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About The Screenwriter Who Decided To Write A Comedy?
There was a moment in your life when you acknowledged to yourself that
you were funny. Maybe you were trying to be funny. Maybe you werenít.
Maybe it just slipped out.
But somebody laughed.
It might have happened when you were in second grade, a freshman in high
school, senior year in college or when you were out of school and into
a career.
Somebody laughed.
You liked saying funny things. Maybe you even loved it. Getting laughs
did something to you. Maybe it built up your confidence. Made you feel
cool. Hip. So you kept at it and you reached the point where you knew
you were funny. Then one day it hit you.
You were watching a lousy sitcom or a mediocre Saturday Night Live sketch
or you just laid out some hard-earned bucks at your local Cineplex for
a comedy that sucked. Then, as if possessed by the ghost of Groucho Marx,
you thought or uttered seven words that would change your life:
I could write funnier stuff than that.
Once youíve made that statement youíll have one important
question: how do I go about doing it?
That's when youíll hit your first brick wall. Could you really
write funnier stuff than that? Youíd never tried to write anything
funny before.
Not for real
.
Maybe in high school or college you channeled your comedic ability into
a satirical essay for an English class or you dashed out a humor column
in the school paper. You mightíve written a couple of skits for
a school talent show.
But you never, not ever, tried to write a sketch on the level of Saturday
Night Liveís best or a spec script for an episode of your favorite
sitcom.
And letís get real: you definitely never wrote a joke. The only
jokes you told were the ones you heard from other people, just like everyone
else. But to actually write an original joke?
Duh! Maybe you could spontaneously say funny stuff, but to write funny
stuff? To do that meant you were in entirely different waters.
As for screenwriting? No way you even thought about that. You? Writing
a comedy that could fill 110 pages?
But then one morning you wake up and decide to give comedy writing a shot.
You narrow it down to the form you feel will be the best fit. Stand up?
No. That involves performing. Sketch writing? With only a handful of venues
on the tube, you know there arenít that many opportunities to break
in. Besides, writing sketches isnít your thing. As for sit-coms,
you realize that you donít watch many of them other than re-runs
of Seinfeld and The Simpsons and, of course, Curb Your Enthusiasm (but
you know Larry David doesnít require your services).
So all thatís left is screenwriting. Deep down, being a screenwriter
is what you thought about being more than anything. You enjoy movies more
than television. And you prefer comedies to everything else.
So youíre ready to start. But youíre nervous, maybe even
a little intimidated and scared. Thatís natural. Itíll pass.
After you overcome the fear of whether or not you can write a funny screenplay,
how do you begin?
Start by renting comedies, preferably a mix of good ones and bad. We learn
more from bad stuff because the problems are more obvious. Try to get
a sense of what your genre might be. Are you Tootsie, Happy Gilmore, American
Pie, Porky's, Fargo, Groundhog Day, Airplane, When Harry Met Sally, Splash,
anything Monty Python, The Girl Next Door, Scary Movie, My Big Fat Greek
Wedding, Being John Malkovitch, Analyze This, The Graduate, Heathers,
Kingpin, Barber Shop, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Animal House, Mean Girls,
Shrek, Lost In Translation or Blazing Saddles? And donít forget
the films of W.C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers, The Three
Stooges, or the screwball comedies of the Thirties and Forties? (Bringing
Up Baby, His Girl Friday, My Man Godfrey and any of the Hope and Crosby
ìRoadî pictures)
.
Are you Billy Wilder at his best: Some Like It Hot, The Apartment? Are
you early Woody Allen, middle Woody Allen or late Woody Allen? I love
the guy, but if you study his work from Take The Money and Run to Annie
Hall to Zelig to Crimes and Misdemeanors to Deconstructing Harry to Hollywood
Ending youíll see the gamut of good, bad, brilliant, masterpiece
and just plain awful.
You probably have your own favorites. Watch them again, but this time
study and analyze them.
You probably have comedies you hate or laugh at because theyíre
so bad. Watch them too. Itís easier to see the flaws.
.
You should also read as many comedy screenplays as you can get your hands
on. And I donít mean the published versions. Find web sites that
let you buy scripts or download them for free. (Type in ìscreenplaysî
in your browser. Youíll be surprised at whatís available)
Sometimes youíll get first or second drafts. Occasionally, youíll
find rejected drafts. If you donít want to print them out, read
them off the screen. To me, the value of reading screenplays -- of holding
them in your hands -- is that you get a stronger sense of the writerís
intentions.
Reading interviews with comedy writers is also advantageous. Of even greater
benefit is to read interviews with screenwriters whose work you admire.
Hearing successful comedy writers talk about how they do it, where their
ideas come from, tricks theyíve learned along the way, mistakes
theyíve made and pitfalls to avoid will make your entrÈe
into comedy screenwriting less painful.
.
Studying comedies is important, but whatís even more critical is
your gut feeling about the kind of comedy you want to write: romantic
comedy, parody, comedy/drama, satire, goofy/silly/stupid comedy with idiotic
jokes and cheap sex gags or -- intelligent, witty stories about three-dimensional,
recognizable human beings that not only will make people laugh, but warm
our hearts and touch our souls.
So get started. Make sure the first three pages are hilarious so an agent
or producer will keep reading. And keep those laughs coming, but not at
the expense of the story. The comedies we remember have memorable plots,
extraordinary lines and unforgettable moments.
Go ahead. Take your shot. Be funny. May the laughs be with you.
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