[Watch the video interview on YouTube here]
Film Courage: We spoke with writer and author Erik Bork about his new movie, The Elephant in the Room, a romantic comedy about a couple who finds love despite being on opposite sides of the political aisle.
We asked Erik to break down the screenplay using the teachings from his 2018 book, The Idea: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage, or Fiction [Amazon link here].
Film Courage: Erik, I wanted to see if we could take your highly successful book, The Idea, which we’ve already mentioned, and now your new movie that you just completed, The Elephant in the Room, and I’m just wondering how much did you lean into your own teachings from The Idea with this new movie of yours?
Erik Bork, Writer/Author/Filmmaker: Well, I think that the ideas in the book The Idea that I wrote are things I’ve arrived at over time from my own writing and my own experiences in Hollywood, as well as reading a lot of other writer scripts as a paid consultant and coach and professor and teacher of screenwriting.
Those things are just innate to me now.
They’ve always been there and they got solidified long before I wrote the book and will always be a part of me developing stories.
I recognize certain key things that feel important and maybe I have to remind myself from time to time but I’m always asking myself as I develop an idea.
What’s the same thing I would ask another writer?
Are the stakes high enough?
My book has seven elements of a viable story idea.
One of them has to do with stakes being life altering.
I mean, I’m always going to just naturally asking myself that about any idea.
Or, Is the problem difficult and punishing enough?
Which is another one of the seven as the main character of a particular story is trying to solve their problem or reach their goal.
Will the character be relatable enough? That’s an ongoing question.
So, I’ve known those things for a long time and will always I think be driven by that…(Watch the video interview on YouTube here).
About : Erik Bork is a screenwriter best known for his work on the HBO miniseries BAND OF BROTHERS and FROM THE EARTH TO THE MOON, for which he wrote multiple episodes, and won two Emmy and two Golden Globe Awards as part of the producing team. Erik has also sold series pitches (and written pilots) at NBC and FOX, worked on the writing staff for two primetime dramas, and written feature screenplays on assignment for companies like Universal, HBO, TNT, and Playtone. He teaches screenwriting for UCLA Extension, National University and The Writers Store, and offers one-on-one consulting to writers.
BUY THE BOOK – THE IDEA: The Seven Elements of a Viable Story for Screen, Stage or Fiction by Erik Bork
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