Writing the Comedy Blockbuster

by Giglio, Keith

• ISBN13: 9781615930852
• ISBN10: 161593085X
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-02-01
• Publisher: Michael Wiese Productions

Summary

Dying is easy, comedy is hard. So keep your comedy blockbuster alive and well and buy this book. Comedy has always been the backbone of the film business. In an age of sequels and brand-name movies based on established properties, the original comedy screenplay still delivers high profits. Writing the Comedy Blockbusterguides the writer as they learn what goes into writing the next comedy classic.

Author Biography

Keith Giglio has been hired and fired by most studios in his eighteen years as a screenwriter in Los Angeles. He has received credit on seven-and-a-half movies and has written and sold over twenty screenplays. He taught screenwriting at the Writers Program at UCLA Extension, where was he named Instructor of the Year in 2009, and is now a screenwriting professor at Syracuse University's renowned Newhouse School.

Table of Contents

Dedication and Thank Yous	p. xi
Introduction	p. xii
Foreplay, Or How Tina Fey Can Kick Bruce Willis' Ass	p. xvi
How to Use this Book
How to Bust a Gut
Or Comedy College 101	p. 1
A Criminally Brief History of Film Comedy	p. 4
Yes, But What Kind of Comedy?	p. 15
Exercise: Beg, Steal, or Borrow	p. 26
The Comedic Idea
A.K.A. The Importance of Being Inappropriate A.K.A. The Blues Brothers are Not Role Models	p. 27
The Inappropriate Goal	p. 28
The Comedic Logline A.K.A. The Pitch	p. 31
Uniquely Familiar	p. 37
Exercise: Twenty Uniquely Familiar Ideas	p. 39
The Fill-in-the Blanks Elevator Pitch	p. 42
Exercise: The Poster	p. 43
Plot Vs. Character: Who Will Win?
Comedic Character
A.K.A. A Fool's Journey A.K.A. I Know A Guy Just Like That	p. 47
The Importance of Character	p. 47
A Fool's Journey	p. 48
Take Your Silliness Seriously	p. 49
Characters Change	p. 51
The Rock and Roll School of Screenwriting	p. 54
Plot vs. Character	p. 56
Building the Comic Character	p. 57
Exercise: The Comedic Character Worksheet	p. 59
What I Really Want To Do Is Direct	p. 66
Comic Vision	p. 69
Inappropriate Behavior	p. 70
Inappropriate Dialogue	p. 71
Unity of Opposites	p. 72
Rowing a Sinking Boat	p. 74
Funny People	p. 74
Exercise: Character Work	p. 81
Hilarity and Heart
A.K.A. It's All About the Wolf Pack	p. 83
The "Classic" and Still Modern Three-Act Structure	p. 86
Exercise: Question Everything	p. 87
The Comedic Sequence Approach	p. 88
Scene Study	p. 90
Putting Scenes to Work in Events	p. 98
Exercise: Funny Scenes	p. 99
The Secret Ingredients of Comedic Scenes	p. 100
The Comedic Roadmap - The Eight Comic Sequences
Comic Sequence (A)
A.K.A. The Comedic World
A.K.A. Well Begun is Half Done	p. 107
Setting Up the Comedic World	p. 109
Exercise: Comedy Calisthenics	p. 111
What is the Tone of Your Story?	p. 112
The Prestory	p. 113
Open With a Hook - First Impressions	p. 115
Denning Action	p. 120
Status Quo-Something's Missing	p. 122
Exposition	p. 124
Point of Attack - Opportunity Knocks	p. 125
Exercise: Rewrite Your Favorite Movie	p. 127
Comic Sequence (B)
Setting up the Inappropriate Goal A.K.A. "You're Going to Do What?" or Why Crashing A Wedding is a Good Idea	p. 128
What the Hell Happened to Me?	p. 130
The Buddy	p. 131
Meet the Bad Guy A.K.A. The Dick	p. 132
The Dramatic Question - Oh, That's What it's About	p. 134
End of the First Act - Protagonist and Objective	p. 136
Exercise: Change the Point of View	p. 138
Act Two!
A.K.A. Where Scripts Go to Die
Comic Sequence (C)
The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World A.K.A. Sometimes Girls Throw up on You	p. 139
Oh Yes, Oh No!	p. 140
Start Small and Go Big	p. 141
The Promise of the Premise	p. 142
The Main Events of Sequence C	p. 142
The Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World	p. 142
Establish the Initial Goal	p. 145
Learning New Rules / Taking on Appearances	p. 146
Friends and Enemies	p. 147
Subplots	p. 149
Subplots and Themes	p. 151
First Attempt Fails - Maybe	p. 152
Exercise in Conflict: The Agitator	p. 153
Comic Sequence (D)
It Just Keeps Getting Worse a.k.a. How Much Pain Can Ben Stiller Take?	p. 154
Five Events to the Midpoint	p. 156
Anticipation and Reaction Scenes	p. 156
Reaction Scenes	p. 157
Ramping Up	p. 157
Backward from the Midpoint	p. 158
The Midpoint Hints at the Ending	p. 158
Importance of Location	p. 160
Comic Sequence (E)
Love in the Air A.K.A. Why Andy Chooses Love over Sex	p. 162
Reaction to the Midpoint	p. 163
Major Character Shift	p. 164
Develop the Theme	p. 165
Upping the Stakes	p. 166
The Jolt	p. 167
Comic Exercise: The Soundtrack	p. 168
Comic Sequence (F)
What Was I Thinking? a.k.a. Yes, I'm a Liar But	p. 170
A Final Push	p. 171
Good Times Never Last	p. 171
Expose the Character's Weakness	p. 172
The Calm Before the Storm	p. 173
End of Act Two: Bad Things Happen	p. 173
Other Ways to End Act Two	p. 175
Act Three
Comic Sequence (G)
Time to Grow Up A.K.A. Why Are Ashton and Natalie So Sad Even Though They Said No Strings Attached?	p. 177
So What Is Act Three?	p. 179
What Else Should Happen In My Act Three?	p. 179
Singing the Blues	p. 181
Who Am I?	p. 182
Help from the Mentor	p. 183
The Last Great Decision	p. 183
Comic Sequence (H)
The New Me A.K.A. Why Ben Stiller, Jim Carrey, Hugh Grant, Natalie Portman are Running at the End of the Movie	p. 185
The Battle	p. 185
Convergence	p. 186
Sacrifice	p. 187
Resurrection	p. 187
Epiphany	p. 188
The Final Race	p. 189
The New Me	p. 190
Take a Breath at the End	p. l90
A Word About Satisfying Endings	p. 191
Writing the Screenplay
Writing the Screenplay	p. 192
Turning the Scriptment into the Script	p. 193
Why Do Screenplays Fail?	p. 193
The Writing Begins	p. 196
Some Words about Dialogue	p. 197
Trust the Work You Have Done	p. 198
How Do I Know when It's Done?	p. 199
The Business of Writing	p. 199
Funny Is Money	p. 201
Filmography	p. 203
About the Author	p. 214
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