Everything old is new again

When I was just a young sprout of a screenwriter, I was told there were seven basic plots--boy meets girl, revenge, etc. I was going to look those up for you, but now there are lists of up to 35!

Oh, well, the fact remains that creativity does not mean originality.

Recently, some filmmakers took on this subject at the Beijing Film Festival.

One producer said it was a triangle--the creator comes up with an original work, a distributor makes sure it reaches an audience, and then the audience's reaction goes back to the creator--I would say that last would be if the film made money, the H'wood people then ask for more from the creator.

Nothing wrong with pre-existing material--books, comics, popular series.

The idea is to find a fresh way to tell an old story. Remember when you first saw Keanu stroll up a wall in THE MATRIX.

Tom Cruise's producing partner Paul Wagner says there are no new ideas--it's how you put old ideas together.

I would also say you can get good results by combining genres. My project is an animated and comedic form of a serious police series.

Even the agency WME told me it was a clever idea.

Check out: http://pawandordermovie.blogspot.com.

What oldie would you like to remodel?