To Copy or Not to Copy Part 2

As I mentioned in an earlier post...there doesn't seem to be a formula out there for how to make a HUGE movie. If you look at the top five movies of all time...Titanic, The Dark Knight, Star Wars, Shrek 2, and E.T. they don't have a lot in common. In fact I can only think of two major things they have in common.

The first thing they have in common is they are character driven movies. That is they are movies with characters that we care about. I know that doesn't seem profound but most movies I go to today are special effects driven or gag or gross out humor driven or just a bunch of pretty people doing pretty people things. When you make a movie with great characters it attracts people.

The second thing that I think all of these movies have in common is risk. Today movies seem to be based off formulas. You find a formula and you stick with it. You have the romantic comedy, the action movie, the grown men acting like teenagers staring Will Ferrell movie etc. To make a truly great movie it involves the risk of breaking the formula. This is why sequels rarely work. When you start making a sequel all the sudden you starting to fall into the formula and it is hard to compete with the original that was so great.

Titanic was a huge risk. It was really expensive to make, it was 3 hours long, and it was about a story that we all know how it is going to end...the boat sinks. But James Cameron took a familiar story and threw in a love story and killer special affects. There is no way anyone in Hollywood knew that movie was going to be as big as it was. It didn't fit any formula.

Star Wars was totally unlike anything else at the time. It was a HUGE risk. In fact George Lucas didn't know if he was ever going to be able to make the sequels. Today we don't think about what a risk Star Wars was at the time but back in the late 70's it was a crazy risk.

The Shrek series was a risk. The movie didn't star a cute cuddly character...it starred an ogre. To top it all off it made fun of Disney and fairy tale movies and it was PG. Now all cartoons push the envelope a little to make sure they are PG, but not before Shrek.

E.T. was a big risk. Aliens were portrayed as evil creatures who took over the earth until Steven Spielberg made them kinda cute creatures that like Reese's Pieces.

I know this is long so for those of you still reading here is the pay off. I think we can all learn a lesson from these great movies and that is take a risk. Today most movies will follow the formula and try to copy what was successful. The Matrix led to action movies slowing down fight scenes where everyone wears leather, but the first movie was a risk that everyone tried to copy. Why? Because it's easy and safe. It is almost guaranteed that if you follow a formula you won't have to suffer defeat. There is nothing wrong with building on the success of others, but there is something energizing about taking a risk and seeing what happens.

I'm afraid of failure, but every time I take a risk it is worth it. I either learn what not to do or the risk pays off. Either way I'm learning and life is exciting. I think too many people are unhappy with their life because they are simply going through the motions and following the formula. Break the mold and do something that is a risk. You may fail, but you can learn something from failing. It's got to be better than sticking with the formula and watching your life pass you by.