Of Genres and Spec Scripts

Is it better to write a straight genre piece or is it harder to set up a script which mashes two different genres?

A reader question:

“I have heard that it’s better to stick to one or possibly a split-genre for a spec… basically to make the marketing job easier for a film. Can you comment on that…how does marketing determine the best way to promote a film when there is a blend of genres?”

My response:

There is some truth to this point: It is easier for a studio or production company marketing team to promote a movie that is a straight-ahead genre piece. When they are dealing with things like Science Fiction Western as they tried to do with the movie Cowboys & Aliens, they run into trouble. Do we sell it as science fiction or western? They tried to do both. They ended up with neither and the movie tanked.

This is more relevant to mainstream studio movies where their target is a wide audience. It’s less true with indie films where audiences tend to be more thoughtful and pay more attention to pre-release marketing. But even there, it can be a problem. Witness the fate of a fine indie film: Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. Won major kudos at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, rights sold for I believe $6.5M, distributed Fox Searchlight, but the movie never caught on, winding up its theatrical run with just over $6M in box office revenues. The first half of the movie is a comedy with drama. The last half of the movie is pretty much all drama. And there’s that thing in the title: Dying Girl. Tough movie to market even though it’s really good.

Of more practical concern to writers who are trying to break in, choosing whether to write any type of story you want genre-wise or focus on one genre. The reality is whatever script you break in with, Hollywood will pretty much pigeonhole you in that space. That can be a good thing, in effect your brand as a Hollywood writer.

More to the point, I think most managers and agents would prefer to rep writers who focus on one genre precisely for that reason. Which is not to say if you are interested in multiple genres, do that, especially if you can carry your voice from genre to genre. It’s just that the line of least resistance both in terms of getting representation and establishing a brand is better served by focusing on one genre.

But again, there are no rules. Creativity, passion, and vision trump all. But from a practical standpoint, it does help to think in terms of genre when developing and writing spec scripts. And while it may be easier to set up a straight genre project, if a writer has a great cross-genre story a la the recent Yesterday, a Fantasy-Comedy-Musical, then by all means, write it. Just be sure to write the hell out of it. If you want to mash genres, don’t pull your punches, just totally go for it.