[Watch the video interview on Youtube here]
Film Courage: Does comedy have the same plot structure as drama?
John Vorhaus, Author/Speaker/Artist/Screenwriter: Most of the time. The arc of a comic story is this; the hero goes through an arc of change from denial to acceptance of the theme (the thing he has to fix) and he is rewarded with community. I’m thinking about the movie Liar Liar. Jim Carrey is a pathological liar. He needs to learn to tell the truth so he undergoes an arc of change from denial to acceptance. He goes from thinking lying is good to telling the truth is good and he’s rewarded with a good relationship with his son, so he’s rewarded with community. If you think about every movie you’ve ever seen with the word wedding in the title, the arc is always the same. Heroes go from denial to acceptance of the thing they need to change in order to win true love, then they are rewarded with true love, they’re rewarded with entrance into community…(Watch the video interview on Youtube here).
BIO:
John Vorhaus is best known for his comedy-writing classic, The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You’re Not. He has taught and trained writers in 37 countries on five continents at last count, and created TV shows of his own in Nicaragua, Romania and elsewhere. His writing credits include dozens of teleplays and screenplays, plus seven novels and some two dozen works of non-fiction. His latest book is the little book of STANDUP. Vorhaus is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and a member of the Writers Guild of America. He lives in Southern California and secretly controls the world from JohnVorhaus.com.
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