I'm working on my pitch and one of the pieces i'm snagged on is what to compare it to. "its ______ meets _____." The film itself takes place present day.
BUT...
Its an action/adventure sci-fi that is intentionally written to draw on the collective love and knowledge of iconographic films of the late 70s and 80s : Close encounters, jaws, indy 1 and 3 and and back to the future and Goonies elements/tone/style. An everyman stumbles upon an amazing thing and embarks on an impromptu adventure. In this story, the roller coaster ride of piloting a flying saucer - minus little green men or will smith.
The short version> a journalist goes back to his hometown on route 66, happens upon a flying saucer and accidentally flies it and chaos ensues. Keep it from the big bad, deal with the bully and rekindle romance with the girl, enlist the help of the local eccentric, save the town.
The ship is like Marty unintentionally going back to 1955, using his knowledge to influence others. There are the aspects from say Jaws where the sightings are vital to the economic survival of the town. An indiana jones/goonies secret lair and tunnels to get to it, and a goon thats very much Toht or Vogel from Last Crusade.
One of the reasons behind it is that these kinds of films havent been made in a while, but it also means I dont know what I should use in the comparison. I keep hearing they should be as recent as possible. The last one that comes to my mind is Super 8, but that was much darker tonally, and not sure how successful it was with the audience because of it.
Thoughts?
Indiana Jones meets Galaxy Quest? Jaws kinda bumps me because its more on the thriller side. I think MIB is too slick for what you are describing. Goonies is awesome but makes me think the target audience is younger.
Flight of the Navigator meets Back to The Future
I like to use this to set tone and look. “The Valley” is about a post apocalyptic world where a girl in he late teens is hunted by a man in a valley for the last few resources. He is relentless and dangerous. I have pitched as “
“It is alien, but a camping film”.