Two Power of Excitement Heroes:
Iron Man and Indiana Jones

July’s Notes from the Writers Room looks at Iron Man and how the Super Hero Origin Fiilm uses universal story beats that apply to any character-driven film.  I’ll also look at the biggest misstep in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  Both films feature Power of Excitement characters.  One film feels fresh and clever; the other feels tired.

In developing online (or any other) creative content, the rule to keep in mind is:

Only the Audience Can Create a Hit

In writers rooms from London to Los Angeles and Moscow to Melbourne (and anywhere in between), we begin to believe our stories are about us.  That is indeed true, but only to an extent. 

What we often neglect to fully appreciate (or willfully ignore) is that if our stories don’t resonate with our audience, there will be no audience. When a film, television show or online program is ahead of the audience, behind the audience or out-of-sync with the audience, it fails commercially.

Just exactly how do we make sure the audience is satisfied?

Notes from the Writers Room

Quarterlife:
Lacking Authenticity and Urgency
By Laurie H. Hutzler

Authenticity and urgency are the twin subjects of this month’s Notes from the Writers Room.  I’ll be looking at Quarterlife, the web series created by Marshall Herskovitz and Edward Zwick, the creators of Thirtysomething and Once and Again and producers of My So-Called Life.  

Why did their much-hyped web series fail to make a successful transition to broadcast television?