Screenwriting : Contagion by Ally Shina

Several other "virus"-type movies have already resurface on Netflix and several other different media outlets. Anyone starting a "virus" screenplay is already behind the curve because any scripts on this subject are already in the hands of producers or in production.

If you're into campy B movies, Charles Band is a master storyteller.

https://filmschoolrejects.com/corona-zombies-coronavirus-movies/

I didn't watch any other virus movies and I won't watch any of the flood of new ones either. But that's personal preference. I do like the concept from an isolation standpoint (helloooo, Rear Window and the 90s one off that). Everything's been done 1000 times, but there's always that one that is just unique enough. I'd like to see a comedic take on it. Which probably has been done as well.

@AnthonyMoore you're absolutely right. I mention Contagion specifically because it is the most relevant. I'm aware of the many virus movies that are out there. 12 Monkies is my favorite virus movie. Oh wait... and Blindness. Also, I have a pandemic script I wrote myself which I started pitching before coronavirus because I love a good doomsday flick.

@CJ you're absolutely right, I have a neat comedy idea I will write sometime when I have time to waste because like you say there'll be a virus script pandemic soon so I'm not prioritizing it.

@Cannon maybe one day I write that comedy for to see.

Go ahead and put that idea in that pot Derek. There may be a lot of pandemic scripts out there right now but only you can write your script your way and maybe your script is the one that will stand out because someone's will. All the best.

CJ Walley I don't get the whole Malaysian Flight reference at all but I was blonde in my passed life so yeah.

You're also right, I'm actively pitching my pandemic script with no luck though. I'll keep at it.

That's funny, because I just finished a pandemic story that is totally different from them. Sometimes, it's not about "pandemic" , but about the people who are dealing with it and how they react. The pandemic is really the subplot.

Congratulations on finishing your script Constance. I dunno about the pandemic being the subplot because I haven't read your script but most pandemic movies tend to make the pandemic an overarching theme. Maybe you do it differently, in which case your script is special and you should get it out there and read while there is still an interest in the theme right now. All the best

CJ Walley Why do you say, now is a good time to shop around a script based on something like the ML flight?

Remember Hot Zone? Let's all be grateful we're not dealing with ebola or some other virus with a 98% mortality rate. What we're going through is bad, but it could be much, much worse.

@Stephen it could be worse but it's still sucks.

Isn’t the pandemic just the setting?

A film could be anything. After all it is putting people in a life or death scenario.

1> stuck somewhere trying to get home.

2> mad person believing it is his job to spread the virus and the people trying to stop him

3> People trying to find a cure (standard stuff)

4> an infected man trying to get resources for his family before he dies.

5> a group suspects one person is sick, they turn on each other.

6> A preper who has been made fun of for years is called upon to prepare his small town from people leaving cities.

7> A quarantine zone is called. People are trying to sneak in (think Berlin wall).

I see it as a trigger for looking at people rather than a virus. It is now universally understood how these things work. We have a shared experience. I can see this being a topic for decades to come.

We can still write about the Zombie Apocalypse or did "World War Z" take care of that?

I think there's going to be a greater need for stories about viral outbreaks, quarantines and other dystopian scenarios to be 'tastefully' made. Can shows and films similar to Colony & Walking Dead, which are way closer to home now than any of us ever thought we'd get, thrive in a post-covid world?

Scripts where viral outbreaks are a mere backdrop to their stories, like V Wars or Train to Busan, seem like a better bet. But I don't know if we're ready to see a full-fledged drama that takes place during an epidemic that mirrors this one, without some escapist element. But that's just my opinion.

@Craig and Peter... have you seen Contagion? I mention one film specifically for a reason. It's not that I'm saying pandemic scripts are no longer viable, I'm merely stating that if one wants to write one that resembles exactly what is happening in the world now globally, it already exists. Lockdown, WHO and mask shortages and all. There is still a lot of room for other stories to be told but yeah, the whole global pandemic wear a mask, panic buying and empty airports thing has been done is all I'm saying.

@Eric The Zombie apocalypse theme will never die in my books. Zombieland is one of my favourite comedies and I believe the same applies to pandemic movies, there is always room for a fresh approach.

@Nadia, Contagion is that full fledged drama that takes place during a pandemic that mirrors this one. Maybe don't watch it during all this quarantine and lockdown times if you're not ready.

Also, you and and Cj got me thinking maybe to start pitching my pandemic script.

Ally Shina Yes I’ve see Contagion, not for some years now, I think right when it came out. I certainly wouldn’t encourage someone to write a carbon copy of it.

it's okay to write screenplays as writing samples.

Go crazy w/ imagination and show craft on the page. Doesn't matter the genre - just show people(employers) you can write a competent screenplay.

Dan MaxXx Pretty much where I’m at now, script they loved to read but doesn’t have a clear enough audience.

@Peter well watch it again, refresh your memory because it's literally a movie about a respiratory disease that leads to country wide lockdowns and wearing masks etc. then maybe you'll understand the purpose of my post instead of thinking that I'm on here dishing out bad advice.

@Dan I would never waste my time writing an entire screenplay as a sample if it has no sale potential. Writing is hard work.

Ally. All screenplays are writing samples but like you I write what I believe has a chance of selling and hope for the best.

Pete Dowd You shouldn't abandon an idea because it covers something similar. But you should defer an idea if the similarity is recent.

There's also the book "The Hot Zone" about an Ebola outbreak that almost really happened in 1989. They made it into a mini-series with Julianna Margulies last year.

Also, the movie "Outbreak" was pretty damn good.

CJ... what do you mean by commercial? I had no idea there is a category for scripts that are market worthy. The way I see it, there is genre and that's it. Any script has it's place in the market, be it big studios or indie. And this concept of writing a script that has no market value is still ludicrous to me because the market makes anything. From horror to animation, and any novice screenwriter who hopes to enter the industry with script samples that have no production appeal is strange because really, there are movies out there, great movies that happen in 1 location with 1 actor "Buried" all the way to movies that introduce us to new galaxies. The scope of films produced is much too big to say a novice writer must write a script that has no commercial value. I also think people overthink these things because it's difficult to break into the industry. I personally believe that all it takes is two great scripts which can be anything as long is you fit in somewhere in the wide scope of the industry. The industry makes pretty much anything, why do we stress so much about what we write?

Oh and the whole spec is dead hype... nonsense. If that was true producers and agents wouldn't still doing pitch sessions on Stage32 and reading them.

There is really just too much overthinking of these things because it's hard to break in... because not all specs sell now spec is dead? Oh come on.... everybody needs to relax a little.

Tony Ray I haven't seen "Outbreak" but I will definitely check it out.

@Peter, I had no idea we were arguing? But whatever.. I already said there are other stories to be told from a different vantage point, I just don't understand why you keep telling me that? It's like you insist on ignoring the fact that I'm aware that there can be other types of pandemic stories told to accuse me of giving bad advice when I have a comedy idea myself if you read earlier in the thread. So let's agree that you won't repeat what I said to me again so this discussion doesn't turn into an argument. Chill out.

@Peter. Apology accepted. Next time maybe read all the comments in a thread before making your comment to avoid this sort of thing happening again. And yes, I will write my pandemic comedy sooner than later because I've been advised to do it. Take care.