Soft Place to Fall

[singsalsing]

Okay, here goes. Comments please

Genre - Romantic Drama

A shy actor overwhelmed by the intrusion of Celebrity seeks anonymity in the arms of an older woman.

[napolyphonic]

As it stands, it sounds a little cliche...and boring. Is this a spark of an idea, or have you actually outlined this thing?

-G

[atb]

I like how the concept relates to today's Hollywood environment. The fascination with celebrity, today, is so far spread that this concept can appeal to a vast majority of people.

However, I agree with napolyphonic. It needs some more work. I think what you've got is a start, but it needs a middle and an end... even in a logline. Give us a setup, some meat, and a strong finish.


Maybe --- A shy actor overwhelmed by the intrusion of Celebrity seeks escape in a seemingly normal older woman and her anonymous lifestyle.

Or --- An overwhelmed actor seeks an escape from Hollywood by dating an Every Woman and embracing her "normal" lifestyle.

.... Just some thoughts. I don't really know the rest of the story, so I can't speculate as to who the two main characters are. But my point is: just give us a better idea of where the story will go.

[singsalsing]

Okay, here goes...
My lead character is a twenty-something actor who lands the role of the decade and becomes an "overnight" sensation. The fan and media frenzy that follows, for him, is unexpected and very unwelcome. (Think the frenzy that surrounded Robert Pattinson when he was cast in Twilight!) He finds himself living the dream unfortunately it's just not HIS dream. He wants to be a writer.
Whilst filming on location, he becomes friends with a local woman and she becomes his escape from the madness; his Soft Place to Fall. The summer he spends with her and their "friendship" is ruined when reporters descend on the small town and rip apart their relationship. They are forced apart without ever having admitted their real feelings for each other.
A year or so later he returns to tell her he has written a screenplay about their summer and the film is in production. Obviously, the woman is scared of having to face all the media attention again and is reluctant to get involved. He has to fight against the pressure to return to Hollywood, to get the woman and the lifestyle he truly dreams of.


The screenplay starts at his return to the small town, with the back story being told in flashbacks. The idea came from seeing all the media and fan attention these young "Hollywood Heartthrobs" receive and wondering What If. What if they don't like it. What if someone who is apparently living everyone's dream of fame and success actually wants to escape it all and live in virtual obscurity.
I showed my first draft to a friend of a friend who works in production and she has given me some good feedback. Like most people I struggle most with scene description and action, the dialogue seems to come fairly easily.

I know it's a romantic drama/chick flick and not some high tech action thriller but it is a story I am passionate about and I am determined to tell it.

[supermikhail]

Nothing against the concept... but come on! You can't go to an audition for Twilight and not want, or at least not expect to land at the center of media attention. If our visions of this flashback idea are close, then I like it. I don't like the title, though. Well, maybe I'm still on the high-action sci-fi wave.

[singsalsing]

RE: Audition for Twilight and not know how big it's going to be

I actually researched this to see if it even possible. I watched hundreds of interviews and read loads of articles and ALL the actors involved in the first Twilight film had no idea how big it was going to be. Rob Pattinson had never even heard of the books, he only auditioned because he knew Kristen Stewart was already cast and he had just seen her in another film. A few of the actors hadn't even heard of the books let alone read them. So I am convinced the concept of being cast in a film series and not knowing how big it is going to be is possible.

Thanks for your comments. Keep them coming.

My next project is more sci fi/fantasy so maybe I'll excite a few more people with that one.

[atb]

I believe that an actor can be cast in a film and blow up overnight without notice.

I mean, I'm pretty sure Sigourney Weaver wasn't huge till Alien. Kristen Stewart and Rob Pattinson have been mentioned. The dude in the last Star Trek movie wasn't really big till that was a success.

So I think the concept is believable. I just think you'll need to work on that logline to make it more memorable, to make it really POP, ya know.

[joea]

I doubt a famous actor would actually want to settle down and be a screenwriter. Most actors who write -- and there are some, such as Ethan Hawke, who's life really seems more like this story than Robert Pattinson -- write short stories and/or novels. There's not a lot that's sexy about screenwriting besides a produced movie, and those are rare.

The basic idea has legs, though. Reminds me a bit of State and Main without the sarcasm, focusing on the Hoffman/Pidgeon love story angle. There's also a bit of the Graduate, of course, in the childlike, disillusioned man/world weary woman angle (assuming the woman is world weary, or at least worldly). Just things to keep in mind.

Joe