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Writing the Fantasy Film: Heroes and Journeys in Alternate Realities ReviewOkay, I'll admit two things right off the bat: 1. I've never written a fantasy script. 2. I'm not a big fan of the genre. Yes, I love "Star Wars (Episodes III, IV and V)" but don't really think of them as "fantasy." The Lord of the Rings Trilogy really can't be beat and truly feel the human elements of the story transcended the "fantasy" elements. I guess my biggest issue of the fantasy film genre is that I really can't relate to it much. Whether I'm too distant, too grounded in my work-a-day reality, or just a bit too distracted to believe in Wizards, Dragons, Damsels in Distress, Magic Potions and Ogres.
Then I read this book.
Coming at screenwriting from more of a "logical" point of view I kept reading this book in hopes of picking apart the whole grasp of fantasy films. This is the book, I thought, that was going to help me make my arguments against the whole genre. What it did was teach me that Fantasy Films (adventure, romantic, sci-fi, modern world based ("BIG," "It's A Wonderful Life"), middle world based, outer world based, etc.) have many of the same elements you find in your standard genres (romantic comedy, western, action film, buddy picture, etc.). In fact, the more I read the book, the more I realized that if some of the archetypes found in fantasy films were plopped into the middle of a standard drama film - it would add an whole element that would enhance the film, not take away from it.
As Ms. Jak broke down all the elements of the Fantasy Film, from Wizards to Buddies, from Spells to Witchcraft, from Outer-Space to Central Europe - I found myself either itching to write a Fantasy Film or, at the very least, incorporate some of those archetypes into my current screenplays: "Maybe the main character has a Wizard he talks to, but he's not really a wizard, but a teacher could be the wizard character."
Ms. Jak says, early on, this book is not for beginning screenwriters but there are MANY MANY things a beginning screenwriter can learn about in the book that they could incorporate into their current screenplay (even if the story is a "buddy picture set on the streets of Hong Kong").
The book is clearly written with chapters in regards to what "exactly" is a Fantasy Film, doing the research and breaking apart the characters and situations.
One of the risks of doing a Fantasy Film is that so many of the archetypes border on the cliché (hero, maiden, witch, warlock, wizard, etc.) but what I found fun was in my own mind putting a twist on those clichés to make them different. She is both encouraging in those terms and she gives plenty of examples. She ENCOURAGES breaking the mould (and I would encourage it, too). And that's really where the fun comes in. Taking the normal and making it abnormal, twisting the clichés until they scream, finding the tent poles upon which the genre rests and then kicking them out from underneath. THIS is what makes writing Fantasy Films so much fun. You can't break the rules in a romantic comedy (trust me, I've tried). But with Fantasy you CAN break the rules, you're ENCOURAGED to break the rules - and Ms. Jak shows you how to do so.
If I have any complaints about the book, it is these:
1. After every chapter there is an "exercise" to do in regards to what you have just read. I don't know anyone who would actually stop reading this book to do the exercise. Though helpful, I'm sure, and a great learning tool - I just didn't see any reader not moving on to the next chapter so they could "write their script's story in epic poem form." These may have been better served in a separate chapter later in the book, once someone has read the book through.
2. I have found that the more I read books on screenwriting and film the more they mention certain films and/or certain websites. I hereby declare that books should now not only contain a bibliography (like this book does) but also a "cinemaography" and an "internetography" to list out both films and websites that are mentioned in the book.
Ms. Jak, especially in the section on research, mentions a number of websites she encourages the reader to visit. Then, in later chapters, she mentions more. It would be great to have a compendium of websites near the end of the book so someone doesn't have to hunt and peck later on.
Same with films. She mentions dozens of films as examples. Some contain many of the "standard" elements of a fantasy film while others are a great example of one type of conflict or one type of love story. This book would have been made better if there was a thorough listing in the back stating which films are mentioned in the book and why and listing other films to check out in the same genre. (Recently a Producer I know ripped me a new one for not seeing films in the genre I was writing.)
If you want to write a Fantasy Film, this book is an excellent resource. If you are a new screenwriter just starting out - I would give this a look, too. This book is both fascinating AND fun.
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