Film Crit Hulk! > Quotes

“IT IS NOT ABOUT SYMPATHY OR LIKEABILITY, EITHER. EMPATHY IS ABOUT THE TRANSLATION OF FEELING.”
― FILM CRIT HULK, Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk!

“THE BASIC EXISTENCE OF EMPATHY IS WHY MOST OF US DON'T SPEND EVERY SECOND OF THE DAY CLUBBING EACH OTHER OVER THE HEAD AND STEALING EACH OTHER'S GROCERIES. EVEN IN A WORLD CONTAINING CRIME, DEPRAVITY, AND WAR, IT IS EMPATHY THAT ALLOWS US TO SOMETIMES REFRAIN FROM THOSE VERY THINGS. WHICH MEANS IT'S WHY WE SURVIVE AS A SPECIES.”
― Film Crit Hulk!, Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk!

“When you start crafting a story and characters, there is something so crazy important that you must always keep it in the back of your mind: there is no single force on this planet more powerful than that of empathy...   Hulk knows your likely counter already: “Oh yeah, Hulk? Well what about Galactus! Galactus is totally the most powerful!!!!”   Pssssh. How does Galactus get defeated? It’s because Alicia Masters appeals to the Silver Surfer's sense of empathy, which causes him to join the Fantastic Four and defeat his former master!   Empathy, bitches. Empathy.”
― FILM CRIT HULK, Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk!

“Believe it or not, stories don’t function in terms of beginnings, middles and ends, they simply have beginnings, middles, and ends.”
― FILM CRIT HULK, Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk!

“ANYTHING IN THIS UNIVERSE CAN BE A STORY WORTH TELLING, AS LONG AS YOU KNOW HOW TO BEST TELL IT.”
― FILM CRIT HULK, Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk!

“BUT TRANSFORMERS ROTF(L) SUCKS BECAUSE IT IS A TERRIBLY TOLD STORY WITH ENDLESS BLOAT, NO MOMENTUM, PAPER THIN CHARACTERIZATION, NO CHARACTER CONSISTENCY, NO ACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS, POORLY ARTICULATED CONFLICTS, ZERO SENSE OF DRAMA, A WEIRD-AS-HELL TONE, AND A WHOLE LOT OF SEXISM AND RACISM TO BOOT.”
― FILM CRIT HULK, Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk!

“AND WHAT THE YOUNG WRITERS ALL FAILED TO REALIZE IS THAT THE WAY YOU BEST CONNECT TO THE READER IS NOT BY CRAFTING THE MOST LYRICAL AND DAZZLING ARRAY OF WORDS, NOT BY BEING UNCLEAR AND HINTING AT YOUR MUDDLED MEANING THROUGH PLEASANT-SOUNDING VAGUERY, BUT BY COMMUNICATING A SEQUENCE OF MEANINGFUL IDEAS IN A WAY THE READER CAN ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND.”
― FILM CRIT HULK

“EVER NOTICE THAT ALL ONE HOUR TV DRAMAS ARE ALL SEGMENTED INTO 5 ACTS? YES, IT’S DONE FOR COMMERCIAL BREAKS, BUT THAT MAGIC NUMBER IS NO ACCIDENT.”
― FILM CRIT HULK, Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk!

“IT’S NOT THAT ANYONE CAN BE A HERO, BUT THAT A HERO CAN COME FROM ANYWHERE. BUT THE KEY IS THAT THEY HAVE TO HAVE SOMETHING INSIDE THEM. A SPARK. A SENSE OF MORALITY. A YEARNING.”
― FILM CRIT HULK, Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk!

“THAT IS SO IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTAND. IN FACT, IT IS THE REASON HULK PUT THE TWO HALVES OF INSPIRATION IN THAT ORDER. SO OFTEN PEOPLE THINK TO START WITH THE TINY NUGGETS AND THEN FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY LATER, BUT IT IS HULK’S EXPERIENCE THAT PEOPLE DON’T REALLY KNOW HOW TO DO THAT. AGAIN, SO MANY FILMS ARE VOICELESS. SO MANY FILMS SIMPLY SAY "I want to write about this textured, interesting person,” AND THINK THAT IT WILL SOMEHOW MAGICALLY PRODUCE A TEXTURED, INTERESTING STORY. A GOOD NARRATIVE HAS TO BE CREATED. CRAFTED. SLAVED OVER. WORKED THROUGH TIME AND TIME AGAIN BEFORE IT IS SOMETHING SO MUCH MORE. WHAT THIS DYNAMIC ACTUALLY SPEAKS TO IS THE GREAT LESSON THAT SINGULAR DETAILS ARE NOT STAND-INS FOR CHARACTERIZATION. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF RECENT MOVIES THAT HAVE GOTTEN INTO TROUBLE FOR ASSUMING TEXTURE AND CHARACTER DETAIL SOMEHOW IS THE SAME THING AS CHARACTER MOTIVE. WE DON’T NEED DETAILS TO TELL US WHO CHARACTERS ARE AND WHAT THEY LIKE, WE NEED DETAILS TO SHOW US WHAT CHARACTERS WANT AND NEED AND WHAT THEY WILL LIKELY DO. THIS IS THE HEART OF DRAMA (WELL… HULK WILL USE THIS PHRASE A LOT, SO IT’S ONE OF THEM).   AND”
― Film Crit Hulk!, Screenwriting 101 by Film Crit Hulk!