So I'm working on a TV pilot script that explores bullying, homophobia, and cannablism. There's two timelines: one in the past and one in the future.
The one in the past features our protagonists as 12 year middle school students and the future timeline as adults.
I've been advised that having 12 year old characters being targeted for slaughter and cannibalism by fellow students (who are bullying them no less) may be too extreme and make it harder to sell. That was delibarate as I thought of how Stephen King's IT had 12 year old protagnoists and kept that in mind since his work does have some slight influence on the themes presented in the screenplay.
Right now, I"m leaning towards an advised age lift that moves from them from middle school to high school. I would really value other perspectives to see if I'm making the right choice or if I can retain the characters at the age they currently are in the script.
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So an update. I've made a decision to age lift the characters from 12 to 17. I've given it some thought and aside from making it easier to market, it may very well be creatively liberating and allow me to expand on the type of situations characters those age deal with compared to middle school students.
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Wise choice Samuel Lebow. For not only the reason you cited above (the extreme nature of putting young characters in such violent and disturbing situations) but also putting young actors through that type of emotional experience. Lastly, having minor actors on set brings with it some guardrails and limitations that, while very necessary and needed for the workplace in terms of protecting young performers and maintaining their educations, they also bring with them some logistical challenges for the production as a whole in regards to schedule and budget. I have made this exact same decision in the past to age up characters and it's the right thing to do in nearly every situation of this kind. IT is an exception but it had a very healthy budget and was based on existing and recognizable IP.
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Thanks Nick Phillips. I definitely think the logistical challenges are a valid reason.
That said, if It's an IP, I'm a bit more cautious. So if it's something like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson, I'd keep the kids at their normal age. Plus, I'm a big believer in trying to stay true to the source material when adapting a book series to film or TV. HIstory has shown that extreme deviations have affected box office/tv ratings.
There are exceptions if something just can't translate visually (read the book version of I Know What You Did Last Summer), then I totally get it. The twist in the book regarding the person stalking the group just can't be pulled off without almost giving away that something is being hidden from the audience.
I know I want to get my hands on The Heir Chronicles books down the line for TV if possible. I want to expand and make some changes but still follow the plot of books 1-3. But books 4 and 5 would definitely need more changes, as the original cast are essentially glorified cameos at best and those books have received a bit more criticism related to that (along with some other things storywise).
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Raw is a wild movie about cannibalism set at a high school. Might be the move