What the Olympics Can Teach You About Writing a Script That Sells

What we’ll cover:

How to write a movie script that 34 million people will love
Why the Olympics is affecting what Hollywood is buying right now

I won’t tell you how inspirational the 2012 Olympics in London were. (Of course they were.)

And how we can take lessons from the courage displayed by the athletes. (Though we can.)

Or try to convince you that the hard work and sacrifice these athletes have made over the last four years – with no guarantee of success – is a perfect metaphor for the act of screenwriting. (It is.)

No, I think it’s important to look at what these 2012 Olympics can tell us about which of your story ideas have THE BEST CHANCE of selling.

And it has everything to do with TV ratings.

“I’ll Buy That for a Dollar”

I’m writing to you from California, where Olympic events go into cryogenic freeze for at least EIGHT HOURS before they are allowed to be seen.

And though this year’s games had everything going against it:

a) social media spoilers;

b) a delayed broadcast that everyone bitched about;

c) declining ratings;

d) a fractured audience.

…this year’s ratings (at least in the U.S.) have been BEYOND anyone’s expectations.

Not just good or better than projected, they have been A-MAZING.

The Olympic games in America averaged 32 million viewers a night. (Those are prime-time numbers network television hasn’t seen since the mid-70s.)

And everybody in Hollywood is desperately trying to figure out the answer to two questions:

Why the f$#@ are ratings so high?

And what kind of movies do we need to make right now to capitalize this? 

“Greed, for Lack of a Better Word, is Good”

There are many theories as to why so many people stayed home to watch the Olympics in viewership numbers not seen since All in the Family was a #1 show.

A blistering heat wave spreading across the U.S.;
A horrible economy forcing people to look for cheap entertainment;
Interesting storylines involving fascinating athletes.

And I think all of that is true.

But I really think it comes to down this:

Life sucks right now. And we need some stories that remind us it won’t suck if we keep fighting.

Recently asked a buddy of mine, who works in the story department of a production company, what they’re looking for right now:

“Family comedies, family adventures, family…anything.”

I don’t think it’s a coincidence when life gets monumentally shitty that we tend to turn towards solid, down-to-earth bedrocks that we can depend on.

And despite the fact that we can use our phone to “connect” to 2,000 of our “closest” friends, I think many of us feel more lonely, disconnected and scared than ever before.

And stories that help us through that, and that are told well, will grab the attention of people.

“Now, Hold on, Mister Potter!”

I’m not suggesting you dumb down the scripts you’re working on, or write something you hate.

If you’re a sports fan, write your own twisted version of Hoosiers or The Blind Side.
 If you’re an action-movie junkie, see if you can write something about more than just cars that turn into robots.
If you’re a comedy scribe, write about the power of love – not just the power of a good fart joke.

Don’t be  so clever, or post-modern. Or hip. (At least not for the time being.)

We don’t need clever right now. We need good stories.

Do that and Hollywood, and the world, will reward you handsomely.

What do ya think? Are positive, uplifting movies coming back in full force? Or is this just an aberration? Leave a comment below!

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