Anything Goes : Is the Western Dead? by Linell Jeppsen

IMO, I think anything can "rise from the dead" with the right spin or uniqueness. look at Tarantino's Django Unchained.

Hi Jeremy! Agreed... good old Tarantino. And suburb movie, Django Unchained.

My best advice: write the ideas that you love, how you want to write them, and your work will stand a much greater chance of getting noticed. Good business sense states to supply for the demand, true, but scripts are as much art as products, and If writers concentrate on the genre fickles of the trade, it'll be a lot more difficult to pen a winner

I feel that many people are eager to call the end of any fad. And, when people can't sell a script or project in a certain genre, it's natural to draw the conclusion nobody is buying.

There was a funny story last year over on DoneDeal Pro where a writer had found huge success in competitions and the Blacklist with a western she had written, but sadly wasn't getting any traction at all with it. When she vented her frustration, three or four producers weighed in telling her the problem was it was a dead genre, paradoxically while all referencing their own westerns that were in development. Go figure.

I think you're right. Although the big draw these days is comedy, and scifi action adventure, westerns like Hell on Wheels and Longmire are gaining attention.

Although, for some insane reason they have cancelled Longmire- sigh!

I hope not. I love Westerns. I want to write one

"The Hateful 8" - currently being cast is also a Western.

A good story is a good story. The Western genre is a tough sell because they're often expensive to make and they seldom do well overseas. I worked on one a while back for a talented client (Bill Johnston) called 'Requited'. It is easily one of the most original and best written screenplays I've read in the genre.

Tommy Lee Jones has one on the festival circuit at the moment http://deadline.com/2014/09/homesman-trailer-tommy-lee-jones-hilary-swan...

I have had people tell me they picture Tommy Lee Jones as Uncle Jonothan in my western series. He does that genre so well. There have been some real winners- like Lonesome Dove and Unforgiven... have folks forgotten? BTW- I really appreciate you guys weighing in on the matter!

The Western is dead. Until someone makes a Western that makes money. And even then it may not spark a jump in productions of Westerns. They are expensive and without all the right elements they are a big gamble. And nobody knows what all the right elements will draw a paying audience. The director of Iron Man making a Western with Indiana Jones and James Bond? Can't loose, right? MacFarland making a Western comedy with Liam Neeson and Charlize Theron? Gotta be a big hit, right?

I am a novelist- so it goes to show how ignorant I am about producing movies! I would have thought that shooting a western would be relatively inexpensive compared to a big budget MARVEL film or a space opera (but then again, we're talking a lot of blue screen, right?) And here I've been thinking- grab a few horses and a good actor or two and presto... BIG WESTERN HIT!!! LOL!

Linell, in a sense you're correct: a Western CAN be made for less than a huge super hero movie. I think the biggest drawback to the genre is the lack of appeal with foreign audiences, which means a smaller profit, which makes it a bigger risk in the eyes of producers and bean counters alike. 'The Lone Ranger' was a double whammy in the sense that it was super high budget AND it was a Western. Throw in a crappy script and a dead bird for a hat and you have an expensive flop.

Hahaha!

Hi David Navarro- Hope you can see this- The Hateful Eight, huh? Sounds cool. I have to laugh a little when I look at your profile picture- one of my most popular books is about a Sasquatch! http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LMKHT7Y

Hi Patricia Marcantonio- As my Auntie Mryle said to me about 25 years ago- "Just do it!" Eight novels and two full-length westerns later, I can honestly say- "I did!"

Thanks for the encouragement. I will do it!

Except for the musical (because of the cost factor), the classic Hollywood genres never die. Westerns may not be hip, but hipness is fleeting and Westerns are not.

Well said!

Derek is right. Westerns don't have to have a gigantic budget. In fact without a big budget the story and characters come to the forefront. I"m thinking The Unforgiven, Winchester 73, High Noon. One of my favorites is of course The Wild Bunch

All great movies.

Hello Linell... Yeah, I get a lot of comments about my profile pic. It is one of those rare fun photos that I like to show off.

But I think one must admit that all things being equal (story and characters) a Western as a period piece will cost more to make than a contemporary story. Costumes, props, a few horses, location, set dressing...

Good films, Patricia. Let's not forget 'Rio Bravo'. That was a great one. I also loved 'Shane', 'True Grit' (the original) and Clint's spaghetti western trilogy. ;-D

I'm surprised that the indy scene hasn't taken westerns to heart. They were chosen by Hollywood as they were easy to produce due to the surrounding geography. You can turn any story into a western with ease. It is at its best the American version of greek mythology.

Well, (and I hope I'm not about to insult lovers of this movie!) If you really wanted to nail the coffin closed for people who are "on the fence" with western movies and books, just watch A Million Ways To Die In The West! I suffered through it last night and, honestly, I just felt insulted. When I think back on the time, the effort in dialogue, research, and authenticity I have put into writing this western series- having this story made into a movie (with Liam Neeson and Cherize Theron, no less!) just makes me want to gag! My apologies to the fans!

I agree with Derek's list and I I liked the new True Grit better than the John Wayne version, but The Searchers was great. More for the list Hombre, Westward the Women, Little Big Man, and of course, The magnificent Seven (you can tell I like westerns) All this discussion and I really want to write a western.

Million ways to die is more of Seth Macfarlane vehicle than it is a western. Comics are doing more justice to the western than Movies nowadays. I consider the walking dead to be very entrenched in the western genre. They are also working on The Preacher into a series.

Well, I watched HORNS last night and really liked it. I also liked Radcliffs performance. How about you guys... good or bad?

I hope not. I just wrote a western/sci fi

Hi Patricia! Best luck with your western/scifi novel... I also went outside of genre with a paranormal western in Heart Of Ice... http://www.amazon.com/Heart-Ice-Deadman-Book-6-ebook/dp/B016DZHQ0M/ref=s... Although many people have liked it some of the more "die-hard" western fans don't appreciate the supernatural feel to this novella about Wendigos! Oh well- where do they think some of our more enduring legends came from in the first place? LOL!

Linell, congrats on all your work. Actually mine is a script called Vengeance Texas, but I think I may also turn it into a novel

Hey- I was just going back on this particular discussion and realized in the last year you DID IT! WOW! That's just outstanding, and congratulations! I hope you can sell your script. My Deadman's Lament was, up until about a week ago, optioned as a movie. My producer is stepping aside, but now I'm back to square 1... how much does a script writer usually charge to write a novel into a script and do they ever sign for the back-end profits?

sorry about your script. that's way farther than I've ever gotten.