From Idea to Script to Sale
New Year’s Films 2 – Ocean’s 11
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
And on with our look at writing New Year’s films…this time looking at the film Ocean’s 11 – and we’re talking about the original from 1960, written by Harry Brown and Charles Lederer.
Chances are, you’ve seen the 2001 version, Ocean’s Eleven, but I wonder if you’ve seen the original? Take a look at the trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppVby97BNiw
Like the 2001 version, the original focuses on a bunch of old army buddies who get together to take down five Las Vegas casinos on New Year’s Eve.
One of the reasons I wanted to look at this film was because of what it does with the holiday. We’re not focusing on a party here, or romantic relationships on the big night, but we’re talking about, basically, a caper film. But it has the added dimension of taking place as the clock strikes midnight on December 31st. So New Year’s Eve is inextricably tied to the story.
I think that, when you think of New Year’s and New Year’s Eve, your mind might not go directly to suspense or caper films. But Ocean’s 11 is a good example of how the holiday can be used as a kind of ticking clock for your plot.
And this film’s premise was so compelling that, 41 years later, it was remade—and began a franchise of films that audiences loved and that made an absolute fortune for the studios.
One of the reasons for the success of both films was that they had casts that were composed of the idols of their day. But beyond that, it was the idea that became intriguing. The absolute audacity of these guys to rob Vegas on New Year’s Eve.
But once you get past that premise, you have to have an intriguing story that shows how they could pull it off. And that story has to be, at least vaguely, plausible. And it needs to have twists and turns that surprise the audience. Things need to go awry and you wonder how they’ll ever pull it off—but then they do!
And it needs characters that you care about. From the down on his luck trash-man to the guy struggling to have a relationship with his 7-year-old kid to the dashing guys jockeying for position in their own little hierarchy.
The thing is, this little caper movie needs to have it all—plot, character, witty dialogue… and even a love story. Or, one might say, a recapturing-of-love story.
And to top it off, it very simply needs to be FUN.
So. All of that in a little caper movie.
Could you do that? Come up with a caper film idea set on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s day and make it resonate for audiences?
Hey, why not give it a try!
Next week, we’ll head to the 70s… and out to sea…
Copyright © Diane Lake
02Jan22
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Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com