How To Write A Powerful And Meaningful Story - Joston Ramon Theney
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ม.ค. 2022
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Screenwriter, Author, Producer, Director Joston Ramon Theney grew up in Atlanta, Georgia. He is known for films such as Wanton Want (2021), Axeman at Cutters Creek (2020) and Jurassic Hunt (2021).
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Here is our full interview with Joston - th-cam.com/video/hpSSRjSb8-k/w-d-xo.html
"What you want, won't wake me up in the middle of the night." Very true.. You've got to have that burning desire / passion to invest your time / talents in other people's projects.
On the topic of 'paint by numbers' movies, Michael Arndt has made a video about the writing process for Toy Story 3. He illustrates how the story was basically hitting all the 'beats' that it should but still not working, and the changes they made and why it fixed things. Even with 'formulaic' movies, there are still things to learn (provided they are good quality).
I agree with most of this video but with one exception. I can't see how the writers of Spider Man: No way home had an easy job, that was a recipe for disaster that became a masterpiece.
When I sit down and try to flesh out a powerful and (hopefully) meaningful story, it often entails tapping my own life experiences to find those moments that bring life to the story. Which may also include incorporating characters that are similar to people in your personal story. The struggle is to write those characters in a way that they aren't recognizable to actual people in your life. I worry that someone I know may see themselves in the story no matter what I write. When I come across these moments, I change the situation that sparks the conflict but retains the emotions. I think it's harder to write powerful and meaningful story than it is to talk about writing powerful and meaningful stories.
“You have to feed the beast” 👏🏽
At NO time in this clip do they discuss what IS a powerful story or what IS a meaningful story. I think the challenge w this question is defining terms. That would then layer into the final question of "Meaningful vs Commercial". The assumption is that they are antagonistic or opposed to each other. I disagree. I think they are synergistic. People resonate w the story / character journey that is MORE meaningful, not less. That resonance = commercial success.
This, I've been asking myself this for months!
Wow, Joston! Your tale about the financier ALSO happened to me with a west coast land seller who reached out desiring an adaptation of his life.
We too, came to an impasse mostly due to the client not really knowing what they want, despite multiple angles (and amateur psychoanalysis) pitched by yours truly. The difference in my story is that I'm not an established pro, compensation was mentioned in passing but never formalized, and direct communication with the client was replaced by a dialogue with his assistants.
As much as I desperately wanted to get my career launched, the client's interest in creating something - anything, simply fizzled before we started. Significant amounts of time were not lost and I have a solid concept for something new as a result, but it would have been nice to get paid and to get "any" percentage progression with a project.
Thus, I toil. Back to the laptop.
What do you like about this video?
Marvel part was true
I really appreciate his brutal honesty. Tragically, in our day and age, it's too easy to think that just because a movie made a lot of money means that it was necessarily a deep and meaningful movie (or story, as it were). Too often, that is simply not true but money creates an echo chamber that seduces too many actors and writers into thinking that they are necessarily better than others who make less. In some cases, these writers actually write horribly but because their story caters to some demographic, hungry for tittilation (looking at you, Fifty Shades) and thus, is financially successful everyone is reluctant to be honest and simply say "the Emperor is wearing no clothes". I just wish more writers and consumers had this guy's honesty and clarity of thought.
The slick transition at 5:28 was nice.
i am unexpectedly early👀 thanks for this awesome video
This resonated well 👌🏾
thanks again for an awesome interview ,very good!
Glad you enjoyed this one Petri!
I love this one. 👏👏😍😍
If your story can't keep you up to work on it, then no one is going to pay money to watch it.
This is what I got from this.
very cool
I wouldn’t write something I didn’t believe in either - I don’t think I could. Maybe some writers don’t mind - or are more capable of - working within someone else’s vision.
I definitely have to be inspired to write something...So I agree, I'll never will write something I don't believe in.
Great ✨✨ 🌟💗
I like this guy.
Meaningful artistic expression and commercial viability are far from being mutually exclusive. Thematically you could argue that the first Ironman movie and Saving Private Ryan are both the same tale the first placing emphasis on what meaning a man tries to add to his life after being saved and the latter showing the journey of the character who saved a man's life in the hope that it was worth the cost. A commercially viable movie without meaningful artistic expression is simply bad writing. To paraphrase Neil Gaimon, there's more than enough space in a story for it to be about more than one thing.
Nice shirt
Great
I think he underestimates how difficult it is to write a paint by numbers Marvel movie, just look at DC failing to do it, but I agree they don't contain emotional depth and don't seem to be _about_ anything.
I would go farther to say that it's not just Disney but Hollywood in general that has become paint by numbers. Now that I'm thinking about it, it's not just Hollywood, but music, novels, video games, -- hell, even cars -- are severely lacking in the creativity department. The trend is for safe scripts, safe melodies, safe plots, safe designs. Everything is safe so that they can to market to the widest possible audience.
If you want to just make it for a wider audience, it becomes a product. I am not joking. And we are the consumers. That is why many movies today, even other media might be lacking in some creative parts. Not gonna blame the studios too. Audience keeps saying we want something new, but people are just consuming the same thing. Take last year as example. PTA's Licorice pizza and Spider Man no way home were released a few weeks apart, even Del toro's Nightmare alley was released. Two of the movies were original(in a way) and other is a sequel to a long standing franchise. But after all, people went to NWH more and the other movies never earned a lot in theatres. Eventually it's the people who are the consumers to a product. So it's not cinema anymore, it's just a marketplace for millennials and chinese. Laugh all you want but it's the truth.
People should broaden their approach to cinema and consider beyond subtitles to reach emotions. It's the only way cinema stays alive.
I disagree with the color by numbers MCU comment. Each movie has different characters with different motivations that are going through different times in the character’s life. There is some talent there to get it all to work, and then come together over the course of 12 movies. It proves it by having no one else in movie history having been able to do that, and only Harry Potter (which already had the entire plot laid out in the books) has even come close.
We were going sooo well until this point. And the worst off all is that this notion that what Marvel does (in general terms, off course not all which Marvel does is great) it's just an easy to replicate formula without much value, as if we were talking about the worst of the Transformers movies, it's super hard to combat when you have people like Scorsese or Coppola defending it.
Sadly, all of these New Hollywood directors based their work on crappy movements like the Nouvelle Vague or Italian Neorealism, which are still being taught today in film schools all over the world despite being based on a theory that has absolutely no bases (something that may seem exaggerated and don't make much sense until you start studying history).
These modern directors were able to create gold out of complete garbage and now they seem unable to acknowledge what cinema has been able to accomplish thanks to their own contribution to cinema. It's sadly ironic.
He speaking
Sadly, at this point in my fledgling career, I don't care about writing something meaningful, I care about making money. Once my bank account is full, and my bills are paid, and I can finally quit my soul sucking day job, then I'll write something meaningful.
Respectfully, I've rabbit holed his imdb etc & it's not Shakespearean lit we're dealing with here.
Actually, creating a meaningful artistic utterance and making a commercially viable project are kind of in strict contradiction and yet not totally irreconcilable. Granted, works that managed to deliver on both fronts are extra rare. Granted, it’s ten times harder today than it used to be. And yet you have The Godfather and you have Chazelle. It’s still possible. It takes an amazing artist, though. By the way, despite the fact that it’s extremely hard to do, it may still be more realistic than taking a purely commercial approach. No one will offer you to write a Marvel project. But you can try to say something of substance so that it relates to wider audiences at some level and also contains your uncompromising message/meaning for those who are willing to go a little bit deeper. The overwhelming majority of fans of Coppola’s great piece would consider it a classic gangster movie. Which it is…in a way :)
This explains Hollywood today.
1) Take a classic story everyone already knows and loves.
2) Force "The Message" into it.
3) Blame the audience when it bombs.
It didn't work for Christian films.
It's not working for QILTBAG2 / Socialist messaging either.
Lol true
I would like for you to be right but I'm honestly starting to doubt. '1000 times repeated lie becomes truth' is how you implement ideas in politics.
Also just because something is bad/shallow/pushing politics doesn't mean people will stop paying for it. Case in point are marvel/dc. But there are other examples.
Now creativity is definitely being limited to the max to cut the costs and try to predict the financial outcome. Thats why every creative project MUST become a franchise nowdays.
One more thing - modern politics are often inserted in already drained franchises (destined for reboot or chopping block at some point) in order to gain some free advertising and some, if any, new audience.
Very true
Jigglypuff.
Take the money. Find a way to find some meaning for yourself.
3 minutes in and there is nothing here. all fluff. is there any meat here at all?
If you want to be a working screenwriter, get rid of the notion that you're an "artist." You're a contractor with the skills to write so you're a artist in the sense a carpenter is. What you do is creative but you do what the client hired you to do. You can't tell a client who wants a armour that you're passion lies in only tables. If you're hired to write a story, it's not your story so what moves you don't really matter. It belongs to whoever is paying you so use your talent the best way you know how and if the client balks, then walk away, no muss no fuss. One thing I've learned that other aspiring screenwriters better know is you're the lowest person on the totem pole when it comes to film production and there are thousands waiting in the wings to replace you. Keep that in mind if you want to be a working screenwriter.