Tag Archives: The Magnificent Seven

What’s Your Number?

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“The beautiful part of writing is that you don’t have to get it right the first time, unlike say a brain surgeon.” – Robert Cormier

Grab your thesaurus! You need a stronger word to convey the anger your protagonist feels.

When reading your completed manuscript, look for apathetic words that don’t show the desire, despair, curiosity, danger, happiness, terror, or excitement you want the reader to feel. You may change a chosen word or phrase after reading aloud what you’ve written because the word just doesn’t fit. Perusing a dictionary or thesaurus helps in finding alternative expressions that work better.

But what about the numbers a writer selects in the titles of his stories. A particular number could hold some connection to the plot or sound better when read aloud. A writer may pick a different number even if it means adding or omitting characters or restructuring the story to fit.

Often a significant number conveys the meaning of a story much better than just words. Ray Bradbury wrote a short, futuristic story titled, The Fireman, where books are burned and reading is prohibited. There’s no spark to that title. However, a longer version published in 1951 with a more provocative title, Fahrenheit 451, worked better. Fahrenheit 451, the temperature of the combustion of paper, sparks more interest in the storyline.

Sometimes a number in an alliteration works. For example, 77 Sunset Strip, was the name of a popular television series from 1958 – 1964. The detectives could have lived anywhere on the Strip, but the address 77, worked better especially in their theme song.

Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai, (an alliterative title) depicts the request from villagers asking for protection from bandits and the response of the seven men. The verbalization of that two-syllable number, seven, sounds much better than any other reasonably small number. Eleven might have been a decent alternate number choice, however, that would make for a more involved storyline. Too many characters get in the way of a good, tight story. The movie was remade in America as The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Return of the Magnificent Seven (1966), Guns of the Magnificent Seven (1969), and The Magnificent Seven (2016).

The comedy, 9 to 5, tells the story of three women who, tired of their boss’s bigoted condescending attitude, take revenge on him. Dolly Parton’s song, “Working 9 to 5,” from the movie was a catchy tune. The title could have been “8 to 4” but that doesn’t sound as impactful. I had a job where I worked from 8:30 to 4:30. Try putting that time frame into a cute song.

I saw the 1985 French comedic movie, Trois hommes et un couffin (translation: Three Men and a Cradle) which needed no translation. The 1987 Hollywood remake, Three Men and a Baby, told a similar story. Having two inept men take care of a baby wouldn’t provide enough comedic material. Four bumbling men would be too much. Three worked best.

In Les Trois Mousquetaires (translation: The Three Musketeers), Alexandre Dumas’s historical novel, there were four musketeers after D’Artagnan joined the powerful Athos, Aramis, and Porthos. Any remakes never altered the number of the original. Again, the number three worked best for this story.

Which movies and books can you recall that have a number in the title? What is the significance of that number?

 

 

 

Nothing New

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Ecclesiastes 1:9 New International Version “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.”

My cousin and I discussed movie makers’ lack of originality in some of their productions. Far too many films are simply remakes of previously successful movies and television shows. Not all the remakes are as successful as the originals.

“The Seven Samurai” produced in 1954 was remade as “The Magnificent Seven” starring Yul Brynner. Both were successful films. The 2016 version of “The Magnificent Seven” is a decent remake if you enjoy a good western where you lose track of the body count. The inclusion of Denzel Washington and Chris Pratt, both delicious eye candy, helped the mediocre script. The cultural diversity of the seven heroes can’t be overlooked.

Lew Wallace’s 1880 novel, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ, was made into the 1925 successful silent film “Ben-Hur.” The 1959 version starring Charlton Heston and featuring 10,000 extras, 2,500 horses, and about 200 camels was a classic. However, the 2016 version was a flop with a lackluster script and a highly digitized version of the great chariot race.

“Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” starring Gene Wilder was a beloved classic and Johnny Depp’s remake was a waste of screen time.

Simone Signoret’s “Diabolique,” a well-crafted, hold-your-breath 1955 French thriller had the audience gasping at key points in the story. American film makers produced a fair remake that wasn’t quite as terrifying, but the television version fell flat.

1954’s “Sabrina” starring Audrey Hepburn, Humphrey Bogart, and William Holden was remade in 1995 with Harrison Ford, Julia Ormond, and Greg Kinnear. I must admit I did enjoy this remake better than the original, probably because I liked Ford better than Bogart.

The re-creation of specific stories without substantial changes to the basic plot is a lazy way to make money. Reworking a familiar story with a different rendering can be done successfully.

Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet romance has been retold many times but none better than in the musical “West Side Story.”

The story of Cinderella has been depicted in animation as well as in live action. However, Drew Barrymore’s “Ever After” was a more creative rendition of a strong-willed Cinderella rather than the shy, emotionally abused young wimp in the fairy tales.

Rather than always doing remakes, movie makers could produce more films about real life.
One example, “Deepwater Horizon,” a true story depicting crew members fighting for survival when the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, is riveting.

Another example, “Queen of Katwe,” portraying the life of an uneducated young girl from Uganda who became a world-class chess champion, was inspiring. I enjoyed this film because it helped me learn about the trials and tribulations in another culture.

Even better would be more out-of-the-box stories. Two refreshing examples of great writing are the cartoons “Frozen” and “Inside Out”.

A great original, live action, character-driven production, “Hell or High Water,” is a well-crafted, western heist without overdoing the gunplay.

Have you thought about writing new, refreshing plots and not just doing a retread of the familiar ones? Surely there’s something new under the sun or at least new ways of telling it.