Advice needed for script

[Nikephoros]

Hi everyone. I'm writing a short sequel to a Disney movie. It's a detective story. When it's finished, I want to pitch it to Disney. I'm two thirds of the way through, but I've reached an impasse. If one of you could offer me some suggestions, it'd be really appreciated (and, I'd be happy to credit you for your help in the final version).

 

[Maura N.]

This is great news! Good luck with your script!
Please, keep us updated!!

 

[nialmedia]

What I can give you as an advice is something that I have heard as well. You need to make it interesting from the first pages. If they don't like the first pages, they will not read the rest of the script.

 

[Nikephoros]

What I can give you as an advice is something that I have heard as well. You need to make it interesting from the first pages. If they don't like the first pages, they will not read the rest of the script.

Sounds like valid advice, particularly given how busy these people are.

 

[Harry Edwards]

After seeing more Disney movies than I should, I saw that each of them has an emotional moment that gets those tears out of you, even if you are a man who refuses to cry. For example, in "Up", it gets hard on your feelings right in the first minutes. Other movies get on your feelings at the middle, at the end, whenever it fits best in their plot. See where you could put such a moment into your plot and do it as emotional as you can. The audience needs to cry. Then, the plot needs to lift them up. There is something that follows that teaches you a lesson. This emotional rollercoaster seems to be like a successful shortcut to success.

 

[Nikephoros]

I've watched a lot of Don Bluth movies, and Bluth had a similar idea to yours. He would put his characters through hell throughout the film, so that when they ultimately found happiness, it really felt earned.

 

[ivan94film]

I cannot fully help you without knowledge of the plot & characters and what issues you face. From the sound of it you have written act 1 & 2 but don't know how to end it with a bang in act 3.

A tip from Christopher Nolan who also had problems for years, writing act 3 of inception was that he realized he had major problems in the first act which gave him the writer's block. So my tip for you would be to rewrite the first act again and see if the path towards the ending you originally envisioned can be reached.

Good luck with your pitch!

 

[Nikephoros]

Hi Ivan. Thanks for your advice. I've actually rewritten the whole script since posting my question. Turns out, as you suggested, that the first act was fundamentally unsound. I wanted a detective story, but my premise just didn't fit the source material. I think the final version is a much stronger one.