Sunday Picture Post 22 / Murder Makes the Genre
photo: Elif [Sanem] Karakoç
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For The Sunday Picture Post, we are going to flip upside-down the saying: “A picture is worth a thousand words.” Thousands of words are great if you are writing a novel, but if you are writing a screenplay, you need to do the opposite and be as concise as possible.
Each Sunday I will post a picture. For your screenwriting practice in brevity, in the comments section, please post one or all of the following:
- A title for this movie
- 1 word describing the theme, mood, or scene
- 1 sentence to describe the scene
- A pitch to sell the entire movie
The more colorful and creative you are, the better! Use any genre.
A good screenwriter is laconic, using a few words to say a lot.
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SCREENWRITING TIP OF THE DAY: MURDER MAKES THE GENRE
How do you write a murder scene?
Some movies revolve around a murder mystery and you never actually see the murder.
Some movies have murder in every single scene.
How you choose to write your murder scene will make the difference of what genre your movie becomes.
Horror has lots of blood, lots of killing, usually, on camera.
Sci-fi may have murder in it, but nobody really cares about aliens, so it is ok if their guts splatter everywhere. Heck, we’ll even call it PG.
Drama may have a missing child who has been murdered, and the story is about how the family deals with it. In drama, often is the case that we never see the murder.
Suspense thriller movies usually involve someone who may be murdered, but they are alive through the majority of the movie. Usually someone will die by the end of this movie, either the predator or the victim.
Detective movie will have an authority figure looking for the killer. We usually see an artistic version of the murder at some point and the film is filled with lots of clues.
Paranormal movies may show murder or instill the fear of murder with ghosts, psychic activity, or mysterious unexplainable happenings.
Disaster movies may have lots of people dying, yet nature is the killer.
War movies are generally pretty bloody and have lots of murder.
Comedy will have jokes written around every event, so if people get murdered, it’s ok, as long as you are laughing.
Straight twisted movies leave you wondering how you ought to feel; you are entertained by weird characters, jokes, bizarre behavior, and unexpected scenes.
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5 Responses to “Sunday Picture Post 22 / Murder Makes the Genre”
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Hey, is this the same woman that was smoking the cig in bed? If so I wonder if the cig was before or after. Hmm.
Title: The Mousakka Murders
Marina, a cook from Greece, comes to the US with her family. She works her way up to a high ranking chef position in a posh restaurant. The movie is a suspense thriller centered around a serial killer that kills expensive patrons and restaurant owners. Police are stumped and getting increasingly frantic. Something to do with the Greek underground. And it is Marina, the serial killer who alludes them all.
Marina is well known for her sauce…
Kind of like the Eyes of Laura Mars except with restaurants. We never would suspect Tommy Lee Jones. What a great ending.
You know Jaden, I am going to have to start saving these posts in a file. Maybe I’ll use one of these ideas for a screenplay.
Lustville
Suspense, Murder/Mystery
The mysterious hooker wipes her lips after eating her client to death.
In a small rural community, where men have a problem controlling their sexual desires, a mysterious hooker hunts down her clients at night, leaving them with more than what they paid for…death. The local sheriff must solve the murders before the mysterious hooker finds her next victim: the sheriff himself.
Jaden, wow, the picture is worth a thousand words. It sends your mind racing with theories. The veins popping on her forehead, the makeup erased from one one eye, the blood on only one fingernail, wow, so many things to take in and it send your heart racing as you’re thinking ahead. I think my favorites are suspense and detective, although I also love quirky, offbeat characters. Thanks for the adrenalin rush, just what I needed to beat the afternoon slump!
EllenW — Re: the image: It is a new woman, new photographer, and the cig was before. *wink* …Laughing re: Marina’s “sauce.” Fantastic! Yes, always save your ideas for future potential projects. The Sunday Picture Post ideas that I post on this site are usually ideas I like a lot, but would not take the time to write out in full. My most precious ideas, I of course keep to myself, just to be safe.
SizzlyP — Sounds like a combo of the real serial killers Aileen Wuornos and Jeffrey Dahmer. Icky, icky, people would probably love it.
KarenSwim — I like your eloquent description of the photo, especially because I see it differently. Glad I could give you a little jolt.
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OK, HERE IS MINE:
title: I Will Kill You
word: revenge
scene: After being smacked by her mother’s boyfriend, 13-year old Tracy licks the blood from her nose and smears it across her face. Something has changed in her. “I will kill you,” she says, then walks out of the room.
pitch: Revenge is bloody sweet when Tracy grows up and seduces the man who killed her puppy.
Man, don’t scare me like that.
Do you think someone will steal my idea? They can’t write it like I can!
I like the revenge theme. I’ve been reading some revenge renaissance plays. hmmm.