How to Generate and Critique Story Ideas (Part 8): Franchise

If there is one word that is almost assured to get a Hollywood movie studio president of production all aglow, it is probably the word franchise.

“The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.” Those are the words of Dr. Linus Pauling, the only person to ever win two Nobel Prize Awards. This is sage advice, especially for writers. A strong story concept is one key to the commercial viability of a novel, short story, or screenplay.

Over the next two weeks, I will run a ten-part series: How to Generate and Critique Story Ideas.

Today in Part 8: Franchise.

If there is one word that is almost assured of getting a Hollywood movie studio president of production all aglow, it is probably the word franchise. Just think how happy Alan Horn was at Warner Bros. back in the last decade knowing almost every year for a decade, he knew the studio would release a Harry Potter movie. Those dates on the calendar, stretching out for years on the horizon were locked in and locked down to be hugely profitable release dates.

Right now, you can go to one of my favorite websites BoxOfficeMojo and see the release dates of movies through the end of this calendar year. Look at some of these titles on that list:

Men in Black International, Child’s Play, Toy Story 4, Annabelle Comes Home, Spider-Man: Far From Home, The Boy 2, Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw, The Angry Birds Movie 2, It: Chapter 2, Rambo: Last Blood, Joker, Zombieland 2: Double Tap, Terminator: Dark Fate, Charlie’s Angels, Frozen 2, Jumanji Sequel, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Each one is a franchise, a title upon which a studio can develop and produce multiple movies.

So wouldn’t it be wise for us — as writers — when we are kicking around story ideas to think in terms of a possible franchise?

Now you will notice something in that list of movies above: All of them are pre-branded. Based on a comic book, a remake of a movie, a children’s book, toys, cartoons.

Unless you have an extra couple of million dollars in your pockets to obtain the rights to a popular pre-branded commodity, you have to approach franchise in a different way.

In short, you have to think of a franchise concept.

Let’s look at some movie franchises that were based off original concepts [I think all of these qualify].

Cops: Lethal Weapon, Beverly Hills Cop, Bad Boys, Dirty Harry, Rush Hour.

Supernatural: Ghostbusters, Poltergeist, Paranormal Activity.

Horror: Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Halloween, Scream, Saw.

Family: Free Willy, The Karate Kid, Home Alone, The Santa Clause, Spy Kids.

Sports: The Mighty Ducks, Major League, Rocky.

Science Fiction: Alien, Predator, Star Wars, The Matrix.

Action: Death Wish, Rambo, The Fast and the Furious.

Sex: Porky’s, American Pie.

And you got Back to the Future which I don’t know where to put.

This is just scratching the surface of franchises that arose from original concepts.

Observant eyes will notice that at the core of each of these movies is a character or characters. Either their personality, unique capabilities, their distinctive circumstances or a combination of everything, something makes them franchise-worthy. Think of Indiana Jones, Ace Ventura, Austin Powers, Crocodile Dundee, John Wick.

Is there anything in the world keeping you from conjuring up a franchise concept? A franchise character?

Because as excited as that president of production gets when they acquire a franchise property… it ain’t nothin’ compared to how crazy you will get when you see your $$ stretching out forever!

Part 1: What if…
Part 2: Halliwell’s Film Guide
Part 3: Images
Part 4: Titles
Part 5: Gender-Bending
Part 6: Genre-Bending
Part 7: Think International

Tomorrow: Part 8 of the series How to Generate and Critique Story Ideas.