Screenwriting : So? What film script inspires YOU? by Bill Brock

The "Big Fish" script inspired me to write better scripts, Bill Brock. I read the script way back. I need to reread it.

Such a great film. So powerful and yet relatable. I remember watching it the theater when it came out.

Good question, I had/have a screenplay where the inciting incident took place at page 20: the reason, indeed being there was more time needed to introduce the characters, to make them more likable -- for god sake, we're talking about a nazi family as the protagonists of the story. So now one of the two co-writers started with what took place just after the inciting incident, far before page 12, and it works. But I not because of what Blake says. Our more complicated version of showing things partly unchronologically in the beginning just works better.

I guess my inspiration for being patient enough to get this far in the thought process of "what is too much pipe and why," is Minority Report.

The problem nowadays is that an audience with almost zero patience isn't able to survive a long character introduction; they simply want to get to the 'fun and games' part as fast as possible.

"The Marsh Girl" was a great book and later turned into the movie "Where the Crawdads Sing" It's one of those stories where you feel so deeply for the main character that you will always remember her as if she were a real person. I related to it because it reminds me of my sister's true story, except instead of surviving the marshlands alone, she had to learn to survive on the mean streets of New York City as a young fugitive.

Bill, I've got to chalk it up to the "American Graffiti" script I found in a paperback version. I just liked George's, Gloria's, and Willard's collective style.

Now...a couple of Twenty-First Century scripts I admire are the ones for "Booksmart" and "The Help." (I see a lot of George Lucas'/Gloria Katz'/Willard Huyck's style in those two screenplays.

Die Hard... then 20-something years later I got a job at Fox Plaza (Nakatomi Plaza in the movie).

I always loved the Being John Malkovich script. It's so playful and spiritually free