Writing for the Green Light

by Scott Kirkpatrick

  The world the film takes place in is quickly defined. The bad guys have the upper hand early on. The good guys respond by initiating a status quo first move (conventional police or military action), but the situation is much too delicate and the first approach fails. They need something different, something unexpected and unique… . They must call upon our hero and commission his talents for the job.

  As with all of our gold-mine genre types, there are some rules you must follow to effectively pull this one off:

  Our hero doesn’t want to be in the movie. What I mean is that when we are first introduced to our hero, he has moved on from his life in the CIA, Special Forces, or whatever mysterious background he might have, and just wants to be left alone (similar to Stallone in Rambo (2008) where he’s isolated himself in Thailand, or Mark Wahlberg in Shooter (2007)). He’s seen too much, lost too many friends, or perhaps he’s lost faith and turned his back on the ideals for which he was previously fighting. If he’s an everyday-man hero, then he’s struggled with personal matters and just wants to focus on his work and his family. His past must remain in the shadows, but we can see a glimpse of it here or there, usually in the scene where he’s being sought after for the help. “We know what happened in Somalia, but we have no one else we can go to …” The biggest leap you’ll need to make is in figuring out how to get this aged hero off the couch and back in the saddle. Here are a few reasons to help cure the writer’s block:Family—An old enemy of our hero has kidnapped his daughter (or grand-daughter … or some other family member) to seek revenge, or to purposely get our hero in a face-to-face situation.

  Revenge—Turns out an arch nemesis, “the one that got away,” is now the culprit behind the current hijinks… . Rather than see this scumbag get away with it, our hero will take the risk.

  America—Let’s be honest, the United States is a very conservative country and many an action fan loves a hero who’s willing to risk it all for the better ideals of the good ol’ U.S. of A.

  Woman and Children—If an evildoer is causing harm to a group of adult males elsewhere, it’s easy to dismiss… . But if this menace is purposely targeting women and children, it will send a hero like ours off the deep end (he could have some past demon haunting him, this mission might help put that bad memory to rest).

  Freedom—Just as in Escape from New York, our hero (or anti-hero, in this case) is entering prison but will be granted immunity if he can safely get the president out of harm’s way and complete the objective. He doesn’t care about the who or the why, he cares about himself… . But offers a wink of humility at the very end.

  The second major hurdle your hero (and your script) must endure is the double cross portion of the film. Your hero must learn that the objective they’re undertaking has some additional element or that they’ve been somehow misled into accepting the mission (or discover an element that puts them, or their family, at risk that was never previously explained). In Shooter, Mark Wahlberg realizes he’s been set up to be the fall-guy. In Escape From New York, Kurt Russell learns that two small explosives have been placed into his arteries that will burst in twenty-four hours if he attempts escape. You can play these events in a variety of ways, but it’s important to have some kind of double cross to separate your hero from the establishment who hired him, confirming his status as a maverick… . That always puts him more into a position of going after the mission in his own way and on his own terms (which allows for a nice transition into Act III).

  Our hero and our bad guy(s) have more in common than either would like to admit. And for you as the writer, you must also realize that these characters are completely related in terms of storytelling techniques. Consider the Star Wars saga: There is one unifying “Force,” however some parties chose the good side while others chose the dark side. Perhaps our hero and his nemesis were both highly trained operatives for their individual countries, so in many ways they have a great deal in common… . While their loyalty toward their nations makes them enemies, their training allows them each to know the other’s strengths and weaknesses. Your bad guy will define traits in your hero (and vice versa). This is not a yin and yang concept, where every attribute is a polar opposite… . In reality, they’re very similar, only our hero is utilizing his skills to fight for the needs of others, while our bad guy is using others to serve himself. Our hero can do bad things, but he will change his ways for the better, our bad guy is incapable of change and will forever be evil.

  Our hero must always be outnumbered yet always manages to cleverly get out alive. Remember, he has a mysterious past, training, and experiences that no one outside of him possess. This puts him in a unique situation when it comes to fighting (whether gunplay or hand-to-hand). Use these skills, make the stakes impossible and allow your hero a clever way out. What’s most important is that you provide logical and grounded reason why he has these abilities. (On the character of the everyday hero, it’s not out of the question to make this character a former criminal or hoodlum, who’s now gone straight… . The events that have been thrust upon him require a few tricks and traits from his old ways, but all are acceptable because now he’s using them for good.)

  Your hero isn’t a sexual being, at least not while on duty. He has a mission and won’t be deterred by sins of the flesh. If he’s a recovering alcoholic, his mission gives him strength to resist. If he has a sexy partner, they don’t engage in the deed on screen (perhaps she makes a move and he pushes her away). The bad guys, on the other hand, are very much influenced by sins of the flesh (because they put the needs of themselves before others). They are the ones likely to have meetings in strip clubs or alongside prostitutes.

  The bargain. After your hero agrees to take on the mission, then later learns he has in some way been misled about the objective, he goes rogue. Maverick moves are made and the objective is complete. But at the tail end of the movie, especially for an anti-hero character, there is a bargain he must secure from the forces whom have employed him. For Kurt Russell, the explosives in his neck are neutralized and he’s not put into prison. For Rambo (in the 2008 version), he is granted emotional freedom and returns to the United States. Perhaps your character’s record is being expunged, or he’s granted immunity for his deeds, he’s again offered a position on the force… . Whatever the scenario, he only accepts in his own way, or just wants the offer made so that he can reject it.

  Obviously we have some constraints regarding budget, but these films will usually have a bit more cash allocated to them than, say, a tween romance or Christmas dog adventure. However, that’s not to say we can start crashing helicopters or blowing up stadiums. What we need instead is a very specialized world of more covert-style action. Characters follow one another on a city street, then have the big fight in an isolated warehouse or alleyway. Shoot-outs will certainly take place, but they work better if located in interiors where elements can be broken down and controlled during production. Blood, guts, and gunplay are absolutely welcomed, as are some witty one-liners. I won’t go into any regulations on location—if you feel your story works best in East Asia or deep in the jungle, I’d say go for it… . But you need to limit the scope (and make sure the content is accessible to viewers). You cannot have major action taking place on the streets of Hanoi, but you can have it taking place in a lush jungle or forested area. (Just cut the helicopters and make them jeeps.) If you want to keep things close to home, and use a drug cartel as the opposing element, then have the bulk of the film take place in the desert.

  When writing or visualizing this genre type, remember that if the film is ever produced, it will most likely be presold, so make sure you can easily picture your hero on the cover of a poster, gun in hand, somehow taking on more than he can chew. Presell the story to yourself first… . Does it offer a high level of interesting action, a character an aged name-actor would be interested in playing, while offering audiences enough bang for their buck that it won’t put a producer at financial risk?

  Have fun with the t
itle, keep it simple and focused, but consider the imagery the Chuck Norris titles placed in your head… . It was easy to see a muscled badass toting a machine gun while saving the day. When in doubt, go for visual, descriptive and “sudden impact” extremes (e.g., Kill Shot, Maximum Force, In the Crosshairs).

  This is the only gold-mine genre that we will permit as an R-rated film, but keep the language to a minimum. We’re not here to set a record with f-bombs, instead keep the R rating potentially related only to violence or light sexual situations. The occasional f-word here or there is fine, but limit them to no more than five to ten throughout the whole script.

  The important component is to keep the stakes high, create a logical reason as to why your hero is the only possible person to handle the job, and take us on a journey that adult male truck drivers and cubicle workers can picture themselves in to escape for a little while. Keep asking yourself the “What if?” questions and get to work.

  To see real examples of these aged name-actor comeback action films, check out Blood of Redemption (2013) featuring Dolph Lundgren, 6 Bullets (2012) with Jean Claude Van Damme, or Puncture Wounds (2014), starring Cung Lee… . If you want to see this gold-mine genre with a female twist, have a look at Border Run (2012) with Sharon Stone.

  Gold-Mine Genre Type #6: The Young Boy’s Action/Adventure Film

  This genre type is sort of the male version of the family-safe tween romance (and the family/kid-friendly version of the aged name-actor comeback action film); in a similar way, it too fills a much-needed family/tween demand many channels and VOD outlets have, meaning agents, producers, and development executives are always very ecstatic to come across these gems to fill the supply line.

  Young boys (ages seven to eleven) are a very imaginative and active bunch. And it’s not just sports they’re interested in playing—they go off into the woods and invent all kinds of creative scenarios. Whether they’re pretending to be top-secret spies, detectives, war heroes, or are searching the neighborhoods high and wide for buried treasure, boys are always up to something… . And it usually involves a great deal of mud.

  The best combo for these films is a group of three friends. It works if all three are boys, but it can also work as two boys and one girl (for me, coed is always best). A gem of an addition is a dog or an animal, though this is not advisable if the film involves a lot of movement, action, and so on (since having a dog on site during all those production days would be very difficult). However you want to structure this trio is purely up to you, so just see what feels right as you start toying around with ideas. The only rule is the hero must be a boy.

  The problem for readers and development executives is that most of the spec scripts claiming to be young boy’s action/adventure films are more in the vein of coming-of-age stories—a wannabe move. Occasionally, a few of these come along and do excellent, but they’re few and far between. The Writing for the Green Light move is to draft a spec script catered to the needs of Hollywood, which means designing a film that will attract the interest and imagination of a young boy while gaining his parent/guardian’s approval.

  Regarding budget constraints, there are three storylines that that work best—and guarantee the strongest placement on TV and home entertainment venues here in the United States and worldwide. I’m giving examples, but there are a multitude of directions you can take these storylines. The real goal, as with the family-safe tween romance, is to take yourself back to this age in your life and really think about the fantastic ideas you had, and roll with them! What adventures did you get into during those long summers? Did your neighborhood have a creepy old house you were dared to sneak into? Ever have to spend a long summer at camp or with relatives in a different state? What fantasies did you imagine where you played the hero? This is your time to live them out:

  Top Secret Spy Adventure—Spies are cool, and most young boys wish they could be one (perhaps that’s actually a secret most men never fully shake off even in adulthood). If you want proof on the validity of this genre, check out the hugely successful Robert Rodriguez departure of Spy Kids (2001) and its many spin-offs. Imagine a fifth-grade boy, perhaps not the most popular kid in school, who’s somehow swept up into a large-scale spy adventure… . Brilliant. He can’t tell anyone, not even his parents, but the CIA or some other organization needs his help. Whatever the reason (and it has to be a family-safe one), our hero has witnessed something and the CIA/FBI are forced to utilize him—either he’s related to the bad guys, has some unique trait or skill that grants him access where CIA/FBI technology cannot reach, etc… . After all, who would suspect a kid? Eventually he must confide in a few close friends in order to accomplish the objective(s) (which are safe ones, but ones that put our hero into some precarious situations). Obviously we’re in a zone where there’s no gunplay or explosions, but plenty of following, sneaking, and walkie-talkie action (with close calls of being caught). The stakes are very high, and some very important organizations are fully depending on our hero to accomplish his objectives—and he’s only able to do so with the help of his friends. In the end, all is secured. Imagine a conclusion where all order is restored and our kids go back to school. They’re still not the most popular and no one would ever believe their story… . That is until a very special visitor arrives: Picture something ridiculous like the president of the United States pulling up to your school in a limo, entering your math or science class, and shaking your hand, giving you public recognition and bragging rights of a job well done. That’s the kind of stuff a young boy would be ecstatic for, and those are the kinds of scenarios you can live out here.

  Crime Stoppers—This version is much more open-ended and can cover a great deal of plot lines. (Ideally, this is the plot where a dog or an animal sidekick works best.) Essentially, a series of local crimes are taking place (someone is stealing equipment from the school, someone is taking very specific objects from houses or shops in the neighborhood, that sort of thing). The police are baffled and so are the residents. That is until our hero, his friends, and their trusty sidekick (if an animal is used) come to the rescue. Usually what happens is that one of the characters has the crime directly affect them (or their parents, grandparent, etc.). After the police have left, they do some investigating of their own. They find a clue the police missed. They try to do the right thing and turn it in, but the police give them a “Thanks, we’ll take it from here,” and dismiss the significance of their discovery. But the kids decide to go at it alone. The plot really takes off when the kids realize it’s someone they know (an adult) who’s guilty of the crimes, someone the police and their parents are overlooking—and of course, no one will believe our young heroes. If you use an animal here, make it really fun and interactive (the dog has a great nose and links this adult to the crimes, or a puzzle-solving chimp whom the kids refer to as “Detective Banks” when in a jam, puts the pieces together and finds an identity of the crook). In the end, the kids are able to solve the crime; they accuse the wrongdoer, and just as the wrongdoer is about to inflict harm or threaten our heroes, the real police come in and save the day. That first “Thanks, but no thanks” cop reaches down to apologize and admits that he later followed up on the lead and realized the kids were onto something, so he had been following them just to make sure they were safe. Alternatively, if we’re following a group of wrongdoers, one of them is in fact an undercover police officer. In the end, crime does not pay, and our heroes are given all the credit they rightfully deserve.

  Treasure Hunters—By far, The Goonies (1985) is the classic version of this tale, but I’ve seen it at much smaller levels too. Essentially, a young group of boys (or a small coed team) witness their parents in some kind of financial hardship. Unable to help, they go kicking around town until they decide to investigate the local legend of a buried treasure. Whether by doing some research at the library, or stumbling around old attics, they find a map or other clues and begin their journey. But, as fate would have it (i.e., good plot structure) it just so h
appens a couple of thieves are after the same goods. Our young heroes must get to the treasure first and defend it from the bad guys. In the end, of course, the young kids save the day—but their parents’ recognition (and helping out their family when they’re in need) is the real climax. The treasure doesn’t always need to be a legit buried treasure either… . The kids could have a chimp friend who just happens to be amazingly talented at surfing, so the kids cleverly sneak the chimp into a surf competition in order to beat out the snotty prep-school kids and win prize money for their parents.

  The most important thing to remember when writing a young boy’s action/adventure film is to simply have fun. You can have the film center around a downhill go-cart race, secret passages from the sewers, or any other childhood daydreams. Take the crime stoppers character of “Detective Banks” (a chimp character I invented for example purposes only). The phone rings, Detective Banks (a chimp) answers, on the other line is our bad guy, who starts asking questions not realizing Det. Banks is a chimp! “What can I give you to call this whole thing off, Detective?” Our chimp puts his lips together and makes a fart sound. The bad guy gets angry and loses his cool, “Detective Banks” just laughs or makes other potty sounds. (Potty humor obviously goes over great with this crowd, bad guys getting knocked over in port-o-potties, or their skin getting dyed blue with toilet bowl cleaner, etc.) The more fun, the more goofy (and the more dumb/easily tricked the bad guys are), the better.

  But as with all our gold-mine genres, here are the ground rules:

  No guns. Drop the shoot-‘em-up concepts and focus on the storyline. If you need violence, then keep it slapsticky. Think Home Alone (1991) levels of violence. A good hit to the balls or knock to the head is much more effective in this group than a gunshot. Only our police or military personnel are allowed to have guns, in that it’s part of their uniform.