The Hero With One Face

Check out Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3 for those who missed it.

The Hero with the One Face

When I arrived in Hollywood, my first gig was an internship with a producer on the Sony lot. She was great as far as first internships go. She supported my eagerness to pitch film ideas (even if she thought they were ridiculous), and she wanted me to learn as much as possible about "the business." She told me that I needed to read two books: The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell and Screenplay by Syd Field. According to her, these two books would be the guiding light as I launched my career in the film business. Being the eager beaver, I immediately went to Barnes and Noble (insert chuckle here as this was pre-Amazon), bought the books, and finished both within a month. In my head, I was well on my way to becoming the next Irving Thalberg. 

Both books are legendary in the business for those who don't know. Joseph Campbell's book was the basis for Star Wars, and pretty much every screenplay written follows the structure laid out in Syd Field's book, and herein lies the problem. We'll wrap up the four-part series on Innovation with a look at how the art of storytelling, particularly with content, needs a renaissance and a reinvention. 

 As I mentioned above, almost all screenplays follow Syd Field's structure: Three Acts with two plot points to spin off into the subsequent Acts (e.g., Plot 1 spins Act 1 into Act 2.) I don't want to bore you too much with the structure or Field's additional recommendations, but you get the gist. The biggest problem is that this has become the standard for nearly every screenplay, and when an executive reads the screenplay, he/she more than likely breaks it down using Syd Field's guidance. I say the time has come to junk that book and start fresh. Forget the three-act structure and begin writing stories as if they were a novel, with a beginning, a middle, and an end or don't. Yes, that's still technically three acts but remove the need to follow it religiously. The executives need to train themselves to look for unique structures and storylines that surprise audiences. Easier said than done, you say, but I say now is as good a time as any. Most people think the title of our podcast, Hollywood Breaks, merely means that everything is breaking in Hollywood, which isn't the whole story. It's also about breaking the norms and new talent breaking in because so much is changing, and that's where the real opportunity lies which brings me to Joseph's Campbell's book and the title of this piece: The Hero with the One Face.

In his book, Joseph Campbell meticulously lays out the case of the hero's journey and how it has applied to cultures across history. Indeed, it is a fascinating read, but today's heroes don't have a thousand faces. They, in fact, only have one usually covered in a mask. What needs to happen is broadening the reach for heroic stories. Break out of the bubble of LA and NY and look for stories outside that immediate sphere. There are rich and uplifting stories throughout the world waiting to be found. We have to start looking. Spiderman isn't going to save us forever (see below.) I started Vision Craft Brew just for this purpose. One of the positives that I believe will come out of the last no good horrible two years is breaking the nexus of entertainment in Hollywood and New York. It may take a couple of years, but it's already starting; look at Austin and Atlanta. Those cities are still just production hubs. We need to move executives and studios there as well. Once we break the stranglehold of those two cities, we will see newer, diverse, and exciting stories popping up. And perhaps, we will no longer need to pitch movies as mixes of previously made movies (Die Hard meets Home Alone, for example) and re-discover the storytelling tradition that has persisted over the last thousands of years.

Some of these changes are easier said than done, but I believe that breaking some of the business as usual of Hollywood will lead to better movies and better content. As newer voices enter the fray, the story process will need to evolve and the executives along with it. As with last week's piece on theaters, these are just a few ideas, but hopefully, they will begin to inspire a long-overdue conversation and revitalize an industry sorely in need of a kick in the ass.

Spidey's Hit and Miss

There is no denying it. Spiderman is a monstrous hit, and kudos to Sony, Marvel, and all those involved for giving a much-needed jolt to a beleaguered business. As Tom Rothman mentioned in his celebratory note to Sony staff: 

"In the face of obviously challenging circumstances, this victory is even more impressive and a great testament to the continued cultural impact that theatrical films deliver. Their power does, and will, endure.”

The obstacles were challenging, but I'm not entirely convinced that this proved that films are still a cultural impact. It does demonstrate that Spiderman still is but theatrical films? Not so much. Guillermo Del Toro's film Nightmare Alley tanked with a $2.8 million opening on a $60+milloin budget (yikes) and West Side Story continued its slide down the charts. This is where I think Spiderman is a miss for the business. Yes, people will still show up for Spiderman movies, but how can that alone sustain an entire industry? Spidey will run out of reinventions at a certain point, and then what? Oh, I know, recast him (or her) for the 30th time and cross your fingers—creativity at its finest. While I'm thrilled that people are talking about going to the movies again, we still must focus on the innovations and new inventions needed to sustain this business in the future. Don't let this success derail the changes that still need to occur.

Pages from the Commonplace Book

This week, back to John Adams. He's just so damn good and still relevant. Below is a quote spoken in the closing argument of the trial of British soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre.

"Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence."

Facts indeed are stubborn things, and we must remember that whatever our wishes or what the trades say, we cannot alter them. Adapt or Die - that must be the industry's model moving forward.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!  

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