Jumping straight in where we left off, there’s a lot of serious potential here so far. But that may not be such a good thing.
It’s a well know fact that drama’s are a hard sell in this day and age. Let’s take a look at some numbers from box office mojo:
#1 grossing movie of all time’s genre is listed as 3d — UUUUGGGHHHH. Just kidding, I’m happy for the king of the world. Even though his film stems from some other great animated fare, one that I even worked on. I don’t think forcing your audience to strap on headgear is at the core of a good story. And to be fair if you dig deeper in BOM’s site, they do have the AVATAR genre listed as sci-fi / fantasy, just not on their overall rundown. Let’s agree that 3d never becomes a genre we strive to write in. Thanks.
Okay, so action/adventure is always good sure, but not my specialty and I don’t really see how I can make a film about a fatal form of insomnia action packed. (Note: action does not mean conflict or tension — the core that keeps any genre screenplay moving)
So what is an easy sell otherwise? Comedy. I’m definitely not writing a romantic comedy here, but I am going writing a drama filled with lots of comedic irony. A dramedy shall lighten up this number nicely and if my protag is lucky, he may get lucky in story b, for all you die hard rom-com types.
Is this the right way to determine genre for your best screenplay? Not necessarily, all writers have a niche´and sometimes you have to actually write something in each genre to see what suits you best. I know of several writers that have ended up more successful in a genre they weren’t attempting at the start of their journey.
For me and my best screenplay, I know this is the right choice.
Stay tuned.