Critique needed for sci-fi script

I know this isn't comedy but I write a lot of stuff besides comedy - this being an idea for a science fiction film script. I need to know if this idea is at all unique and whether I should develop or simply forget it.

(It is an idea similar to "Battlefield Earth" - a book written by Scientology founder Ron L Hubbard later made into a film starring John Travolta set in a time where alien conquest has actually happened.)

THE SCENE: Earth has been long colonised by a reptilian race - mostly 10ft tall, thin and gangly, each highly developed with telepathy. Their aim and reason for colonising is to take advantage of earth's global warming (which the remaining humans can barely inhabit)and turn the whole planet into swampland.

THE PLOT: The few remaining humans try to overthrow the colony by reversing the climate change.

Does this sound like something worth pursuing or aim for the bin? Sorry for posting here but I don't know any sci-fi forums where you can post ideas.

I should say that if it's a similar idea to a film already done especially with John Travolta, there would be very little chance of getting it noticed particularly if you are a new writer without a CV. It is so difficult to break into the writing world and this sounds something that America would do rather than the UK. You can imagine the stiff competition there.
But who am I an old cynic, to put you off. You should still write it, as it is good therapy/exercise and who knows you may in the end find yourself with a best seller.

Sounds interesting to me. Maybe it would have more of a chance as a novel.

My philosphy is to write from the heart irrespective of whether or not an idea is 'original' and/or commercial.

I can't advise you on whether you should write this or not as I don't concern myself with what might be a 'go-er' in the biz (I don't mean that in a 'superior' way as of course there is nothing wrong with trying to be 'commercial'.. if 'tis your bag)

As far as I can see (certainly not as far as the end of my nose?) there are already plenty of un-original ideas being produced by the professional film and TV industries, so I wouldn't overly concern yourself with so-called 'originality'... but of course, if you're an unknown writer you're gonna need something GOOD to break through (original or not..)

Anyway, other much cleverer f**kers than I will give you the 'inside track' I am sure..

I am just raising the flag of 'art for Arts sake'... write what you feel! That way, maybe something great will come out?

Just a thought?

Frankie xxx

I'm with Frankie on this. I've tried writing to be commercial, it's only ever led to half-finished scripts or rubbish work. It's so much easier to write something you have a feel for. The only time I ever have fun with my word processor is when I'm bashing out work I believe in. I couldn't write sci-fi stuff about aliens, but you probably couldn't write about mum & baby groups. :-) If aliens are your thing then you should go for it.

Your script described in a couple of lines doesn't sound so 'original' but it's a genre work so I don't think that matters. I expect your screenplay written from the heart will be much better than any hollywood hacks who's only writing for the money.

Well, I think the boundless optimism shown in the last two posts needs to be tempered with some realism. After all, fatbloke asked: 'Does this sound like something worth pursuing...?' Artistically, then, yes, of course, but no matter how happy you are writing it and no matter how good the the finished product is, attempting to write a presumably big-budget sci-fi script surely gives a script the least possible chance of seeing the light of day, particularly from an unknown writer.

It's a bit of a no-brainer to essentially say "write what you enjoy and it will be more fun and often better." However, if that means writing sci-fi hollywood blockbusters I'm guessing the material will have a limited audience from an industry outsider.

As I said, a good compromise would be to write it as a novel (cum-film-treatment). It worked for Dan Brown. The Da Vinci Code is blatantly a cinema treatment in a thin disguise. In fact, I think the novel was adapted from a film script which never saw the light of day.

I would deviate from Battlefield Earth as much as possible - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/battlefield_earth/

Why not write a sci-fi comedy? Write it straight but see how it becomes funny.

Quote: David Chapman @ December 11, 2007, 12:40 AM

Why not write a sci-fi comedy?

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Hyperdrive thats why. Erm I think Fat Bloke if you're having the same ideas as Ron Hubbard thenyou should see someone about it. Is it worth pursuing? I would say yes as long as you really believe in it. Format is key for SciFi, I've had an idea i've been developing for a while but don't know whether to do it as a novel, film or TV series.

Quote: James Williams @ December 10, 2007, 8:51 PM

attempting to write a presumably big-budget sci-fi script surely gives a script the least possible chance of seeing the light of day, particularly from an unknown writer.

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Funny you say that James because what I saw with this idea was a low-budget, lo-fi movie script a la "Blair Witch Project"... the aliens have taken over already (so all that flash-bang-wallop Hollywood spaceships blasting Earth nonsense has already been done..) a few Earthlings (in their hovels somewhere) are plotting to overthrow a race of 10 feet tall Lizards by "reversing the climate change" (they must be f**king deluded if they think they can do that and will lose the fight and become extinct, hopefully..) ..I see madness, frustration, disillusion, victorious lizards and 'B' movie style low-budget, lo-fi, atmospheric.. one camera, you never actually "see" any Lizards, etc.

Of course, maybe I'm wrong and fatbloke sees "Hollywood Blockbuster" with J Depp and co. "Humans Victorious, All's Well with The World, The good ol' Walt Disney red-neck humans in the US of A triumphant over those nasty, pesky Lizard critturs, yessirreebob, kiddies!!!"

In which case... er, count me out, I am wrong yet again!

Fatbloke, hello.

The idea for your Sci-Fi script does continue to do the rounds. Currently it is residing in a recent big seller game for the PS3 called 'Resistance Fall of Man'. It has the large evil reptilian like aliens who've taken over and the military trying to stop them. All the action playing out on a devastated battleworn landscape of city and countryside. One interesting spin they have put on it is that it is set in Britain during the WWII era.

I would agree with the the person above who mentioned trying to turn it into a comedy to give it that even further spin. However it does not appear to be an easy task to mix funny with sci-fi apocalypse or there would be many more of them. Three comedies spring to mind, although there may be others. The first is 'The Bed Sitting Room' (1969) with Spike Miligan. Bizarre, weird but nonetheless amusing concerning survivors of a nuclear holocaust. Then 'Not With A Bang'(1990) which had a promising opening then faded very fast and centred on survivors of a plague that has destrolyed most life on earth. Of course, possibly the best Sci-Fi comedy that contain reptilian like antagonists and apocalypse is Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. So I guess it is possible to make your idea funny if that is what you wanted. Ok so these do not necessarily fit your exact plot idea - but surely that is good because it means you have an area to tap.

If you want to keep it straight sci-Fi though then I would suggest looking at the various angles your theme has been covered in before. For me personally, I find that when I know what's out there it helps me to better concentrate my own take on the subject.

As you are no doubt aware there are many ways for these dastardly aliens to try and take our planet - As well as Battlefield Earth that you mention, I expect you have also checked out things like; V, Slither, They Live, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Undead, War of the Worlds, The Tripods to name but a few...

Anyway, I say give it a go. If you can put a new spin on things to make it your own (and have fun doing it) then it's better than walking the streets and mugging chavs for their gold rings. Not that I do that.

Def.

i like the idea fatbloke. could work as a comedy or drama. could be a novel, film, sitcom, short... whatver you want it to be.
if it was me i think i'd go for a comedy in the style of shaun of the dead with will ferrel leading the humans against the aliens in bad costumes.
write the script and then pitch it directly to mr ferrel. maybe david icke could be involved somehow. after all the lizards are already amongst us. Prince Charles, george bush...

Going with Deferenz and his keyword: take.

Every idea has been done before, alien invasion is a rerun of the age old theme of hostile invaders / overlords - Robin Hood, William Tell, Boadicea for non-sci-fi variants. So trying to find a purely unique idea is very difficult and shouldn't be the basis on which you decide to proceed with an idea.

The art is how you take a traditional theme and make it 'your' story. By populating it with great characters (Star Wars 1-3) or great worlds (Tolkein) or putting in an unusual twist (28 Days Later for a Zombie variant using fast rather than traditional shuffling enemies - They Live for the weird sunglasses that allows the hero to see the aliens for what they really are).

If you can think of something that makes your tale unique then that's the angle you need to focus on to avoid comparisons. This angle will become the hook and explains why many many sci-fi invasion books / films have been made without running dry.

I had a similar problem with an idea for a novel about a man who kept coming back to life each time he died. Months into planning, Captain Scarlet came to mind and almost dissuaded me from writing it. At the same time, I read 1984 for research as I'd been told it focused on a dystopian future and I wanted to ensure I didn't parallel it by coincidence. Reading 1984 reassured me that my there was no overlap.

After I found the hook and mechanics behind the 'comebacks', the book became a thriller comedy set in a world that lurches forward into an ever-increasingly dystopian nightmare, thankfully nothing like C Scarlet.

Quote: SlagA @ December 12, 2007, 8:18 PM

The art is how you take a traditional theme and make it 'your' story. By populating it with great characters (Star Wars 1-3)

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Surely - dear God, surely - you mean 4-6?

Yes, you're right.