The US is a political hotbed right now. Nevertheless, I recently crafted a horror/comedy that satirizes both conservatives and liberals. And, there's a running joke about an ANTIFA like organization throughout the script. The screenplay has done well on the film festival and contest circuit but I wonder if it will continue to do so in this political climate.
My question to you is:
As a result of recent events, are you afraid to write a controversial script that contains elements that some people might find offensive?
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Write anything you want. Simple as that. If a production company / studio believes it won't make money then they will not touch it. So some topics may not be the best given current events.
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Hell no! I have a script I wrote about a conspiracy theory about the US-Mexico border spread by an Arizona sheriff and then US Representative that Muslim insurgents were going to come across the border and do mayhem in the United States. I fictionalized the story, came up with a Muslim female protagonist and tried to create situations that simply show what happens instead of attaching a judgment to politically-charged circumstances..
I'm shopping the hell out of this script, AN UNDOCUMENTED RUMOR, which won Best Feature Screenplay in both the Burbank and San Antonio Film Festivals.
Last week I completed a ROMCOM in which aliens are the primary problem for the newly minted couple. The first interaction the couple has is in a bar, watching the President discuss UFOs in an interview (which really happened). The script is not set during in the pandemic, but makes several references to the pandemic and its impact on the world.
Write that stuff. If you call out a particular political person it may be a hard sell and the sales demo may be a function of what percentage of the people, red or blue, align with the view. But Antifa and the activities and conspiracies around it are something both parties will watch and say, "See, told you so."
Last night BILLIONS had multiple pandemic/COVID-19 references.
Also there is the issue of making a political theme from one country interesting to viewers in other countries.
If you're really scared use a pen name!
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I never shy away from controversy. It's your vision, don't let the world tell you what's right or wrong, because the world itself doesn't know right from wrong.
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I always argue that it is our job as filmmakers to push boundaries, start hard conversations, and ask difficult questions. Otherwise, what are we doing this all for?
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By the way Phillip E. Hardy, "The Pro From Dover" - did you enter this in our 7th Annual Search for New Blood Contest? One of the judges is Blumhouse which produced "The Hunt" which was very controversial.
Nick: I haven't seen The Hunt. Sound like it's worth a look. And I couldn't agree with you more on your sentiment.
Jason: I have not entered but have done some other S32 Contests and been a QF, SF and a finalist. I'll give it some thought. I'd like to win one.
Jason: Okay, I entered my horror/western The Bloody Benders
Not so much scared. But the time delay issue. It may seem out of touch by the time it is made.
I don't think I would be afraid to depending on the goal. I heard about a script called "Barron" about Trump's youngest son trying to derail his father's election. I heard "It will never get made but I want to read it." You could have a killer sample on your hands that will get read and land you a job.
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Not at all. I believe that freedom of speech and all that applies to creative writing too. We should be allowed to tell stories no matter what the climate. Relevance is a key part of screenwriting, and we should be comfortable writing what is relevant to the times good or bad. If we can dominate screens with holiday productions around Christmas time we should be able to bring the doom and gloom when it's also relevant. The audience also wants to see what's relevant when things are happening. Right now everybody is posting about The 13th on social media and streaming it even though it's about an unpleasant topic. Audiences are also open to realism, so I like to keep it real and write whatever needs to be on that paper always.
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The main issue for me is if each time you're afraid to write something related to a certain topic that some peeps might find offensive, well you'll never write anything cause there'll always be some peeps who get offended. You can't please everybody but what you can do is open an discussion and give your point of view with arguments. Then it's up to them to decide if they wanna jump in.
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Heck, no, Phillip! I'm not afraid of tackling controversy in a script.
In fact, for the last week, I've been kicking around a story whose logline has a banker in modern-day Philadelphia, PA consider leaving the US because he's tired of all the police brutality here.
You got conflict? You got a story (maybe worthwhile, maybe not).