The Quest Initiative: 20 days and counting!

You can go here to see the original announcement I made about The Quest last year on May 16.

You can go here for a post about this year’s Initiative.

NOTE: I WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING ANY LOGLINE SUBMISSIONS BEFORE TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2013. PLEASE RESPECT THIS SCHEDULE! IF YOU SEND ME A LOGLINE BEFORE MAY 20, IT WILL GO INTO MY TRASH!

If you are interested in submitting up to three loglines for The Quest Initiative, click More where you can read an extended excerpt from one of my Core lectures about the importance of story concept.

Today I am going to get into why the choice of what story concept you present to me in the form of a logline is critical. Before I do that, let me explain something: Why I call this Screenwriting Master Class 24-week online workshop The Quest. Three reasons:

1. Every aspiring screenwriter is on their own personal quest. To write a great spec script. To get representation. To sell a project. To land a writing assignment. To establish a career as a screenwriter. The nature of your aspirations my vary from those of another writer, but at the root of what you are doing is a quest: To go from non-professional writer to professional writer. The Quest workshop can help you do that.

2. Whenever we write a story, almost inevitably one or more characters in that story, most notably the Protagonist, have a goal. The pursuit of that goal, no matter how large or small, is a quest. As writers, our job is to go into the story and follow the Protagonist on their quest, discovering the most entertaining version of it along the way for the story we write. The Quest workshop can help you do that.

3. “Quest” is a key part of the word “question.” I have found perhaps the single most important key to learning about a story, its characters, its universe is to ask questions. Much of what we do in the Prep part of the workshop is precisely that: Get curious. Quest derives from the Middle English word queste which means “to seek.” We seek our story. Questions are key to finding it. The Quest workshop can help you do that.

Why is story concept critical to your success?

To answer this question, I am going to post excerpts from the Core II: Concept class, Lecture 1:

The foundation of any movie is the screenplay. The foundation of any screenplay is the concept. Therefore it stands to reason which story concept you develop and write as a script is a critical choice. And that is precisely why we created the second part of this course — to understand how movie industry insiders think, provide you with proven methods to generate story concepts, and develop analytical skills to help you decide which ideas are the most viable ones for you to write.

As I did in introducing structure in Lecture 1, here are some quotes from a pair of established screenwriters about the importance of ideas and story concepts:

“Most aspiring screenwriters simply don’t spend enough time choosing their concept. It’s by far the most common mistake I see in spec scripts. The writer has lost the race right from the gate. Months — sometimes years — are lost trying to elevate a film idea that by its nature probably had no hope of ever becoming a movie.”

— Terry Rossio (Aladdin, The Mask of Zorro, Shrek, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl)

“Ideas cost NOTHING and require ZERO risk. And yet, oddly, the LEAST amount of time’s usually spent in the idea stage before a small fortune is dumped on a whimsy that’s still half-baked… Ideas cost nothing yet have the potential to yield inexplicably long careers and happy lives.”

— Kevin Smith (Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Zak and Miri Make a Porno)

And also as we did in Lecture 1, I present you with another principle to go along with Plot = Structure. The Second Essential Screenwriting Principle is: Concept = Hook.

A story concept is a hook in at least three ways:

In terms of the script acquisition process, whereby Hollywood literary agents and managers, film producers and executives sort through the thousands of submissions they receive each year, the story concept is often what hooks the buyer’s attention. All submitted screenplays are read by professional script readers who write up what is known as script coverage, basically 2–4 pages summarizing the story with additional notes and comments. At the top of the very first page of coverage is the script’s logline, a 1–2 sentence version of the story concept. That is often the first thing a rep, producer or exec will read — to see if the idea hooks their interest. If so, that script can go to the top of their To Read pile. If not, the script may end up directly in the Delete file or recycling bin.

In terms of marketing, the concept is generally a central component in how a studio sells a movie, using the story’s core idea to hook a consumer’s interest. In an increasingly crowded marketplace where movies not only compete against other movies, but TV, web, mobile, social networks, and all the other emerging entertainment platforms, movie studios spend tens of millions of advertising dollars to make their films stand out. How to break through all the noise? Beyond gizmos and gimmicks, the story concept is often the single most effective marketing tool. In an exclusive GoIntoTheStory.com interview here with a marketing executive at one of the six major Hollywood studios, she said this:

“I would absolutely rather work on a film with an incredible story concept than one with an A-list star in it… films with great storylines speak for themselves.”

But perhaps the most important way in which a story concept serves as a hook is in the script development process. There the basic conceit of your story becomes a ‘hook’ upon which you hang everything else: Plotline, Themeline, characters, subplots, dialogue, all of them interconnected to the story concept. Consider the loglines of these movies:

Some Like It Hot (1959): Two musicians witness a mob hit, then flee disguised as women in an all female band [written by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond].

The Graduate (1967): A recent college graduate has an affair with an older married woman then falls in love with her daughter [screenplay by Buck Henry].

Jaws (1975): A gigantic great white shark menaces a small island community [screenplay by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb].

Fatal Attraction (1985): A married man’s one night stand comes back to haunt him when his lover stalks him and his family [written by James Dearden].

Se7en (1995): A serial killer takes down his victims based on their violations of the seven deadly sins [written by Andrew Kevin Walker].

The Hangover (2009): Three guys retrace their drunken bachelor party steps to locate the lost groom-to-be [written by Jon Lucas and Scott Moore].

Each of these movies has a strong story concept. That concept serves as a hook on which every character and plot device hangs, ensuring the story keeps its focus and enabling the filmmakers to milk the central conceit for all its worth.

Two other things about this list: (1) Each movie comes from a different decade stretching back 60 years, an example of how ubiquitous story concepts have been in Hollywood throughout its history. (2) Each movie is what is known as a high concept story. You have probably heard of the term ‘high concept.’ But what does it really mean?

The Lowdown on High Concept

Most people in Hollywood would probably define ‘high concept’ this way: A story that can be summed up in 1–2 lines. However just because you can summarize a story in a few lines does not necessarily mean it’s a high concept. For example the description, “A manipulative woman and a roguish man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American South during the Civil War and Reconstruction” does not make Gone With The Wind a high concept movie. It isn’t. In fact the film is in some ways the antithesis of high concept because it is a sprawling epoch featuring dozens of characters, numerous semi-independent subplots, and a multitude of themes. It’s also proof a movie does not have to be a high concept to be both great and successful.

No, in defining ‘high concept,’ we need to be more specific: A story idea that can be summed up in 1–2 lines. A high concept movie must have a clean, simple, and basic idea.

We can even go more granular by talking about the idea of a story-conceit, which I would define as the “central premise of the story.” With the movie K-9, it was the premise of a human cop teamed up with a dog cop. With Inception, it’s the premise that people can enter into other people’s dream states. With Groundhog Dog, it’s the premise that someone has to relive a day over and over again.

Frankly much of what we do when brainstorming possible story concepts is traffic in the world of story-conceits. A good example is the movie Back to the Future. One of its screenwriters Bob Gale describes how he came up with the story-conceit:

“The inspiration for making the movie, for coming up with the story is that I was visiting my parents in the summer of 1980, from St. Louis Missouri, and I found my father’s high-school yearbook in the basement. I’m thumbing through it and I find out that my father was the president of his graduating class, which I was completely unaware of. So there’s a picture of my dad, 18-years-old, and I’m thinking about the president of my graduating class, who was someone I would have had nothing to do with. He was one of these “Ra-Ra” political guys, he was probably Al Gore or something. Captain of the debate team, all this stuff. So the question came up in my head, ‘gee, if I had gone to school with my dad would I have been friends with him?’ That was where the light bulb went off.”

The conceit: What if I had gone to school with my dad? In working with that idea, Gale and co-screenwriter Robert Zemeckis hit on the notion of time travel to create a circumstance in which they could put the conceit into a narrative, and that is how the story concept of Back to the Future came into being.

So a high concept is one with a story idea that can be summed up in 1–2 lines. And often writers start that creative process by coming up with a story-conceit.

Which brings us back to Terry Rossio, the co-screenwriter (with Ted Elliot) of movies like the Pirates of the Caribbean series. Here are more of his thoughts about the importance of story concepts:

“As a screenwriter, your choice of film premise is your calling card. Not your witty dialog, not your clever descriptions. Not your knowledge of structure and subplot and subtext.

The very first decision you make as a writer — ‘what is my film about?’ — will define your creative instincts in the eyes of the industry. Like actors and directors, you will always be known by the projects you pick (or in this case, by the projects you initiate).

You must — you MUST — choose well.”

Every screenplay starts with a story concept. Since the story concept impacts so many aspects of scripting, developing, and marketing a movie, that choice is a critical one. Choose your story concepts well!

Let me make this clear: For me to accept anyone into the “Go Into The Story: The Quest” workshop, they must present to me a great story concept. I don’t mean average. I don’t mean pretty good. I mean great.

Also please understand this: When I review your submissions, Max Millimeter [yes, he has agreed to participate in this year’s Quest Initiative] will be standing over my shoulder reading them as well. And here is what he has to say on the subject:

“It makes zero fucking sense for The Kid and me to spend a year working with a writer on a project if that project has no fucking chance of selling because it has a crap story concept.”

How do you know if you have a great story concept? The first test is to ask, “Is this a movie?”

I’m talking a movie. Something that opens on 3–4,000 screens. You can see the trailer. You can see the poster. You can see the crowds of people lining up to buy tickets to your movie.

You want to know if you have a great story concept? Ask yourself — with complete and total honesty — can you imagine 5–10 million people dragging their collective butts off their Barcoloungers, driving through traffic, paying for overpriced popcorn to sit through a movie based on that concept.

If you hesitate in responding even for a couple of seconds, more than likely you are not working with a great story concept.

To provide some reference points, I breezed through the list of spec scripts that have sold in the last year or so and pulled some story descriptions that have what I consider to be clean, strong high-concepts:

Stash House: A couple finds the perfect starter home, but upon moving in, a group of dangerous men arrive who will stop at nothing to get what’s locked inside the house.

Brotherhood of Scavengers: After their adventurous father dies, three brothers who’ve been estranged discover that in order to collect their inheritance, they will have to go out on a scavenger hunt to find treasure he left behind.

Sex Tape: A married couple who get a night off from their kids, get adventurous and decide to spice up their lives by making a sex tape. When they wake the following morning, the tape is missing, and they must find out who took it and how to get it back.

Bastards: Fraternal twin brothers find out that their mother’s been lying to them for years about their allegedly deceased father. The twins set out to find their real dad.

Virgin Territory: In a race to stop his 16 year-old daughter from losing her virginity on spring break, an overprotective Dad is forced to team up with a high school geek who happens to be in love with her too.

Expiration: An ex-CIA operative-turned-hitman is poisoned on his final job. With 20 hours to live, he is determined to find out who poisoned him, and settle the score before he dies.

Grim Night: Once a year globally, people lock themselves at home and fend off the senseless and random attacks by Grims. Tonight’s that night.

Cardiac: A father has six hours to find the criminals that have stolen a heart intended for his daughter’s transplant surgery.

El Tigre: An action comedy about a family vacation gone wrong when the father is mistaken for Mexico’s most ruthless drug lord, El Tigre.

Dear Satan: A 7-year-old girl accidentally misspells “Santa” and instead invites Satan to bring her a toy for Christmas — and he does.

My Owner’s Wedding: A dog will go to any length to make sure its owner ends up making the right choice between two eligible young women.

In my mind, I can see each of these movie. I can see it being produced. I can see the trailer. I can see the one-sheet. I can see it opening night.

And critically, I can see the story. I get the main characters, the central plot, complications, and so on. In my gut, I feel there’s a movie there.

And that is what I’m looking for from you.

While my primary motivation with this free version of The Quest is altruistic, and if I could, I’d work with every one of you that way, Max Millimeter requires a great story.

In fact Max keeps telling me I’ll be lucky to get even one story worth pursuing.

Can you prove Max wrong? I’m banking on it.

So take a look at your list. Do any of your story concepts measure up to the descriptions above? In your honest estimation, are any of them a movie?

If not, you have until Saturday, June 8 to come up with something.

To give you a creative boost, I will be posting some items on the subject of generating and developing story concepts over the next three weeks. For the next one, I will focus on this: story-conceit, perhaps the single most important element of a strong logline.

After reading this, if you feel like coming up with a great story concept is a daunting challenge, you’re damn right it is! Great story ideas are hard to come by. That’s why I run the A Story Idea Each Day for a Month series every April, to challenge you to come up with a lot of story concepts. Because as Nobel Prize winning scientist Linus Pauling says, “The best way to have a good idea is to have a lot of ideas.”

What you need to know about “The Quest Initiative”

Cost: Free.

How many participants: Up to 4.

Who may apply: Any aspiring screenwriter who is not a member of the WGA or equivalent professional writing organization. Writers do not have to live in Los Angeles, and may be located in the United States or internationally based. Writers may be any age, gender, race, etc.

When will the workshop run: July 14-December 28, 2012.

How will I determine who gets accepted: There are three key standards. (1) Story concept: I am looking for strong story concepts that I believe when executed as a script can get set up as projects in Hollywood. In other words, I am almost exclusively interested in commercial high concepts. I will make exceptions if the story elements make me think the project is a marketable one, but the concept has to be extremely strong if it is not high concept. (2) Writing ability: I will ask applicants who make it past the first cut to send me a sample of their writing, as well as a detailed description of their background as a writer and a statement about why they want to be a screenwriter. (3) Personal interview: I will have a one-on-one conversation with applicants who make it past the next cut in order to assemble a group I feel will be compatible with each other.

How do you apply: A simple email with the word “Quest” in the subject line, then a logline of your story in the text. That is all I want, nothing else. “Quest”. Logline.

When may you apply: I will be accepting loglines from May 20 through June 8, 2013. You may send them to me at: GITSblog at gmail dot com.

If you are selected as one of The Quest participants, you must be willing to do the following three things:

1. You have to commit yourself fully to the workshop. That means active participation in constructive criticism and feedback, all writing exercises and assignments, and most importantly pledge you will finish the first draft of your original screenplay.

2. You have to write a weekly journal entry about your experiences in the workshop. As part of The Quest Initiative, I will be doing something akin to reality programming in that each week, I will post something on GITS about the group’s progress including excerpts from your journals. This is a great way for the GITS community to track how you are doing, something of what you are learning, see the ups and downs of the writing process, and so on.

3. If you write a script I believe has strong marketable potential, I have the right to attach myself as an executive producer. At that point, I will take you on into rewrites and we will officially be in producer-to-writer mode. Once your script is finished, I will take the lead in getting it to managers and agents, and try to get the project set up and you established in Hollywood.

You may only submit three [3] loglines!

Last year some folks sent me dozens of loglines. As a result, I ended up reviewing over 3500 loglines. An overwhelming majority of them were not — in my opinion — commercially viable.

So if you are serious about wanting to have a chance to participate in The Quest, I encourage you — with extreme prejudice! — to raise your game. Give me your best shot. That means you have to set the bar high for what you submit to me. You need to ask: Is this really a movie? Can this story concept compete with what is currently out in theaters? Is this something I think Scott will respond to?

Here are genres I am most interested in reading: Action, Comedy, Thriller. Second tier: Drama, Family, Horror.

Cross genres like Action-Thriller, Drama-Comedy, Action-Comedy, those are fine, too.

Here are genres that will be tough sells: Fantasy, Science Fiction.

I love Fantasy and Science Fiction, but if you submit an idea that requires massive and complex world-building along with huge CGI requirements, I’m not in a position to do anything with that.

That said, if you have a truly great story idea that is either Fantasy or Science Fiction and it is low-to-mid-budget, that might work. A big idea with a contained environment like Moon, something along those lines.

Will I offer a free class for every entrant like I did last year? No!

I may be crazy, but I am not insane. There were 1500 entrants last year and a majority of them have received a free Core or Craft class through Screenwriting Master Class. It was a nice gesture on my part, but I simply don’t have the resources to make that offer again.

Up to 4 writers will have what I believe to be an incredible opportunity, not only to write an original screenplay aided by other writers and myself, but also a chance to learn how to think and write like a professional. Because my goal with writers who go through The Quest is to educate and train them so they have the best shot possible not only at breaking into the business, but succeeding month after month, year after year. That’s one of my guiding principles with The Quest: solid screenwriting theory matched with solid screenwriting practice.

20 days and counting. What are you doing to prepare for The Quest Initiative?

If you have any questions, please post them in comments.

Onward and upward!

UPDATE: @MariiiGee asked this: “How much experience is required for The Quest Initiative?” Good question. I might select someone who has minimal screenwriting experience depending upon the quality of their story concept, the potential I see in their writing sample, and how much enthusiasm and drive I get from their interactions with me [assuming they make the first cut]. That said my goal with Quest participants, whether those who get selected for The Quest Initiative or writers who enroll to work with me privately in one-on-one Quest workshops, is to teach them principles and practices of professional screenwriting in order to give them their best shot at success in Hollywood [or elsewhere]. So I do take into account how many scripts potential Questers have written, how much writing they have done, how much living they have done, how confident I think they can be for meetings and to come off well in a room, etc.

Bottom line, I assemble as much information as I can and assess it logically, then I act on my gut. Do writers who have more experience have an advantage? Perhaps just a bit. But if a neophyte submits a killer logline, shows talent with their writing, and is over the moon excited and committed to learn the craft, and succeed in the business, those will have a big impact on my decision.

Think of it this way: I come at this from my own life experience. And I was a total outsider to Hollywood with zero formal training at screenwriting when I wrote and sold the spec script K-9. In fact one big reason I started The Quest Initiative was to provide outsiders an alternate path into Hollywood, in this case for free.

But again this underscores how critically important a great story concept is. You could be a complete newbie when it comes to screenwriting, and if you submitted what I considered to be a million dollar spec idea, I would look very seriously at that Quest candidate. Assuming that person does have writing talent, I’m confident in the content I teach and my ability as a mentor that the writer could squeeze out a solid spec that can stand on its feet in the marketplace.

NOTE: I WILL NOT BE ACCEPTING ANY LOGLINE SUBMISSIONS BEFORE TUESDAY, MAY 20, 2013. PLEASE RESPECT THIS SCHEDULE!


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