Originality?

[andy_winton]

hi all,

(Lunch time so I thought I'd post)

Someone once told be that there were
only about 7 stories, then all other
stories are derived from them.

Boy meets girl, love. good vs. evil,
etc.

OK, if you look at James T Kirk, then
7 is probably a bit generous. Getting
jiggy with a green alien girl on a planet
controlled by a supercomputer where spock
cries.

Anyway, is there any books which talk
about the 7 basic stories?

Also, given that there is so few it is
refreshing to see something like the
matrix which stops to make you think.

Maybe if we knew more about them then
it would be easier to make an 'original'
film?

Anyway, just some lunchtime ramblings...

andy

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andy winton
(www.wintonfilms.co.uk)

[eddie]

The hero with a thousand faces is a book about this subject - although it is a bit wordy - it explains the basics of mythology and what elements make up a timeless story.

The storyline to the matrix really isnt that special. If you analyse it it is really a pretty classic 'mythical' story about an unsatisfied man who comes into contact with a mysterious realm, enters said realm, develops, learns and becomes some sort of hero. - its just a spiced up fable zapped into the 20th century with cyber dreams and special effects. - since everyone on this board seems to love Star Wars (personally I dont especially) - compare the basic story elements of the Matrix to the basic story elements of Star wars....they arent all that different...


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[sdchown]

I am convinced that there are only 7 different arguments that men and women have as well. Just watch people arguing in public.

I have almost conviced my wife that because there are these limited number of arguments, that there is no point in our having them, as they always end with the same conclusion. We just just skip to the making up part.

What has this to do with this post...nothing...

Sloooooow day I guess.

Later
Stephen


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Regards
Stephen Chown
Old Ones Productions

[Thread Killa]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, helvetica, sans serif">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by sdchown:
I have almost conviced my wife that because there are these limited number of arguments, that there is no point in our having them, as they always end with the same conclusion. We just just skip to the making up part.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I believe that's one of the seven.

Back to the actual subject however, the first time I heard that was back in Jr. High. Thing is though, I don't think I've ever seen the list.

Let me try to figure this out though.

good guy, bad guy: bad guy wins
good guy, bad guy: good guy wins
good guy, bad guy: conflict resolved peacefully

Love At First Sight, ends in tragedy
LAFS: happy ending with 87 minutes of nonsense getting in the way

(feel free to alter genders on any of the following)
"Not if you were the last man on [insert name of planet here]:" he turns out to be a nice guy who saves her poodle and they end up together.
"NIYWTLMOE:" turns out he's the nice guy, she's a bitch and he falls for someone else who sees this.
"NIYWTLMOE:" He is the last man on earth but they're too depressed about the apocalypse to have children.

Well, there's 8. I know there's more than a few others.

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[Keviano]

I think you can get away with being unoriginal if you leave it long enough... as soon as a film has been shown on ITV for the 20th time, you can make a film just like it and no one will care (or remember).

Film plotlines, stories and characters change, it's the conventions that stay the same, and as soon as a convention has proven to be successful and why fix what ain't broken?!

Talkin' about originality, anyone seen the show LA Heat, currently on Bravo in the UK... they have the same car crash scene in every episode, often with different cars in different scenarios, but the car still hits the kicker, rolls to the side and lands on it's roof. Even so, I still watch the show... Hmm...

Regards
Keviano
ReelRaine Productions

PS - eddie; I can't stand Star Wars!

[miker]

the path to originality is the marriage of otherwise disperate elements to create something that has truly never been seen before in the mainstream (except maybe in comic books :-)

The individual elements may not be original in themselves, but the sum of the parts equals the whole, remember.

Star Wars: light sabres, battlestation the size of a small moon, hyperspace, dolby surround, 70s haircuts in another galaxy

The Matrix: guns, lots of guns, a white room, cgi, what is reality, black, hacking

so take some interesting cult elements of today, marry them, and you will be onto a winner

or, make a nostalgia flick for 80s kids

or, how about this -- make a nostalgia flick for 3180's kids, where time-travel-spectating was part of the curriculum and there's no paper and transdimensional beings exist whose purpose if to engulf the universe.

of course, then you need your plot elements, one of the aforementioned '7 stories' (I think there may be 9 but that's purely academic)

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[T0ren0]

Intresting how everyone says that theirs only said amount of story lines( 7) but no ones actually ever seeen that list. I too have heard of this but never seen the list. Maybe we should have some sort of search if anyone comes across it please feel free to post it so we can all learn.


T0REN0

"now where was I ? "
Guy Pearce- Momento

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[T0ren0]

Intresting how everyone says that theirs only said amount of story lines( 7) but no ones actually ever seeen that list. I too have heard of this but never seen the list. Maybe we should have some sort of search if anyone comes across it please feel free to post it so we can all learn.


T0REN0

"now where was I ? "
Guy Pearce- Momento

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[Thousanth]

There's a certain point where originality is just a bond between cliches. American Beauty was a great original film, but if you analize it down enough you'll find out its been done before, but maybe not done quite like this.
Hell guys lighten up on Star Wars a little. Even if you don't like the "70s haircuts, lightsabers (all one word) moon sized battlestations and dolby surrond, you have to reconize the special effects are pretty damn good. Hell your beloved Matrix might not have even happened without Star Wars.
Anyway I got another parrallel for the Matrix. The Bible. Besides the quite subtle references at the beggining "Halleujah! Your my savior, man, My own personal Jesus Christ." Besides that veiled throw-in the entire story is laden with Christ-like references.


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Thousanth
THOUSANTH ENTERTAINMENT
AND PRODUCTIONS.
"A good director elevates his film above all limitations placed on it...above its genre, script, acting and production. A good director IS the film."

[andyblaa]

I've got the list in 'Teach Yourself Screenwriting'. I havent got it to hand write now but i'll try to post a brief summary of what it says later. The writer does agree that there is seven though, not nine.

Andy

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