What if…

“What if.” Probably the two most important words in the story concept development process. I remember reading an interview with screenwriter James V. Hart in which he was having a meal with his family and one of his kids asked, “What if Peter Pan grew up?” Hart took that concept and co-wrote the screenplay for the movie Hook (1991).

So I thought it might fun to post an occasional “what if” scenario. For example, I was struck by this LA Times article today “50 is magic monkey number at Santa Ana Zoo:

Santa Ana has been running low on monkeys.

For decades, the family that gave the city the land for its small but popular zoo has kept tabs on the primate population. The deal was 50 monkeys. Anything less and the city would lose the land.

But lately, the Santa Ana Zoo has fallen below the monkey line, and a descendant of city pioneer J.E. Prentice has threatened to take back the 12 acres if the population isn’t stabilized.

Zoo officials say it’s difficult to maintain the requisite number of monkeys. Animals die unexpectedly and waiting periods for endangered species breeding programs can last years. Even housing them all is a challenge.

“You can’t just go to Monkeys-R-Us or EBay to get monkeys,” said Kent Yamaguchi, interim director at the city zoo. “Populations of living things change, so certain things happen that you may not foresee because they’re living, breathing things.”

What if you work for a zoo? Or own a zoo? And you absolutely need to find / obtain / steal / buy 1 monkey to maintain the 50 level or you lose the lease on the land? Or 1 frisky monkey escapes and you go on an insane road trip to track him down? It’s Smokey and the Bandit meets Cheeta.

Speaking of Cheeta from the Tarzan movies, monkeys have a long history in Hwood cinema.

What if it’s time to resurrect this sub-genre? 

How would you develop this monkey article into a commercial story concept?

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