10 Archetypal Film Stories That Sell: Part 2

“The ten genres that Blake Snyder identified in the 'Save the Cat' books . . . . These are my single favorite tool for screenwriters, and I strongly recommend writers know these types, and seek to write squarely within one of them.” Erik Bork, Screenwriter “Band of Brothers.”

As we noted in Part 1, as far as the studios are concerned, they seem to have dropped the word "original" from their vocabulary. You can plainly see by the numbers of prequels, sequels, remakes, reboots, novel and comic book adaptations, that studio films are risk-averse.

For those who still want to try selling a screenplay to the studios (and have a good shot at independent sales, too), here are the next two sub-genres, of archetypal film stories identified in Snyder’s book Save the Cat.

According to research by Bork, the trend since 2012 has been that the studios are only buying original spec scripts in these (and Snyder's other 8) genres;

3. Superhero

This archetypal storyline does not always involve a man in tights saving the world from evil forces. As Snyder explains, these stories generally start out with an everyman sort of hero who fights against overwhelming odds against a villain with seemingly absolute powers.

Let’s look at Erin Brockovich. Brockovich (Julia Roberts) is the everyman’s lawyer, or rather the everywoman’s lawyer. She is kind of a gum-chewing plainspoken blonde bombshell who dressed and acts the part.

She's basically broke when she begs Ed Masry (Albert Finney) for a job as a glorified secretary at his law firm.  Against his better judgment, he hires her.

At the firm, Brockovich stumbles across some records while examining real estate files that point to a cover up by Pacific Gas and Electric (PG &E) of contaminated water which has been causing various cancers and birth defects among the locals living in Hinkley, CA.

She convinces Masry to help her sue the arrogant and formidable corporate force that is PG&E. The class action lawsuit is especially hard on Brockovich, a single mom juggling work with motherhood, but the two manage to prevail in court on behalf the Hinkley victims.

Thanks to Brockovich’s rapport with the locals and Masry’s legal acumen, they manage to win a fortune in damages for the desperate and ailing victims of PG&E’s negligence and cover up.

So, the commonality in these films is that we start with an everyman hero, who goes up against what appears to be an unassailable opponent. 

To give you an idea of the range of stories this niche encompasses, consider the following films:

Raging Bull, The Chronicles of Narnia, Batman, X-Men, The Jungle Book, The Passion of the Christ, and Schindler’s List.

4.The Golden Fleece

Snyder wrote that there was always a journey of growth and discovery for the characters that go on the quest in this story archetype.

Consider Saving Private Ryan; it is decided by the military brass that since Private Ryan’s two brothers have already given their lives fighting for their country, their mother has suffered enough.

Captain Miller (Tom Hanks) is charged with the task of finding Private Ryan and returning him safely to the States. Miller thus embarks on a journey of mercy, through the battlefields that take their toll on the men under his command.

We learn through his actions that Captain Miller is honorable, courageous, and merciful to a fault.

Miller does his best to protect the soldiers under his command, but loses a few while searching for Ryan. When what’s left of the group finally finds Ryan, he doesn’t want to go home without finishing out his current battle. Miller’s soldiers feel Ryan is ungrateful for all they’ve sacrificed on their journey.

Captain Miller, however, sees things differently; he understands and admires Ryan’s loyalty to his fellow soldiers. Miller convinces his men to stay and take a stand against the Nazi’s. They do and they prevail.

In a cruel twist, Captain Miller dies in the process. With his last breath he tells Ryan, “Earn it,” a message Ryan carries with him the rest of his life.

After Ryan is safely returned to his mother and a normal life in the states, Miller’s mission is accomplished. In a tag, we see Ryan decades later in a Veteran’s cemetery placing flowers on Captain Miller’s grave.

These stories feature a hero who embarks on a harrowing journey (often with others), with the added motivation of "collecting a treasure," and returning home.  They are changed in the process.

 Among the variations that still fit into this niche are:

Ocean’s Eleven, Easy Rider, Thelma and Louise, Oh Brother Where Art Thou? The Lord of the Rings, and Maria Full of Grace.

You will need to come up with lots of your own original characters, story-lines, subplots and plot twists, but these 10 sub-genres will guide you in a more commercial direction, and increase your odds of selling an original screenplay. 

So far, we've discussed Out of the Bottle, Monster in the House, and now Superhero and The Golden Fleece.  Next time, in Part 3 we'll discuss Institutionalized, and The Fool Triumphant.

This article was originally published here and is used with the permission of the author.

David Silverman, LMFT, treats anxiety and depression, especially in highly sensitive individuals in his LA practice. Having experienced the rejection, stress, creative blocks, paralyzing perfectionism, and career reversals over a 25 year career as a Film/TV writer, he’s uniquely suited to work with gifted, creative, and sensitive clients experiencing anxiety, depression, and addiction. David received training at Stanford and Antioch, is fully EMDR certified, and works with programs treating Victims of Crime and Problem Gamblers. Visit www.DavidSilvermanLMFT.com.