Screenwriting : Reader Question: Should I reference other movies when pitching my own ? by Vince Conside
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My advice: You might or might not be best served referencing other movies for plot and character description. ALWAYS try to reference other movies for tone and target audience. It's nearly impossible to convey tone without referencing another movie or TV show.
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the answer us YES YES YES but as Regina said, its about using comps with similar tone and genre, not the actual plot as you dont want your idea to sound unoriginal.
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Also, try to use comps people have heard of, are modern, make sense, and comps of films/shows that were/are successful. We had a writer come in and say "It's BODY HEAT meets ROUGH MAGIC." The executive had NO idea what he talking about. Worst part is the writer just kept on pitching, and the exec just started nodding with "uh huhs" while he checked twitter on his phone.
Good job and good luck, Kay!
Kay, do NOT use obscure films, films before 1975, or films that were not successful. thats basically saying your movie is just like 2 films no ones seen. And dont use movies with the same theme - use ones with similar tone and genre. and only use 2 because more comps than that create too much disparity.
plus you always run the risk of associating with a movie that particular producer/exec didn't like.