tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post3049888512561471648..comments2024-03-29T03:44:30.259-04:00Comments on Cockeyed Caravan: Storyteller’s Rulebook: Your Genre is Your TaskmasterMatt Birdhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07319984238456281734noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-8586751749420421482017-03-15T09:17:55.439-04:002017-03-15T09:17:55.439-04:00Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Annie ...Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't <i>Annie Hall</i> start out its life as <i>Bullets Over Broadway</i>? Allen eventually resurrected the excised plot and made his originally intended movie years later.Steve Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10347604037697186966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-28398957234785889252017-03-09T15:47:40.674-05:002017-03-09T15:47:40.674-05:00I disagree. Twin Peaks, when it was good, was ver...I disagree. Twin Peaks, when it was good, was very disciplined in service to its murder mystery. The supernatural element worked because it turned out to be key to the mystery. The tone was sometimes comedic, but there were rarely comedy scenes that didn't serve the mystery. At first there were no purely soap operatic elements that didn't serve the mystery, but the first exception was Lucy's pregnancy, and I remember thinking "What is this shit?" when that scene first aired. Unfortunately, once Lynch was gone, the soap operatic elements overwhelmed the mystery element and the show lost its way (until the finale). If the show had had an episode that never mentioned the mystery before it was solved, that would have been a major misstep, and that's the sort of thing I'm talking about. Matt Birdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07319984238456281734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-16907449555460737122017-03-09T14:12:30.332-05:002017-03-09T14:12:30.332-05:00Yes, I second Paul's comment. And you don'...Yes, I second Paul's comment. And you don't have to be a genius like David Lynch to get away with it either. This seems to be one of those pieces of advice that throttles creativity and discourages risk-taking. James Kennedyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04342773800742515957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13294573.post-74878662721756925012017-03-09T12:43:57.736-05:002017-03-09T12:43:57.736-05:00While I certainly see your point -- what about sto...While I certainly see your point -- what about stories that mix genres, as so many do these days, some quite successfully?<br />My own series is inspired by Twin Peaks, which was a wild mix of murder mystery, comedy, soap opera, and supernatural.<br />Of course many people hated TP for that reason -- but for the significant number of enthusiastic fans, that mix was a large part of the appeal. It also created an edginess for each scene as it unfolds: is it a scary scene, a funny one, or relationship drama? Will it change unexpectedly from one to the other?<br />If the writer of the action script in your example cut the relationship, cut the comedy, etc. -- wouldn't it just be a straightforward unsurprising action story? Yes, that would satisfy the many people who want exactly that -- but that doesn't have to be your only goal.Paul Worthingtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17524022616737152888noreply@blogger.com