One of my friends was recently surprised when I said that I don't think I'll sell Not Dead Yet.
It's not because I don't want to. Believe me, if somebody stuck a contract in my face and wanted to make my movie I'd be all over it. I certainly think it would be a terrific film or I wouldn't be so excited to work on it, and I feel confident about the writing job I've done.
But the truth is I'm unlikely to sell it.
Zombie movies are designed to be cheap. That's why they're so popular. You can dress a bunch of extras up in red paint and make them stumble around without having to pay them a lot and all you really need is some corn syrup and a few plastic arms for the victims. And a house or a mall or something for the location. Cheap.
My script has a tidal wave. And a castle set on fire. And all kinds of locations all over the country.
Not cheap.
I know this, and I knew it going in. I loved the story and the story was fun, so I decided to damn the financial issue and write the script I wanted to write.
It's just not a script I'm likely to sell.
Land of the Dead didn't exactly rake in the cash and 28 Weeks Later disappointed, but the Resident Evil films made a few bucks and there's something to be said for the I Am Legend vampire zombies that made a fortune for the studio. So big budget zombie films have a mixed heritage.
I'm waiting for World War Z. That's a big budget zombie pic that could do very well with all the anticipation and a damn fine script and all. If that movie takes in the bucks I might be just in time with my own script. But I can't count on that.
I'd love to sell the script but in the meantime I plan to use it as a perfect example of what I can do. I'd be proud to send it to any contest or studio or agent and see how far it can get me.
So it's not that I don't want the movie made. I can't imagine how incredible it would be to sit in a theater and watch my zombie tidal wave and my zombie castle fire on the big screen, but at this point in my career I'd also be ecstatic if it got me a job writing the next Hellboy sequel.
How many of those big scenes could be done with tricks like green screen? Maybe it just needs to find the right producer who can do it cheaply, but obviously you want it to maintain a certain level of quality as well. Welcome to the business 8)
ReplyDeleteI always remind myself of the writers and director of saw who set out to make a horror movie on the cheap, basing it all in a single room, and am still impressed by what they accomplished with just 1m budget. Gives me hope that any time, the stars can align in just the right way to make things click.
You have to write what you love!
ReplyDeleteThere's always the sci-fi channel and cheesy special effects!
Rework the hero to fit the Casper Van Dien and you might be on your way!
-Jim
would it work as an animated feature? a lot cheaper to build sets for an animated feature.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it's not the budget that matters so much as the property. Land of the Dead and 28 Weeks Later were sequels to original films. I am Legend and Resident Evil are based on existing, non-film properties (a cult novel and a mega-popular video game).
ReplyDeleteBut from what little you have said about Not Dead Yet-- it sounds like a fun ride-- and that's what matters the most!
LOL @ Casper Van Dien
ReplyDeleteHe's like a B movie machine, but I loved Starship Troopers so thumbs up on that idea.
What the rest said, but also:
ReplyDeleteCould it be a good video game?
Could it be a good animated movie (CGI or not)?
Could it be a comic book?
Could it be expanded into a novel?
These are the basis of alot of movies. They create fan-bases to pre-sell recognition so that studios don't have to spend as much money on advertising.
It wasn't written to be animated and I don't see it being right as an animated story.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for the rest, Hugo, those are all great suggestions but I don't write comic books or novels or video games. (And you can't really break into video game writing any easier than screenwriting.)
I write screenplays. And I'm okay with that. Like I said, I'd be happy if it sells. I'm going to try to sell it. I'm just not naive enough to think that studios will be jumping over themselves to make an expensive zombie film.
That is true; however, if you think of a storyboard as a comic strip of the movie ... and there are usually some amateur comic book artists in the area.
ReplyDelete