I was in the middle of writing a lengthy post that busts one of the biggest myths of screenwriting and, if you were to follow my advice, would improve the quality of your current screenplay by exactly 243%.
But it’ll have to wait.
I might be behind the curve on this one. I usually am. But it’s too good not to share. Point your peepers at J.J. Abrams’s break-neck presentation in which he wields a personally-meaningful yet universally understandable metaphor to explain the power of story to engage us.
Also, he tells us what the island is.
Tip of the hat to Plot Point Zero, who got there first.
UPDATE:
Yeah. Okay. Abrams’s TED talk is old news. I get it. Sorry. Here’s something fresher and rarer, from a living literary Titan.
And it kinda jives with what Abrams was saying. Surprise is everything.
(Wait for the pompous windbag to stop talking, then listen to your Uncle Ray)
Yeah you’re kind of behind the curve, David. :P
It’s a pretty old presentation (was filmed almost a couple years ago). Also, he doesn’t tell us what the island is. Not sure what you meant there.
It’s a video I find mentioned in the scribosphere every now and then by someone, though, so no problem. And yeah, it’s a really cool presentation. Thanks for sharing. :)
he did? he basically said the island was his unopened mystery box which is really saying nothing
It is a pretty cool talk, I saw it some time ago but it was good to watch again.
I should add that Malcolm Gladwell’s TEDTALK on spaghetti sauce should be a must-see for any and everyone in the movie biz, too.
Embedding an apology video…now.
Moviequill, I was being a bit facetious. But considering Abrams’s talk, I wouldn’t say that saying the Island is a mystery box is nothing.
Joshua James, thanks for the tip, I’ll check it out. But I won’t post it here. Nope. Much too old to post here. We serve up only the freshest videos.