Screenwriting 101: Mark Bomback

“A big misconception that people have about these franchise movies is that all the studios care about is the action. It’s very cynical and untrue to believe that studio heads don’t care whether the movie has a solid story and real characters… when they speak with the writer, they are focused almost exclusively on issues of character and narrative to make sure that the story really is working as best it can. It would be easy for me to sit back and flame the studio system and say, ‘Well, how could you make a great movie in this system? All they care about is the explosions.’ They do want movies to be big and spectacular, but they desperately want their movies to have stories populated by characters with which people can related. They’re hiring a screenwriter to make sure that happens. I try my very best in every film I’m working on to try to make you fall in love with those characters. I feel like my number one job, regardless of the genre I’m working in, is to get you to care about the plight of the person whose story I’m telling. I want my audience to be able to answer the question ‘Why did this movie have to happen to this person?’ And so when I’m writing, I’m constantly answering that question for myself. The wonky development term for this is, of course, the character’s ‘arc,’ but it is, for me, a crucial component to a successful film.”

— Mark Bomback (FilmCraft | Screenwriting, P. 55)

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