 What All the Courses On Screenwriting (Not to Mention the Books) Never Told meBeing a new (read: unproduced) writer is maddening because everyone from agents to the lowest level development execs (typically the only ones you get to meet with) look at you like you have a big, red 'R' on the middle of your forehead. The fact of the matter is... you do. And the 'R' stands for risk. The risk they face in championing the work of a previously unknown entity. A risk likely to cause minor embarrassment at the weekly development meeting where they push your idea forward for the group to evaluate... or the much bigger career-ending kind (at least for their current position at their current studio) that comes with championing a project that tanks. So what's you best weapon against this problem? In short, it's to have a great 'hook' for your idea.So what's a hook? A hook is an idea so simple that you can yell it across a parking lot... and when you hear it you should immediately know two things: It SOUNDS like a movie, and you've never seen it before. NOT A HOOK: It's the story of two sisters coming of age in pre-Civil war Atlanta.
HOOK: A dinosaur theme park where the dinosaurs get loose. Sure, you recognize the first two, but the third one is called 'Galileo's Wake' ...and sold for 2.5 million off a treatment. Why? ...because it's simple, visual, and the marketing people at the studio immediately say ³yeah, we know how to market that². It still hasn't been made... but it's since acquired by Jan DeBont's (Speed, Twister) Blue Tulip Productions. So odds are it will be. And the guys who wrote it are now in the game. We just sold a big action-adventure pitch called The Inferno to Warner Brothers for Joel Silver (The Matrix, Swordfish, Lethal Weapon I-IV, Romeo Must Die, etc.) and us to produce. Pitches are exceedingly tough to sell these days. So why did Warners go for it? What was the tag line? We described it variously as 'The Dirty Dozen goes to Hell'... or 'Armageddon face downward'. Another hint... never include an unsuccessful movie as part of your comparison with your story... just because it's thematically similar at some level. Glory was, in our opinion, a great movie. And we will never, ever mention it in a pitch meeting... because from a commercial standpoint it was a disaster. No executive wants to be part of the next disaster, no matter how noble or well-intentioned the theme. Story-based hooks are the hallmark and a staple of the action genre. But remember Liar,Liar? The story of an attorney who suddenly couldn't tell a lie... that's closer to being a character-based hook. Or Tom Hanks falling in love with a mermaid in Splash? Comedies and Action-comedies are strongly dependent upon hooks particularly fish-out-of-water hooks. Remember Beverly Hills Cop, Rush Hour and the forthcoming Rush Hour II? See if you can recognize their hooks. And if you're looking to sell a romantic comedy, be aware that it's the most heavily-submitted genre by female writers, and the one on which the industry's primarily female executive ranks are the most merciless in their reviews of. At the risk of sounding sexist, the test of a romantic comedy isn't whether you can entertain male readers (we tend to be easier here). It's whether you can distinguish yourself from the dozens of other rom-coms with witty dialog and reasonaby interesting characters in a 'soft' story that doesn't do much beyond showing us a slice of their lives. You tend to need a strong hook, even if it means 'forcing' the reality of your story a bit. This isn't all bad. The extra humor you'll be likely be able to go for (comedy and rom-com hooks tend to lend themselves to getting their protagonists into absurd situations) that will keep the audience (and the reader) happy. Remember While You Were Sleeping? Or What Women Want? The easiest way to break into the business is to have a story with a hook. Because on a certain level, the studio DOESN'T CARE if you can write it well. The idea is so clear, simple and compelling they know they can hire somebody else to make it work. The most common reason new writers don't sell a pretty good project is because it 'doesn't have enough of a hook'. Remember, the person okaying the purchase at the studio may very well never read your script. All they'll do is hear the idea from someone who has... and decide if they want it based off that. So sort of a corollary becomes 'a great hook is one that can pass upward still intact -- through many layers of idiots. So that's 'Hook 101'. High Concept is a somewhat dated term (generally associated with Simpson-Bruckheimer style movies of the 80's and 90's like Top Gun) meaning an idea so simple and compelling that just hearing the log line will attract an audience. And virtually anything high-concept is said to have a strong 'hook'. The guys who started the whole drive for high concept ideas (Paramount during the Diller/Eisner/Katzenberg years) came out of TV MOW style thinking... where TV Guide was going to give you ten words or less to attract a bigger audience than the competing network. Hope this helps. Can you sell an idea without a hook? Movies like that are made every year... but not every day. And they're usually attached to previously produced writers, directors or talent. Does that mean it's impossible? Nope. But while you're waiting to get your quiet, little coming-of-age movie done, it wouldn't hurt to come up with an idea that'll sell a lot of popcorn at the local six-plex next summer... or a comedy or thriller with a really cool idea behind it no one's ever seen before. It's the closest you're likely to come to your very own 'philosopher's stone'... with the ability to transmute paper into gold. Thanks for reading and best of luck to everyone. The task ahead of you is difficult but not impossible... and if you at least understand how the studios think, you've got one leg up on the competition. Oh, and by the way, if you do happen to come up with that multimillion dollar blockbuster high-concept idea... we hope you email us (we're in the Hollywood Creative Directory), stop by our website at Numenorean Films.com or send us a carrier pigeon with your great idea so we can all make a fortune together. Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman Numenorean Films
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