Open Forum question from Itstartedwithawindmill (Scott) via email:
As a relatively new screenwriter, it is difficult for me to come up with a list of movies (& scripts) to help with the writing process. For example, I have a Fugitive-ish script that needs a little inspiration. Where can I go other than bugging people with more knowledge?
Just to get you started, The Fugitive is an example of a chase movie story type, a sub-genre in the area of action movies. So if you’re not all that familiar with this type of story in film history – how chase stories have been treated – it would be wise to school yourself.
This search might be tricky because if you Google “best chase movies,” the lists that come up first are about famous cinematic car chase scenes. So a few titles off the top of my head to help get you started:
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance KidA Perfect World
The Defiant Ones
Midnight Run
I’m sure GITS readers will add several to that list.
The point in doing this type of research is not to copy these movies, but to see how they work structurally. How do these movies build and sustain tension, build and sustain pace? The best way to do this is to watch each movie and create a scene-by-scene breakdown, making special note of the major plot points. You can go here to see an example of such a breakdown.
Another key dynamic of chase movies is that you invariably have a built-in separation between the characters doing the tracking and the characters on the run – otherwise there’s no chase. So a tricky issue is how to build conflict between the two sides / sets of characters when they’re separated by geography and time? You can have direct communication between them (telephone calls, text messages), a trail of clues left by the fugitive for the tracker, and eyewitness / video accounts of the fugitive, and so on – and these can be used to frustrate the tracker, but also bring them closer to catching the one being chased.
One final thought before I close and let GITS readers weigh in — the ending of a chase type movie almost invariably involves either the fugitive getting away (or in the case of The Fugitive, proving his innocence) or getting caught by the tracker. And obviously, you could have that happen right off the bat – but then you wouldn’t have a movie, would you? So in reality what you are doing in constructing a plot is creating a set of circumstances and events that keep the tracker and the fugitive apart – complications, roadblocks, reversals that allow the fugitive to stay on the loose for 90+ pages and in a way that doesn’t feel contrived. Again a good reason to watch successful chase movies and break down how their plots work.
Here’s a trailer from a great chase movie Thelma & Louise:
Notice the transformation of both the Thelma and Louise characters, another dynamic which may be present in your story.
GITS readers, what’s your advice?
UPDATE: Jeff, posted this in comments:
Oh Itstartedwithawindmill! Have I got a resource for you!!! (and all of us, I guess)http://www.jinni.com/
Just go. You’ll see!
Holy crap, Jeff is so right! I went there, typed in “chase,” and it brought up over 1,600 movies! Here is the direct link to the site.
There's also the option of a switch, after mid-point the tracker becomes the fugitive and vice versa…
Oh Itstartedwithawindmill! Have I got a resource for you!!! (and all of us, I guess)
http://www.jinni.com/
Just go. You'll see!
"Set It Off" is another great Thelma and Louise type story that feature great performances from Queen Latifah, Jada Pinkett and Vivica A. Fox.
This type of question is why I always recommend film theory books. They actually use films from throughout the history of Hollywood so you will definitely be surprised that a movie in 1935 can be like yours.
Scorsese believes that.
In terms of the depth and breadth I'd definitely recommend A Perfect World.
Smokey and the Bandit–classic case.
Cannonball Run–reverse chase, chasing a prize.
Corvette Summer–Mark Hamil flick–Chasing his car, chasing his dream.
You can throw "Duel" and "Death Proof" into the mix to.
Great chase scene in The French Connection to.:)
Man that's a great and really innovative site.
305, don't get me started on Death Proof. It's the new bar which all car chases in film will be compared to, I would think, like Bullitt and The French Connection so many years back.
Tarantino outdid himself with the last reel of that movie. People have various gripes with that film but I have yet to hear anyone say that the final car chase was "lacking."
I'd also add 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' in to the chase mix — that desert chase scene is one of the all time greats.
My script has been half finished for over a year. It was pitched a couple times lately with positive responses, so it’s time to get back to it. Jeff, the search website is great:
http://www.jinni.com/
Christian H, how about back to 1939 to Stagecoach? Love that one despite a bias against John Wayne (& Sinatra) that comes from living with a WWII veteran grandfather.
305Writer, it sounds like we might share a love of internal combustion?! How about Dirty Mary Crazy Larry (1974)? Haven’t seen that one for much too long. The Cannonball Run is another that needs to be seen just for the actors. It’s tempting to give a script a 1970’s car chase feel rather than the current trend toward street racing and drifting. Death Proof was a great example of that.
It’s tough to think about drifting too far into the car chase thing, because it may drive the budget past what I’m shooting for. My last two scripts were low budget stuff meant to be shot in Michigan. Maybe it’s time to abandon the close eye to budget and even Michigan as the location.