Thread by @storyandplot

I finally watched COCAINE BEAR and it reminded of something I have been talking about in my classes on how screenwriters who write original movies can work around Hollywood’s obsession with pre-existing I.P. #screenwriting 🧵

The first thing to understand is that Hollywood has not run out of new ideas. The studio’s preference for I.P. has nothing to do with regurgitating ideas and everything to do with MARKETING.

I cover the whole subject in this tweet here:

https://twitter.com/173151162/status/1655274210191630336

People don't have to be sold on the Mission Impossible or John Wick. They know what it's about. That marketing just needs to focus on making sure you know when it opens.

The marketing department prefers AWARNESS over SELLING because you can throw money at awareness.

Selling is harder, and it’s less predictable. For something new, you have to communicate the plot, the genre, tone etc... You have to make them care enough to even be aware of it.

From a marketing POV, pre-existing I.P. is significantly safer.

So what does this mean to us screenwriters without IP rights?

Well, one way to impersonate audience awareness is what I call the quick concept. It is when the title and the concept are the same. Like… COCAINE BEAR.

No one needs to explain what COCAINE BEAR is about to anyone. It’s right there. Maybe it's a metaphor? But a single image or poster and, yep! Confirmed! It's exactly what you thought it was.

Everyone understands what BAD MOMS is. Or OFFICE CHRISTMAS PARTY or SNAKES ON A PLANE. When just saying the title communicates the movie, that’s a quick concept.

The marketing department LOVES this because, just like with pre-existing IP, they don’t have to sell.

The title tells the audience what the movie is about. They can just throw money at “raising audience awareness,” which is a much, much easier task.

Audience awareness is perhaps the most significant value of pre-existing I.P. The audience’s affection for the I.P. is a close second.

You can duplicate the former with a quick concept: a simple premise that is contained in the title.

Woman-in-jeopardy TV movies have been doing this for decades, so you'll have to step up your game from "My Boyfriend Is A Serial Killer" type titles (Unless they are paying you to write "My Boy Friend Is A Serial Killer.), but the principle is the same.

Is starting with the title cynical? Only if that's the only thing going for it. You still have to tell a good story that makes people care. That is, after all, the job.

But a big idea that can be communicated in six words or less or even better, IN THE TITLE, is the spec writer's best friend. It is the best way to duplicate the utility of pre-existing I.P. without actually being one.

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