OTT & Transmedia

Dwayne Williams 2 it seems then, Dwayne, that we have to listen to the right voices, the ones in tune with the story-world we are creating. After all, not all voices are helpful; some are distractions.

Yeah, I agree, there can definitely be distractions. Geoff Hall It is important to understand your creative goals, so you can recognize which voices genuinely support your story and discern which ones carry real experience and credibility.

Generally speaking, I ask myself whether a voice can be considered as "reasonable" under the auspices of what passes for a standard conversational tone, unless the voice is meant to utterly bisect others, which also has its place. Voices are like the threads in a tapestry; they need to weave around one another to complete a picture.

Nikolay Tsenov In adapting a novel to the screen, you need to be aware of the different ways each works in a story. For example people often think that novels are more detailed than a film because in their memories things are so vivid. However, when you reread the most vividly remembered sequences, you find that in fact, little of what is in your mind is in the words; it was all constructed in your own mind. In film, the opposite is true. The entire setting is constructed and instead of recalling all that patent setting, we tend to focus down onto specifics. We experience the story differently. So the intention of the written work isn't necessarily conveyed by a complete or literal adaptation to the screen. You also must deal with the fact that novels are direct author's words into the reader's mind. Film is at least twice removed from that - the image and angle are already chosen, the actor is chosen and the actor makes choices. And of course... time. You have 90 minutes or up to 120 minutes to tell you story on screen. Something has to go, right?

I agree that some changes are necessary for the screen, but often, the film ends up changing the entire essence of the story.

Take the latest "The Count of Monte Cristo" (2024), for example. Having read the book, I noticed that the film deviates significantly from the original plot. It’s one thing to tweak a few scenes for pacing, but it’s another to alter the very soul of the narrative.

To me, changing the theme is crossing the line. If the message of the film totally different than the book, why bother? (The film I’m thinking of is I Am Legend.)

I love this question! Especially when it comes to dense material like Tolkien's work and certain Sci-Fi publications. Staying "loyal" doesn't seem to be utterly necessary, if one can find a way to infer that a thing has occurred or if you're pressed for time constraints on screen run-time. This is one of the things I love best about streaming shows. I can watch the four-hour "extended" version and hit the pause button and have an intermission if I want to watch the whole book. Though I suppose it's all fair game as long as we're not altering the main story line.

Frankly, I had to come up with a book that I wasn't technically able to "betray" in screenwriting. The book is a role-playing game and the fictional story line in the screen material essentially teaches viewers how to play the game to create their own stories.

love this Michael Dzurak - great point about graphic novels being basically storyboards.

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh That’s a great way to look at it I like the idea of storytelling as an ongoing conversation rather than isolated works.

A pairing that always stands out to me is Breaking Bad and The Sopranos not in plot, but in how they explore morally complex protagonists and the slow unraveling of identity. It feels less like imitation and more like evolution.

Another one I find interesting is Taxi Driver and Joker both tap into isolation and psychological descent, but through very different cultural lenses.

I think what makes a strong “spiritual successor” is when it doesn’t just borrow tone or theme, but reinterprets it for a different time and audience. That’s where it starts to feel alive again rather than derivative.

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh I do find myself thinking of specific works when starting a new script and trying to imagine what sort of lineage it would fall into. I'm sure that is an ego driven perspective but hey, storytellers are nothing if not a little egotistical (hopefully mainly in the most positive way).

Thinking about pairing other existing works these are probably my top ones:

Rocky - Spiderman (first one)

Jaws - Raiders of The Lost Ark

Exorcist - Phantasm

Agree. One story is one window into a world.

This made me think of (the tangentially related topic of) "TV appropriate" dubs of movies with lots of profanity. Such as, Scarface where on the opening scene, Tony Montana is mocked for his facial scar with: "Where'd you get that scar? Eating pineapple?" The original is more to the tone of the violent crime drama that proceeds, but this dub is also a harbinger to the oddity of the movie's TV edit.

It's hilarious in a way, almost surreal, since you know what they're saying, but also know that a non-cable TV version in the 1980s and 1990s wouldn't have that.

This is very true! Great observation! I find different languages aren't just ways we talk -- they encompass entire attitudes

Thanks Michael David~ agreed, I know some emotions are definitely better expressed in certain languages. It's why I love how enthusiastic Japanese voice actors are in anime and video games, for example.

Languages are rooted in culture, so even among English speakers, Americans and Australians have different jokes, not to mention slang and experessions. But if you go into another language, those differences can be even bigger.

For example, to sound rude (intentionally or not) in Korean, you don't have to add in profanity, you can just eschew the normally expected formal inflections.

In an English-language movie that saw on Korean tv, one character shouted, "Who the hell are you?!" but the subtitles were the informal version of "Who are you?!" Thus rude and abrasive in the context of speaking to a stranger.

I love that Michael Dzurak, I know it's the same in Japanese with how you address the second person, as well as how you refer to yourself. But yeah, separated by a common language is always fun to experience; I can kind of understand Dari which is a dialect of Farsi but it always takes me a second (partly because of the accent and partly because it's spoken so fast lol). A kinda famous example of the difference is the word for "hospital"; in Farsi it's "bimarestan," which literally translates to "land of the ill/illnesses", whereas in Dari it's "shafakhaneh," which literally translates to "cure house." Very different attitudes about the same thing lol

I've seen games on flight, but it was pretty basic games like solitaire and the like. There was an option to network seats and play against and/or with someone, such as for poker.

However, getting a better computer system and a suite of more sophisticated games, there could be an inflight server for say Mario Kart or Wii Bowling and other G-rated multiplayer classics. Doom is awesome, but it'll likely off put those who don't want to see violent content flashing one seat over.

Sounds exciting, Sam Rivera. Podcasting feels like a smart move for the future and for growing the audience, and it opens up new ways to market stories and connect with film lovers. I think this shift will only create more opportunities for creatives to build momentum. I’m looking forward to checking out the podcast when it drops.

I've been working on this exact challenge. I believe storytelling mediums are going to be more interchangeable, with even more focus on visuals and great narrative.

See in the image how we have merged interactive World-building, casting, screenwriting game, and memoir (movie of your life) into a single platform.

You might find it helpful in your own project as well

I love this point about storytelling fundamentals staying consistent across formats. I’m currently developing projects that exist both as screenplays and prose, and what I’ve found is that while pacing and structure shift depending on the medium, the emotional spine of the story never changes. Character desire, conflict, and payoff remain the engine whether the story lives on screen, on the page, or in a digital format.

Hello Laura Notarianni just wanted to swing in here and probe you in your expertise in executive producing and development.

I’m a scriptwriter new to the industry and have a variety of questions that could help me on my journey with projects in and outside of my current development pipeline:

When evaluating a script, what makes a project “packageable”?

How much does attached talent influence whether a script gets financed?

What are the typical development stages a project must pass through before greenlighting and how long does it usually take?

Also, at what stage can a writer realistically negotiate creative control or producer credit?

Areale Hanks These are all fantastic questions…and exactly the kind that get me excited to dig in. There’s a lot of nuance behind each of them, and it’s probably more than can be meaningfully unpacked in a thread like this. That said, this is absolutely the kind of conversation worth having verbally and in more depth.

I will attempt to be brief!

When it comes to what makes a script “packageable,” it can vary depending on whether you’re working in features or television…I tend to approach each medium a bit differently. But at a baseline, it has to be exceptional on the page with a clear, compelling execution. Beyond that, there typically needs to be meaningful auspices involved - whether that’s a producer, studio, or director -who can help anchor the project and signal viability in the marketplace.

Attached talent can absolutely influence financing, particularly on the feature side - financiers are always looking for signals of guaranteed audience. The more star power, the likelier it will get eyeballs and make money!

In television, where I’ve spent most of my time, there have been cycles where high-profile talent meaningfully moves the needle…especially if it aligns with a specific buyer. That said, it can also signal high budget and narrow the field of potential homes, since not every piece of talent is universally appealing. It tends to ebb and flow with the market.

In terms of development, there are many stages, but at its core, you’re working with a buyer to deliver on commissioned materials and respond to notes in a way that aligns with their vision. That process alone can take months to years depending on the project, before getting to green light.

As for creative control and producer credit - those are typically earned with time and experience. Writers who are proven, have a strong track record, or are bringing in underlying IP or key elements of a package are in a much stronger position to negotiate those terms.

Laura Notarianni thank you for your response and looking into my questions. I appreciate it.