There's a moment early in screenwriter Corey Mandell's career that changed everything for him. While still in film school, he sold a pitch to Ridley Scott. The project was called Metropolis, and suddenly Mandell found himself on a plane to London, flying first class for the first time in his life, terrified that Scott would figure out he was just a student who had no idea what he was doing.In their first meeting, Scott asked him a question about his script. "What's it about?"It left the young writer dumbfounded. Listen to Mandell tell the story below, then let's dive into specifics. - YouTube www.youtube.com What's It About?When Scott asked this, Mandell just gave him the plot overview. The director nodded and asked again, "What I mean is, what's it really about? Like, at its core, what's it about?"Mandell didn't know. He spent that night calling everyone he knew in Los Angeles, trying to figure out what Scott was actually asking him. Eventually, someone explained it, and Mandell went back the next day with a real answer. Scott made him refine it, write it down, read it back multiple times, and then circle it."That's what it's about," Scott said. And everything in the story had to connect to that singular idea.No, What's Your Story Really About?Mandell says most screenwriters don't understand this until someone explains it to them—if your story is about more than one thing, it's not about anything.Mandell uses a metaphor to explain this. Imagine you have a friend...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Wednesday, 15 October