A blacklisted 50s American screenwriter sets out to write the perfect script to win back his job, but an alien fungus slowly dissolves his ability to tell fact from fiction.
Alan SmitheePenpusher
A blacklisted 50s American screenwriter sets out to write the perfect script to win back his job, but an alien fungus slowly dissolves his ability to tell fact from fiction.
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I am not quite sure what the conflict is because a writer doesn’t need to know fact from fiction to write a good script.
How will this alien seed impede?the lead?
As Richiev said.? His affliction could? be a great asset in writing scripts.
Seriously, his proposed solution seems to be incongruous to his dramatic problem.? He’s not being blacklisted because he’s a lousy writer, but because he’s tainted with association with Communists.?
In real life Hollywood, Dalton Trumbo wrote great scripts — but nobody would buy them after he was blacklisted because of his left-ish politics.? So he wrote under other names and? sold his scripts to the studio through a front man.? As a matter of fact, he won 2 Oscars for scripts he couldn’t take credit for.
While one can take creative liberties with historical fact,? even a fictional story about a blacklisted screenwriter has to work within? the historical context, the rules how and why blacklisting was actually done in the 1940’s, 1950’s.? ?And the rules of the dark era would be that writing the perfect script won’t enable him to win his job back.
Of course, the fungal infection could delude him into thinking that is how he can get his job back — a symptom.
Finally, there’s an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed:? is he the only one infected?? Why not anyone else — everyone else?? Isn’t the greater, more urgent dramatic problem that the infection will spread?
Agreed with Richiev and DPG.
Also, there seems to be a disconnect between the events. If he was blacklisted, he can’t get his job back as long as the blacklist exists, in other words, his goal should be to lift the ban on writers that are found in association with communism. Secondly, the alien aspect doesn’t seem to help or hinder his efforts, it’s a left of field element that seemingly adds very little to the story. If, however, the alien was able to take the shape of another guy who the MC could front through then the two elements can be made to relate to the main story in a direct way.
I kind of agree with what the others said. Depending on the reason he was blacklisted, he may not be able to get his job back even if he had the “perfect script” (like the other reviewer already mentioned), assuming that even exists.
You protagonist and goal is clear, which is good, but for me, the issue lies more in the obstacle.