Screenwriting : How to Stop your Brain from Aging by James LO

James, I'm over 50! (In fact, last month, I turned 70.)

James, 50 is in my rear view mirror!

old friend requests sent!

I'm proudly 59 1/2 years old!

I'm 56 and 9 days old :)

55

56

two more old friends request sent and two old friends already met

by the way has any of you submitted any script for the annual greylist competitions?

if yes what do you know of it and its record of successes for the Stage 32 community?

by the way any S32 moderators over 50–hahaha time to say it out loud!

I’m 49 almost there!

Recently turned 50.

more new old friend requests sent hahaha

I was over 50 already when I directed my first no-budget TV movie, a little more than a decade ago.

I'm 67. (insert silly voice and hand gestures here).

Göran Johansson i write existential indie fare for art house cinema—many people groan at this point—but i love to watch comedies and maybe i should stretch my creative wings in that direction. what’s one (or three) tips you’d give—things you’ve learned which are not very obvious?

Eddie Lawhorn I’m gonna copy and paste my last comment directed at Göran because i genuinely feel the same about your specialisation:

i write existential indie fare for art house cinema—many people groan at this point—but i love to watch whodunnits and maybe i should stretch my creative wings in that direction. what’s one (or three) tips you’d give—things you’ve learned which are not very obvious?

James LO My book, and the screenplay, kind of flowed naturally from my life experiences. I have a goofy sense of humor and worked with some… interesting bosses over the years. The horrible boss in the story is a mashup of some characteristics from several people. Then the story starts off with my Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest detective category winner - for the worst possible opening sentence for a hypothetical novel. So the mystery part grew from the questions it raised. Who would hire a moron? Someone who needed a moron for some reason. OK, why would you need a moron? You want someone who isn’t going to be able to solve a case. So how is he going to solve the case anyhow? And so on…

Eddie yeah that sort of promise or device is indeed ripe for comedy—starts writing itself once you kick your detective out the door right?

It worked out nicely for me. I set the story in the town I live in, so I was able to work in some of the local flavor and quirks I am familiar with. I outlined first, but stayed a bit flexible. (The awful ex-boss was doing such a great job aggravating my PI character that I had to keep her around instead of having her be the murder victim.)

Eddie, you asked me for advice related to what is not obvious. We all live in different situations, so it is not clear for me what would be best for me to answer. But I can give an example.

A disaster happened when it was time to start filming. Instead of doing nothing, I made a fundamental change. Because it was impossible to film with actors. So I created one doll for each character. I put on my morphsuit and put up my greenscreen. Then I moved one doll at a time with sticks and strings in front of my camcorder. Definitely not funny.

So always be prepared for disasters.

Göran Johansson hi there, James here. it was me who had asked the question, not Eddie haha…

sorry if my question wasn’t clear but i was asking if you had any tips on how to write (structure a script around) comedy…

any table for 90s ?

I apologize for confusing. When I started creating comedies, I borrowed as much as possible from others. It helps. I have created my own film version of both "The Beggars Opera" and "The Inspector General". I guess many here knows those two world famous plays. Both plays are such that they can be updated to our time. There are many who have learned in the same way, by adapting what was known to work.

I don't plan on making it to 50, but I appreciate the sentiment. :)