Tom Vaughan

You don't have to overcomplicate theme in your screenwriting. Remember: Stories have themes. Themes do not have stories. Find the story first, and it will tell you its theme. It will scream it from the rooftop. Make it a statement if you like. Punch up those moments, scenes, and images that enhance your theme for greater emotional resonance. But you don't have to force it. If you know your story, you can let the theme come to you.

@5000Ladytr79538 😂 But you were being polite about it!

@storyandplot Oh I'm having fun. I don't know nuthin' folks. I'd trust this man over me. But TV!! Good Convo cuz that's sorta a big nut of the convo, huh? My bible is Lajos Egri so that was where I was coming from, also aspirationally so!! Cheers!

@5000Ladytr79538 I have found that is a VERY hard way to do it. But as always, we do what works for us. If that is working for you, who am I to disagree?

@storyandplot Not to give any tricks away but I disagree. Themes have stories. Start with a theme.

@EnchanteurW 100%

yeah, it's my opinion, just focus on story and theme comes along. However, for anyone interested in that, one of my fav kdrama screenwriter, Park Hye Ryun, changed her way to incorporate themes in her kdramas in "Start Up". It's complicated as it's full serial, if you make an episode with a theme, it can't be a standalone only, it also has to manage continuity. This drama was a big success. Not my favorite from her, I prefered her previous ones, more vicerals, but I was aware of the performance. Next, in Castaway Diva, she does that even better, and this drama is a true killer about screenwriting. Here too, it's even more serial, and themes are even stronger per episode. To this day, I've no explanation about how a writer can perform such a miracle, it's a kind of ultime limit from beyond. This drama has no time or no line wasted, every detail counts. I consider that a masterpiece, but like "Start Up", I still prefer her more based dramas like "I hear your voice", where theme is buried under the story.

@parakeetnebula 🙏

@storyandplot Thank you for writing this

If the story doesn't want it, do not ram an emotional wound into it. It's not a box to check. Watching someone grow is just as compelling as watching someone heal.

@EastWordsMedia Yep. Unpack that. That's definitely enough to tell us who he is.

@storyandplot I had a script about a nuclear sub captain who gets banished to the polar ice cap for upstaging an Admiral during a training exercise. Got a note asking what was his 'shard of glass?' I was like, huh? -- why isn't that enough? Formulaic thinking instead of actual story sense.

@Joeim1v "+/- of +27" Excuse me?

Marcus Sasser. One word: Glue. Houston guards have been putting on a clinic all NBA postseason. 9 points 4/5 from field 1 steal +/- of +27

@endoftimeagain 🙏 Thank you!

@storyandplot Excellent. Very helpful!

@TomDohertyfilm Even more respect for Updike.

@storyandplot Updike wrote the piece soon after the film was released to dissent from the consensus--as you probably know, OVERBOARD, now an evergreen, was a commercial and critical bomb in 1987. As I recall, the piece isn't in the Globe database because Updike had the copyright.

I have watched OVERBOARD countless times. Every generation in my family loved it. It is eminently rewatchable. The great Garry Marshall had a phenomenal run of romantic comedies, and this remains my favorite. There is some suspension of disbelief required, as even as a high schooler, I saw this scene and thought, "That ain't right." No matter how awful she is! But the film is so good-natured, the chemistry and comic timing is perfection, and an early script by yet another great, Leslie Dixon, is superb. How it gets us rooting for them and screaming, "Oh no!" when her husband shows up is an absolute magic trick. It is because I loved movies like this just so much that I never wanted to focus on one genre. Kurt Russell made USED CARS and ESCAPE FROM NEW YORK back-to-back, so I wasn't surprised by his range at the time. But as I get older, I am more and more amazed by it. What a gift he and Goldie Hawn are in this film. I love this movie.

Interested in screenwriting? If you want to: - Make more compelling choices. - Find a more consistent process. - Maximize the emotional response. Join 13,000 other screenwriters every Tuesday for The Story and Plot Weekly Email. go.storyandplot.com/twitter

@Killroy68 BLUE THUNDER.

@storyandplot What movie?

@paper_moon25 I can hear that line in my mind so clearly.

@storyandplot “I speak French! Where did I learn French? Was I in the Navy?” It’s a pure delight and they both elevate it by giving it real heart.

@Killroy68 Oh, man. Those movies are special. I just purchased a movie in 4K because it was a film I saw with my Dad the night it opened. 43 years ago!

@storyandplot It was my parent"s favorite comedy. I watched it with them more than once...laughing and forgetting about life's problems for awhile. I love this movie too because its a stamped reminder for me of spending time with them and I miss my mom and dad every day.

@Laurasenio 😂 SO MANY of these small little perfect moments.

@storyandplot Me too. One of my absolute faves.

@MGatticca Same. I saw it in the theatres but it was DVD and basic cable for most.

@storyandplot Never understood why ‘Overboard’ with Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell wasn’t a massive hit (although it’s found fans long after other romcom “hits” have been forgotten). It’s charming, funny and one of the sweetest love stories ever put on film.

@TomDohertyfilm That is awesome. I had no idea. Good for him! The film deserves more appreciation.

@storyandplot John Updike was a big fan of OVERBOARD. He wrote an appreciation of it for the Boston Globe.