The mid-point shift of Hoosiers is when Jimmy (the star player) announces that he wants to rejoin the team. But here, it actually makes things better. In most cases, that moment makes things worse for your hero. And more recently, Scott Rothman and Rijav Joseph did it with Draft Day, the number one Black List script, which focused on an NFL general manager during draft day.Ħ) MIDPOINT SHIFT ALERT – Remember, a midpoint shift is a severe event in the middle of the story that shifts the second half of the movie so it feels different from the first. Zallian and Sorkin did it with Moneyball. Cameron Crowe did this famously with sports agent Jerry Maguire. The reason this works is because it introduces us to a new exciting world we’re unfamiliar with.
As a result, it was satisfying when they bought into coach’s game plan and started winning because of it.ĥ) Write around a sport – If you’re a big sports fan but don’t want to write yet another cliché sports movie about a team or player who overcomes the odds and wins the championship, consider writing about the people surrounding the sport.
This concept is a constant battle throughout the movie, with certain players refusing to go along with it. You HAVE to pass the ball four times before anyone can shoot.
Here, it’s the concept of “team.” Don’t dribble the ball up the court and shoot. In the last timeout of the championship game, then, we see him overcome this flaw when he allows the kids to run their play instead of his.Ĥ) Every sports movie needs a TEAM PROBLEM – This is some play issue the team can’t seem to get over. Gene Hackman’s character refuses to listen to his players. Every sports movie needs that coach who has a flaw that’s preventing him from being the best coach he can be. Every player has to have their own little storyline!ģ) You need to give the coach a COACHING FLAW – Same deal. He eventually learns to believe in himself and ends up helping the team win a key game. He thinks of himself as just a practice player. A great main character first!!!Ģ) Try to give each player on the team small character flaws they must overcome – In a sports movie, it’s essential that each kid have that one clearly defined character flaw that’s holding them back from being the best player they can be. You see this in Rocky, The Natural, Hoosiers, Bull Durham, and all the best sports movies throughout time. Formulate a compelling controversial memorable main character, then feed the sports stuff in there. You almost want to approach your sports script as a character piece that has sports elements, as opposed to the other way around. Remember, audiences don’t care about that final goal, that final shot, or that final touchdown, unless they care about the person making it. How is it that the writer of this great movie, Angelo Pizzo, has only written TWO PRODUCED MOVIES since?ġ) Character over sport! – Easily, one of the biggest mistakes writers make when writing sports movies is focusing on the sport instead of the characters. There’s one thing I can’t explain, though. I’m going to find out what made this script work, as well as pass you a few tips about sports scripts in general. With that said, if you’re going to write a sports script, you may as well learn from the best. With the unending number of sports games that have been played throughout time and the number of sports figures that have lived and died on this earth, there are still so many interesting stories that have never been told. I still believe that the only realistic shot you have of getting your sports spec picked up is to option an interesting true story or write about a compelling sports figure. So my heart goes out to those struggling to get their sports script through a system that just isn’t receptive to the genre. I love sports and I love a good sports movie. I was most affected by those who had written sports movies. I got a lot of e-mails from people who were writing those scripts, and boy were they unhappy. I’ve been feeling bad since I wrote the article last week about the six types of scripts least likely to get you noticed.
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