OC Screenwriters Association

 I’ve seen this headline before: Death of the Story - true? Hyperbole? How about a bit of both.

 There’s no doubt it’s harder to sell a script these days that doesn’t smell like a video game. I’ve heard this recently characterized as your scrpt needs to be “loud” to cut through the noise of all the content hitting audiences. It’s truly a video game world when it comes to recent high-performing movies: “Transformers 1 and 2,”G.I. Joe,” and “District 9" with stories that make about as much sense as any video game or comic book; visually stunning with a dumb-story factor of about 9.5 out of 10.

 But I’m not here to bury Caesar rather to praise him - sorta.

 This industry has always reflected our cultural slants. And hasn’t there always been nonsensical stories around? What about the 80's with all those silly coming-of-age movies? Or the recent past with every television show in history getting the “re-envisioning” treatment? Does anyone think that the 1994's “Forrest Gump” actually made sense? Gump, story-wise, was a pastiche of video clips that grossed $677meg not counting sales and rentals. Silly films have been and will always be around.

 So it’s probably not any worse than it has been, content-wise. What I think is different is that there just isn’t an audience for movies in theaters anymore who want to drive, pay $12.00 for a ticket, $20.00 for snacks, watch a bunch of ads and then another bunch of trailers of movies they won’t see, and finally get to a feature that they can watch at least as effectively at home on their $3k livingroom theater system. Not really an earthshaking observation but more true now than ever.

 That lack of motivated movie goers who would watch the films that are not adrenalin-packed, special effects-laden, testosterone romps is dwindling fast and their demographic isn’t being reflected monetarily anymore in the box office numbers. But guess which film grossed only 80 million in domestic box office (90 million foreign) and had the number one sales and rental figures recently? Nicholas Cage’s “Knowing.” Fairly standard thriller with a linear storyline. Lousy box office, amazing rental and sales figures. People (the older demographic) just don’t need to watch those kinds of films at any theater these days - home works for them. But the story...alive and well.

 Plus, look at television - in case no one noticed, there’s some damned good drama on the tube. “Weeds,” “Rescue Me,” “The Shield,” “House M.D.,” “Heroes” - that’s some freakishly-good, compelling tales being told in a fairly standard way.

 So, story is not dead. People still really like stories. But stories that 15-yr-olds like, the kind that make big box office splashes these days because kids go to see movies 2-3 times, are video-game based and the story is secondary to the visual experience - just like the video games that drive their world. Smart money knows that and they try hard to provide that eye candy to a still-hungry post-pubescent theater audience. The mega-plex in a shopping environment is a place where teenies can go and have some freedom and space while being entertained. Adults don’t hunger for that same sense of independence so going to the movies with friends isn’t quite as important to them - if it ever was.

 If story was dead, then films like “Sideways,” “Juno,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Slumdog Millionaire” wouldn’t do well. But they did. And will continue to do so. If it’s good, people will get out of their homes and it will do great box office. What about the “Bourne” franchise? Well over a billion dollars for the three movies and about as traditional an action paradigm as you can get.

 People will never tire of story because it is the rhythm of our lives. We are born and raised with it - we actually cannot live without it. Yes, there is a slightly new paradigm in the non-linear, barely-logical video game movie but it isn’t killing the story - it’s just changing it for the current demographic. And that demographic will eventually tire of it and grow out of it just like people tired and grew away from 80's coming of age films (now that’s sorta funny when you think of it - they came of age, movie-wise.)

 I think story is still very, very strong. It lives in many forms, including music, ads, blogs, You Tube, television, books and just about any form that needs to make a point though artistic expression. We just need to allow that this new story paradigm - the one currently driving the box office - doesn’t always have to make total sense, or a follow a linear pattern to move or entertain the demographic that is buying that product (and has always bought that product.) Once embraced (and inevitably overdone,) this paradigm too will take its place among the silly, the profane, the funny, the dramatic and all other forms of story-telling currently used.

 Tell your stories. They still have the power to move the world.