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Ideas for movie scripts are all around you. You can pull them from the paper, news, or the Internet. Depending on how interesting your friends and family are they could provide a great movie idea. Movies are reflections of life. Don't be afraid to write what you know.
The idea for my first movie Consignment (now on DVD) was inspired by true events. It is the authentic and brutal story of an East Coast drug dealer forced to flee to Southern California. The script developed from stories shared through friends that I had grown up with and a coproducer had experienced, directly or indirectly, living on the East Coast. My idea was what if these two worlds collided in violence? Now there was a starting point to develop a gritty urban script.
Realizing our smaller budget film project couldn't afford to fly cast and crew from coast to coast I came up with a solution for the script. The main character would be the bridge to tie both coasts together. Now I could show what he was going through on the East Coast and the new problems he faced on the West Coast. The idea developed into the very human story of a Virginia Beach drug dealer fleeing to Southern California to fight his way out of a life of crime while finding redemption.
I was motivated to write In With Thieves (now on DVD) to depict how global organized crime was after reading a fascinating book titled Illicit by Moises Naim. This pushed me to do my own research on global crime groups. I spoke with people that had direct knowledge of creative elements I wanted to include in the story.
I found the entire process fascinating because I was not writing a script based on what I knew. The realism of the script came from speaking with people from different cultures familiar with the story lines and fictional characters I was writing about. It worked out well.
In With Thieves developed into a crime story featuring a tough-as-nails burglary crew from the streets, a Cuban cartel heavy into voodoo, ruthless Albanian gangsters, and a blood diamond deal that erupts into all out violence that throws the criminal underworld into chaos. Double-crosses and brazen gangland executions entwine everyone in a street war that plays out to an explosive ending. In With Thieves has been described as American Gangster meets Reservoir Dogs.
Write down a dozen movie ideas you have , see what is realistic to shoot yourself within your budget and resources. You need to be excited about your idea big or small because making a movie is a labor of love. If you're lukewarm about your idea it will show during the difficult times of production.
Do not take up the valuable time and energies of other people if you are not totally committed to the idea of your movie. If you want to play filmmaker grab a camera and go it alone, so the only time you waste is your own. It sounds harsh, but if you donated your time to a project that turned into a farce of a film shoot it would probably rub you the wrong way as well.
Learning from the process of making and selling films Sid wrote The First Movie Is The Toughest. It's packed with no nonsense advice, help, and entertaining stories about making movies outside of Hollywood on limited budgets. This book is for aspiring Screenwriters, Directors, and Producers along with the casual movie viewer with their own great story idea for a movie. No hype. No bull.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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