De-coffin-ated.
I don’t know about you, but before I start writing or working on a new project I need a cup of coffee to get things started.
And no I’m not talking about decaf. I need the real deal, and the stronger the better!
Speaking of Dracula, I gotta say my favorite Dracula film is the 1958 version starring Christopher Lee.
Have you ever wondered why tales such as Dracula and others like The Wolfman stand the test of time?
These movies have been made and remade for ninety years!
We’ve seen the classics during Universal’s golden age to now the $100+ million budget flops in recent years.
And in all probability, will still be seeing these movies for hundreds of more years to come.
What is it about these myths that draw audiences year in and year out?
As Halloween is upon us I’m sure will be seeing a lot of these movies on TV.
The old Hollywood saying goes “give me something the same, only a little bit different”.
Audiences already resonate with these stories so we don’t need to introduce something new to them. People enjoy something they already have an idea about.
The key is putting a unique spin on one of these classic ideas.
If you peruse Netflix you will come across dozens and dozens of zombie movies. But do you wonder which ones are getting the most plays?
One unique zombie movie in recent years is Elijah Wood’s Cooties. Why? We haven’t seen a zombie movie that takes place with kids in an elementary school.
Adrian Garcia Bogliano, one of our Genre Summit 1 speakers came out with a wolfman film recently titled Late Phases.
The film was critically acclaimed. Why? Because we haven’t seen a wolfman movie that takes place in a nursing home facility.
How about a paranormal story that takes place at a three star michelin restaurant in France?
Or a vampire premise that happens to old folks during their weekly bingo tournaments?
Or maybe a group of bowlers have to deal with zombies as they are prepping for the biggest game of their lives!
These are just basic ideas to get your creative juices flowing…
Will you come up with the next urban legend? The next character or movie idea audiences will enjoy for years to come?
Remember all you need to do is put a unique spin or setting to the premise and you already put yourself ahead of the competition.
See ya on the “inside”
– Shant Yegparian