Pitching a Winning Script

Disclaimer: This blog post might be considered a time waster. 

Chances are it will distract you from something else
you really should be doing right now. But It's fun. 

Which in my mind isn't a time waster at all. 

If you have the time to waste, that is.

I watched a documentary about the movie Die Hard.

This movie went against the grain of the accepted action film genre by, among other things, casting a “regular” guy (Bruce Willis) as opposed to a typical action star of the day, such as Schwarzenegger or Stallone.

As a highly successful gamechanger, Die Hard became a reference in a slew of story pitches that flowed into the movie studios. Some were made:

• Speed (Die Hard on a bus)
• Air Force One (Die Hard on a plane)
• Under Siege (Die Hard on a boat)
• Masterminds (Die Hard in a school)
• Sudden Death (Die Hard in a hockey arena)

So, if the way to get a movie script sold is to reference successful movies, do you think any of these  pitches could sell? 

It's Raiders of the Lost Ark meets Pinocchio with a bit of Independence Day thrown in: 

An adventurous archaeologist goes to school but is led astray by a cat and a fox and joins a last ditch mission to destroy the alien mothership and save the planet.

 

It's Edward Scissorshands meets Excalibur with a bit of King Kong thrown in:

A young man with scissors for hands becomes the rightful king of England and is later carried to the top of the empire state building for a final showdown against some bi-planes.

 

It's Goodfellas meets 2001: A Space Odyssey with a bit of The Good Bad and the Ugly thrown in:

A young Italian American has to stop his ship's computer from trying to kill him and makes an alliance with his rival to find the buried treasure.

 

It's Jurassic Park meets Fight Club with a bit of Shrek thrown in: 

A paleontologist in a hat starts an underground fighting club with a friend and falls in love with the princess he was sent to rescue.

 

It's Mary Poppins meets Cinderella with a bit of Big Trouble In Little China thrown in:

A magical nanny is barred from going to the ball by her cruel stepmother and fights off some martial arts god-types.

 

It's fun to play with the Random Story Generator. 

 

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.NOTE: A few years ago, Willis addressed the conjecture over Die Hard being a Christmas movie (Warning: rough language)