ATS vs. Hollywood

I'm sorry if this has been discussed to death, but these days... in fact since I decided to create a login, I can't help thinking about how many script writers sit at sites like ATS and suck in all they need to make the next big blockbuster.

This is a place of debating but it also strikes me as a place where fantasies and ideas are born without people really "thinking" about it.
It is truely an inexhaustable source of yet to be born subjects of the next conspiracy movie, comedy, drama, you name it.

What do you guys think? Your theory could litteraly be staring Johnny Depp or Julianne Moore on the silver screen...

So is the reason that movies these days contain subjects like conspiracies because of sites like this and they know they can make the big buck or because there's something to these conspiracies?

And how would you feel if it by chance happend to be your theory or a particular thought you've made about a theory that was actually turned into a movie?

/Cheers Flice

[edit on 4/11/07 by flice]

As an example read Spoon1's thread on the coming movie starring Will Smith:

www.abovetopsecret.com...

It is nothing more than a reflection of the interests of the people who churn out scripts and "treatments" for hollywood.

Most action films have a sci-fi angle that is conspiratorial, i.e. secret formulas, forbidden technology etc.

Same with power structures that control society. If you make a film that references real gangsters, you could get whacked. So you make up a secret global cabal, and pit your hero against that. It's much easier to churn out, and has a certain air of predictability that audiences can follow.

You pit Superman against lex luthor, and his plans for world domination. Few moviegoers will sit through a 3 hour film called "Superman against AIDS."

The more outlandish the theory, the less problems you have with plot holes. If you want to write a James Bond film about stolen nuclear weapons, it's much easier to pick generic "terrorists" than it is to decide how Hezbollah or Hammas would respond in a given situation. Suppose you made a film with Saddam as the bad guy, and he gets hanged the weekend your film debuts. Bad news for you.

So no, I don't think Hollywood is any more open to ATS-type topics than it ever was. it is looking for scripts that will draw in viewers. Whether its UFOS or cat-juggling, the accountants really don't care.

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Originally posted by flice
I'm sorry if this has been discussed to death, but these days... in fact since I decided to create a login, I can't help thinking about how many script writers sit at sites like ATS and suck in all they need to make the next big blockbuster.

This is a place of debating but it also strikes me as a place where fantasies and ideas are born without people really "thinking" about it.
It is truely an inexhaustable source of yet to be born subjects of the next conspiracy movie, comedy, drama, you name it.

What do you guys think? Your theory could litteraly be staring Johnny Depp or Julianne Moore on the silver screen...

So is the reason that movies these days contain subjects like conspiracies because of sites like this and they know they can make the big buck or because there's something to these conspiracies?

And how would you feel if it by chance happend to be your theory or a particular thought you've made about a theory that was actually turned into a movie?

/Cheers Flice

[edit on 4/11/07 by flice]

There's great ideas here, but if anyone is going to make a blockbuster out of one of them they're probably already an established writer. Screenwriting is over for the little guy. Big Hollywood studios hardly ever buy scripts from unknown writers. And if you’re idea is really good they have insiders to rewrite it in such a way as to steal your concept without paying you a nickel. Smaller or new production companies occasionally buy scripts from unknown writers, but the pay is pitiful. Of course there’s an ocean of books and websites out there that give writers the illusion that screenplays are, if written well, saleable to Hollywood, but these businesses are merely preying on writers dreams. Although you do hear about producers optioning scripts, but rarely anything comes of it. Meanwhile screenwriter’s compete with hundreds of thousands of others (some who will outright steal your script) all hoping theirs will be the one that gets noticed amidst a bottomless sea of scripts for sale. But the one or two that do sell keeps the dream alive.