Monica Mindler's Lounge Discussions

I agree, signing off as well

Monica, class started!

Please, can anybody post here a link for our class session 11? I didn’t get an email. Thank you in advance!

I don't think anyone got a link for today's class! Just emailed Thomas about it- maybe he has one.

He emailed a link to try now...

HI, EVERYONE! So sorry, an ongoing health issue has kept me away. GRATEFUL for ALL the great comments/feedback/opinions, I agree with all of them. I'll admit many of my screenplays have sad endings and in part to leave an impact on the other characters/my audience. Sad or shocking endings (for me as an audience) stay with me for a long time after I leave the Theater or finish a film or TV series, even a book. Sometimes a characters death is a victory for that character, like in my screenplay, "Shared Scars". One of my favorite film and writer is Alan Ball's "American Beauty" the film focuses and explores romantic, paternal love, sexuality, materialism, self-liberation, and redemption. Two other films I love to watch over and over are, "Love Story" and "Ordinary People." It's just who I am as an individual and as a writer. Again, thank YOU ALL so much for stopping by, sharing your thoughts and doing it all in the Spirit of this Website as our leader/CEO Richard Botto always asks of us. Talk to you ALL soon. Cheers from NYC.

OH, OH! One last thing, I have alternate endings (happier I mean) in a few of my Specs, just in case...However, I will do my best to defend or justify my original so call "unhappy ending." Beth Fox Heisinger, you made an excellent point, thank YOU, friend. Great movie examples as well.

I prefer happy, likely because movies are an 'escape' - downtime after the stressful day, when I don't need more stress and anguish. Prefer to sit through an interesting sci-fi or adventure that draws you in, but leaves you feeling satisfied emotionally and sharper mentally. But that's just me...

Monica, I saw a few days ago a World War II documentary and even as bombs fell on Berlin, even when the Allies were this close, the theaters were still running, movies were still made. It was done as "escapism". The Germans only stopped making films when the Soviets captured their main studio.

Another documentary showed how, much eariler during the war, when the Germans were smashing through the USSR, the Soviets, to provide escapsim, organized a concert at a great music hall.

It was to show they haven't lost hope, and probably to make people think about other things than the bombs who were constantly shelling them or the millions of troops that were clashing across the land.

During the Great Depresion, cinema was popular in USA. Life was so harsh, that people needed to escape somewhere. Look, life can sometimes suck big time. That's why we need entertainment.

And a movie where the hero is slashed and the villain wins just isn't that entertaining. Even if today, life isn't as harsh as back then, it's still far from perfect, so we need to escape through various means.

That's why movies in some genres are more popular than others. I don't think someone comes home after a bad day where everything that could go wrong went wrong and thinks:"I'm so down right now, I could cry. There is a Drama on TV about a guy who dies of an overdose and his girlfriend turns to prostitution. It'll make me feel so much better!".

I already wrote how a comedy series made me forget a soul crushingly sad day for a while and improved my state of mind. I laughed like crazy then, even though hours before I was depressed.

So can you write sad movies where heroes tend to die? Yes, it might just not be for everyone. But I think there are lots of people who can appreciate them. Me, I'm more of an Action/Sci-Fi, Fantasy and sometimes Horror/Supernatural type...:)

HELL NO!! Personally some of my favorite endings are usually bittersweet. Like the main character lives but looses almost everyone he/she loves.