‘Good Will Hunting’ Meets Screenwriting Gurus

A recent tweet thread sparked interest among screenwriters on Twitter.

Tyler Clair Smith (@tclairsmith) posted a clever parody of a memorable exchange from the movie Good Will Hunting: Will vs a snotty Harvard student. This is for all you denizens of the online screenwriting universe.

Pretty awesome, right? I reached out to Tyler to ask what his inspiration was in composing this parody. Here’s his response:

Thanks again for featuring my thread on the blog.

As far as what inspired it: First of all, I have to shout out Dan Plagens (@dan_plagens) for beating me to the punch. Someone informed me that he made the same joke I did THREE DAYS AGO! I never saw his tweet until after mine blew up, but it goes to show that the universe wanted this thread to exist!

Honestly, I’m a fan of all the “gurus” referenced in the tweet; each of them has taught me most of what I know about screenwriting. But there’s a certain screenwriter archetype on Twitter that regurgitates the work of those teachers with such consistency you have to wonder if they ever have the time to actually, you know, write a script.

Ah, the complex nature of the online screenwriting universe where screenwriting “rules” exist, even if there is no such thing as a rule book, and flame wars erupt with the frequency of Icelandic volcanoes, one side pontificating versus another.

Well done, Tyler. You nailed it!

Then there’s this: Three days previous to Tyler’s parody, another writer Dan Plagens had the same inspiration.

When Dan was informed about Tyler’s thread, Dan responded with this:

Parallel development. It happens. I wrote a Business of Screenwriting article about it: Someday someone WILL beat you to the punch.

If you traffic in high concept stories, chances are you’ll confront this scenario.

It’s 1988. My writing partner and I are excited. We are just finishing up a new spec script, a comedy with a strong high concept: A couple adopts the child from hell (not literally, just a boy who simply can not help but get into trouble). One last pass on the pages, then it’s off to our agents and out to buyers.

So I’m feeling pretty upbeat as I to get to my office on the old MGM lot and open up the trades like I do everyday to catch up on the news…

Wait. What’s this?

“Universal buys spec comedy ‘Problem Child.’”

No. No…

“The plot described as a married couple who adopts a child from hell…”

NOOOOOOO!!!

And so it goes: The first time one of my ideas — and this one was my concept — gets squashed by the sale of another project.

Sadly, it’s not the last time.

I reached out to both Tyler and Dan to feature their tweets on my blog for a few reasons:

• To honor that moment of inspiration where the writer hits on a clever idea, then runs with it and creates something entertaining. Both Dan and Tyler had that inspiration, and followed through in creating a funny and insightful parody.
• To note the fact that there is such a thing as “parallel development” and that reality is something all screenwriters must learn to live with. It’s like that observation a writer once shared with me years ago: “When you’re not writing … someone else is.” That great story concept you have? Chances are there’s another writer kicking the same idea around. Best get to it and pound out that spec script like … NOW!

I appreciate the spirit of generosity demonstrated by both writers: Tyler publicly promoting Dan’s previous parody take; Dan acknowledging the synchronicity of the two takes as an example of parallel development.

Speaking of generosity, when I contacted Dan seeking permission to include his tweets for this article, he responded with this:

Hi, Scott. Big fan of what you do. Please feel free to reference the tweets. In terms of plugs, I don’t know if I have anything personally right now, but I work at @HUMANITASPrize as the organization’s Program Manager. To support feature film and television writers in our community as they stand for fair pay and protections in the workplace, and recognizing that this action may result in financial hardship for writers and their families, we launched an effort we call Groceries for Writers. We’re distributing grocery store gift cards to current WGA writers facing financial hardship. I imagine some of your readership might qualify for a card.

Here is a link to the Groceries for Writers website: LINK.

So, there you have it, an exchange between writers in the online screenwriting universe that exudes creativity, positivity, and generosity.

Why not give @tclairsmith and @dan_plagens a follow?