I just saw trailers for five new movies which all fit clear “Save the Cat” subgenres – my favorite tool for developing viable script ideas.   I haven’t seen any of these films yet, as they haven’t been released, but these previews in each case seemed to be selling a very specific type of story which has been done many times successfully in the past – and which happen to fit one of the fifty such types Blake Snyder presented in Save the Cat Goes to the Movies (with five subgenres each for the ten “genres” he presented in the original “Cat” book).  See the “Save the Cat” subgenre chart on the “Cat” website for a handy breakdown of same.

I highly suggest watching these trailers, and checking my work here.  Don’t each of these feel like they fit with their listed predecessors in presenting a very clear kind of emotional story/problem experience for an audience?  And might it help in our own writing to make sure our movie ideas do the same?

Here are the titles, and my take on the subgenre for each (click on the title to see the trailer)…

Tower Heist.  The “Caper Fleece” subgenre of “Golden Fleece” – in which a team of people band together to try to pull off a seemingly impossible (and lucrative) criminal plan, usually against a much worse and more powerful criminal of some type, who clearly has it coming…  See also Oceans Eleven, The Sting and Sneakers.

The Thing.  The “Pure Monster” subgenre of “Monster in the House” – in which our heroes are trapped in an enclosed place with a deadly and terrifying creature they don’t fully understand how to deal with…  See also Alien, Jaws and Jurassic Park.

Moneyball.  The “Sports Fleece” subgenre of “Golden Fleece” – in which a ragtag sports team with no chance at victory attempts to pull off the miraculous – which will have huge personal consequences for all concerned…  See also The Bad News Bears, Rocky and Cool Runnings.

The Odd Life of Timothy Green.  The “Surreal Bottle” subgenre of “Out of the Bottle” – in which magical forces create bizarre challenges and an opportunity for relatable people…that make them wonder, “How and why did this happen?”  See also Field of Dreams, Groundhog Day and Heaven Can Wait.

War Horse.  The “Pet Love” subgenre of “Buddy Love” – in which some huge complication gets in the way of the relationship between a human and an animal – and the main thing the audience is emotionally invested in is the question “Will they end up together?”  See also The Black Stallion, Free Willy and Beethoven.

Note that all these trailers are focused on the presence of a big challenge, problem or mystery that needs to be solved.  This is where I always start in evaluating a movie premise – is there a singular problem the story focuses on which is big, important, time-sensitive, complicated, and hard enough?  (I use the acronym BITCH to remember this.)  Do they develop a goal and plan to resolve things, then face complications along the way, which are compelling, authentic, real and entertaining to watch?  (In other words, will we CARE?)

To my mind, making sure a movie idea fits within one of these specific story types is the most important first step a writer can make to have a solid chance of achieving this.  Though on the surface, these genres might look like a limiting formula, I am continuouslyimpressed by their flexibility – and by the wide array of successful movies that can still be clearly seen to have all the key elements of one of these very specific story types.  I’d even go as far as to say that I’ve yet to find a great movie I’ve loved that does not.

At the same time, I find that the majority of script ideas I come across do not quite fulfill the criteria of any of these genres, although they might have surface elements similar to some of them.  So the first thing I usually do when working with a writer is to help get clear on which type of movie they’re really going for, and focus on making adjustments to ensure that their idea really will fulfill that “type’s” requirements, and thus have a better chance of impressing industry readers, and moving a mass audience.

I’ve begun teaching as an Adjunct Faculty for National University’s online Master of Fine Arts in Professional Screenwriting Program.  I’m currently creating a television writing course, where students will learn about the different series genres, pitch multiple concepts for original shows, and ultimately outline a pilot episode for one of their ideas.  The class is set to debut in January and run for three months (it’s called SCR 684/684P, for those in the program).

I’m also teaching an intro to TV writing course (SCR 665) in December, which I’ve taught twice before.

There’s a great article about the program in Script Magazine.