Screenwriting 101: Will Simmons

“This fast-food style of storytelling is bad for movies. Catharsis comes in many forms and we don’t need a manufactured or formulaic third act for the conclusion to feel satisfying… I wish more movies would embrace bold and unconventional endings. Audiences crave surprises, and the best way to keep them off balance is by opening the door to the possibility that the protagonist might perish. As soon as you take that away, the audience disengages. The ending becomes a foregone conclusion, and now we’re just going through the motions storytelling. It’s too mechanical. There needs to be spontaneity.”

— Will Simmons (GITS Interview, August 22, 2013)