The pandemic is changing Hollywood. There is no question about that. The question isn’t if, it’s for how long. And if you’re a writer, you have to think about how practical limitations will affect your story. Yes, there are going to be smaller crews, smaller cast, and fewer locations, but you also have to think about what stories people are going to be in the mood to finance and then watch as the upside-down world tries to right itself.
As always: write what you know, write what you want to, write the story only you can tell, write something that has a chance of selling, whatever Post-It is stuck to your wall, still follow that when you face the page, but also keep in mind what’s going on. And what kinds of stories and mediums Hollywood might be leaning towards now:
Contained Thrillers
You are going to see a lot more of these over the next 18 months. Why? Because of the previously mentioned minimal practical considerations (a short supply of cast, crew, and locations) and because it’s good old fashioned escapism. If you have a great idea for one, or you want to rewrite the not-so-great one you had from ten years and two computers ago, this might be the exact time to focus your energy in that direction.
Comedy
There are a lot of people that could use a laugh right now. So if you have the ability and inclination to tickle the funny bone, do it now. Please. Be mindful of crowd scenes, maybe avoid ripped-from-the-headlines current events in the plot, and whatever you do, don’t have it take place on screens. Your audience is already Zoom, FaceTime, BlueJeans, Google Hangouts-ed out.
Animation
Guess what else can be done safely six feet apart besides writing? That’s right, you guessed it (and ok, we kind of gave it away with the title of this section): Animation. If you always had an animated idea in your back pocket, now would be a good time to pull it out. The right project with the right buyer, on the right platform and you could cartoon boom yourself right into a pandemic-proof entertainment career.
Scripted Podcast
If this trend wasn't here to stay before, the pandemic has cemented its permanent place in the entertainment landscape. Exhibit A: The vocal booth is already constructed with social distancing in mind. Exhibit B: While folks around the world wait patiently for sports and traditional scripted media to get back on track, scripted podcasts never stopped. And they are not going anywhere. Tip: don’t just take a busted pilot or film and adapt it, you have a better chance of setting something up, if you actually design a story that would thrive in the audio medium.
True Stories From The Last Couple Decades
Nostalgia is always a powerful drug in Hollywood, but if you look back at other times of crisis, storytelling tends to look backward instead of forward to provide that comfort food. Instead of a dystopian future ruled by robots and aliens, folks prefer to remember that incredible uplifting true story from ten years ago that inspired hope. Or remember how innocent it was when cellphones looked like bricks and our biggest worry was getting acne the week of the prom? So take a look at whatever you have in your time machine and see if now might be a good time to bring those nostalgic nuggets into the light.
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Note From Tongal: "What to Write in the Middle of a Pandemic" is part of a series of Tongal Community-written blog posts that were originally sourced in the Tongal Blog Open Call Project. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Tongal. Read more Tongal Community-written posts here and then Pitch us a topic you'd like to write about for the Tongal Blog!
