A little bird recently told me that Execs have been hungry for a "Fatal Attraction" type of script. I then had a conversation with a fellow writer about 'flipping' "Fatal Attraction" into a story about a jilted male lover that goes crazy and takes revenge on the female object of his affections and her husband. We were trying to remember instances of that sort of thing being done while also wondering why "Fatal Attraction" itself has remained such a touchstone and why Execs have been displaying interest in that sort of script. Personally I think it has a lot to do with how women are contextualized as either lovers or mothers within most stories we tell. All the more reason to flip the story. While films like "Boy Next Door" or "Fear" come to mind the most effective film that handles the idea is actually a bit different- "Gaslight". A modern version of "Gaslight" would be really interesting. But I digress. What do you guys think? Why the interest in "Fatal Attraction"? Can it be flipped in a way that hits the audience just as hard?
Screenwriting : Flipping Fatal Attraction by D.W. Lynch
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Play Misty for Me (Clint Eastwood's directorial debut) is still my favorite movie of that genre. It's my understanding that Fatal Attraction was a remake of a British film named Diversion - James Dearden was the writer on both films. I don't think your views on women as either lovers or mothers matters much to Fox. They are planning a remake of Fatal Attraction. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/fatal-attraction-event-series...
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Wasn't "Fatal Attraction" a flip of the crazy man stalking and attacking a woman? Isn't that "flip" why it was so popular?
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Bill- Interesting. I wonder if the tension of that story can be drawn out over a season. Or several. D Marcus- That may be true, technically, but I don't think it's regarded that way. The initial reversal may have been the novelty that drew audiences originally but I think that film has lingered in the public consciousness because it spoke to a very specific fear men have of a women who are 'out of control'.
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Sorry, personally, I see no interest here. Wasn't there a recent film starring Jennifer Lopez about her being stalked by an obsessive, crazed, dangerous, young ex-lover?—"The Boy Next Door." The tagline was "Her mistake. His obsession." I haven't seen it, nor will I. The idea seems too contrived, limited, redundant, derivative, etc... But, to each their own. :) Ummm, Fox is planning a remake series of "Fatal Attraction?!" How ridiculous. Great, just great, more reboots...
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Can't say I'm in love with the idea either but I'm always interested in turning something on its head.
My epic Stalker-Love Triangle script (Fatal Contraction) was getting good traction at PBS, but they felt that Shouldn't wouldn't kill Can't, and that it was "too intellectual." I don't think they read the script, though - it wasn't Shouldn't, it was Wasn't. Can't wasn't Shouldn'ts contraction on the side. When I re-wrote it as a dumbed-down smart version, the Cookie Monster ate it. I never get a break.
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That's the thing, I guess. It doesn't seem like "turning something on its head" to me — just saying, in general. We see a lot of the victimization and brutalization of women and girls in fiction and in real life. It's in the news. It's more commonly shown in fiction, in TV series, film, etc.. Of course, men and boys can be and are victimized and brutalized too. But, for the sake of this discussion and staying within this context, I'm focusing more on women in a general sense. When women are the victim of stalking or rape or homicide, 80+% of the time their offender or killer is someone they knew: usually a boyfriend, husband, jilted lover, acquaintance, etc. Please forgive me, but as a female audience member, I've grown weary of seeing women portrayed in this way: a victim of male violence, especially created from a male perspective. This is just my opinion; others may feel differently; you may feel differently. Again, to each their own. These crimes do happen. They are an ugly truth. However, you mentioned in your possible concept having someone come after a wife and her husband... Perhaps it's making that more prominent. Them fighting someone together? Perhaps she saves him? Perhaps there's some other unexpected twist? Whatever you decide, I do wish you the best with it. :)
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Beth wrote: Please forgive me, but as a female audience member, I've grown weary of seeing women portrayed in this way: a victim of male violence, especially created from a male perspective. Beth, could not agree with you more. To me there's nothing "flipped" or new/interesting about a woman being stalked, brutalized, or harassed in films/tv (and probably raped too, now that rape scenes seem to have become obligatory). Regardless of how powerful she becomes or how she overcomes the bad guy by the end of the script, it's still the same old, same old, IMO. And honestly having her turn tables on the stalker/psycho by the end of things isn't really flipped either - we've seen that many's the time.
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I agree with you D.W. 29 years after "Fatal Attraction" what lingers in the public consciousness is that fear. In those 29 years there have been hundreds of movies made that turned that fear on its head to a very specific fear women have of a men who are 'out of control'. It's been done a lot. Like Beth, I don't see it as flipping something on its head. I see it as a movie standard that has been done hundreds of times. And worked often. If you can write a script that makes exec's think you are turning "Fatal Attraction" on its head and will do as well as that 29 year old movie did then you have a winner.