single biggest target demos (male teens to 30) don’t like period pieces — unless they’re big action spectacles ala 300 and the latest Sherlock Holmes. Add that up and what you get is: Period pieces cost more to produce and generate less revenue. Not a formula for success.
I just did a quick database search of spec sales in 2009 and found these period pieces:
The Further Adventures of Doc Holliday: Centers on the famous 1800’s gunfighter who was friends with Wyatt Earp.
Everybody Loves Whales: In October 1988, three California gray whales are found trapped under the ice of the Arctic Circle. The subsequent rescue attempt becomes a huge global event, as scores of journalists converge on the nearby Eskimo town of Barrow, Alaska, and the U.S. and Soviet government enjoy a rare moment of collaboration. The two-week drama plays out at a time of geopolitical change, with Mikhail Gorbachev in the midst of his glasnost initiative and Ronald Reagan preparing to leave office after his second term. During all of this a nonprofit aid worker and a government worker fall in love.
Odysseus: Legendary hero Odysseus, famed king of Ithaca, returns to his island after 20 years of fighting the Trojan Wars, only to find his kingdom under the brutal occupation of an invading force. Odysseus single-handedly defeats every last man and takes back his wife, his son and his kingdom.
Medieval: Described as “The Dirty Dozen” set in the Middle Ages and centers on seven imprisoned men — a gypsy, a thief, a samurai, a knight, a monk, an Arab and a Viking.
The last two are big action movies with fictional characters. To call Whales a period piece is rather charitable because it’s only two decades ago. And Doc Holliday, while based on a real-life character, is a different genre (action adventure). Not much comfort there, I’m afraid.
That said, I believe the movie My Girl (1991) was sold as a spec script:
Vada Sultenfuss is obsessed with death. Her mother is dead, and her father runs a funeral parlor. She is also in love with her English teacher, and joins a poetry class over the summer just to impress him. Thomas J., her best friend, is “allergic to everything”, and sticks with Vada despite her hangups. When Vada’s father hires Shelly, a makeup expert, in his funeral parlor, and begins to fall in love with her, Vada is outraged and does everything in her power to split them up.
That was set in the 60s as I recall. And I’m sure there are other period piece spec character-oriented spec scripts that have sold — an appeal to GITS readers to post those in comments if you know them.
So where does that leave us? A spec script is hard to sell. A spec period piece script is even harder.
Does it help if the story is inspired by true historical events? It depends upon the events. If they’re interesting and the general population is likely to know about them, then probably so. If it’s something that happened in history, but it’s likely nobody would know about the event, perhaps not.
But let me turn around and ask you a question: Are you passionate about this story? If you truly believe it’s a great story, big enough to translate into a compelling movie, then my advice is to adopt David Farragut’s philosophy: Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!
So what if period pieces cost more!
Who cares if teenage males supposedly don’t like period movies!
IF YOU BELIEVE IN THE STORY, WRITE THE HELL OUT OF IT!
If it’s a great story and you write it well, there’s always a possibility the studios will buy it. And if not major studios, perhaps some indie producer will fall in love with the material and make it their personal quest to get that movie made.
One final piece of advice: Never let the facts stand in the way of the story. You’re not writing a documentary. It depends upon the historical events in question, of course, but generally you should feel free to adapt actual history to make your story as compelling as it can be.
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