Screenwriter Research - Chris Columbus

Screenwriter Research - Chris Columbus

Chris Columbus is one of the most well-known directors of this century. According to imdb.com he has written over 18 screenplays dating from this year 2020, the film being ‘The Christmas Chronicles: Part Two’, a Christmas adventure-comedy family film, being one of the screenwriters alongside with Matt Lieberman, all the way back to 1984, the film being ‘Reckless’, a comedy-drama-romance film. The films I know him by from writing are Gremlins and the Goonies, two very classic and well-known films.

This has influenced me and my approach to storytelling by making me think about what I write, it has also made me write in greater detail, this has led me to want to create plot twists and making the audience feel a certain way playing with their emotions, helping me develop with my creativity in order to influence the audience. Like for example the Gremlins franchise, the main protagonist Rand, according to shmoop.com, is told to obey the three rules of mogwai care one keep it away from bright light, two don't get it wet and three don't ever, ever feed it after midnight. 

But the old man tells Rand how dangerous Gizmo, the mogwai that his son Billy called him, is, everything that's about to happen could’ve been avoided. In the movie, Rand chooses to ignore the old man’s rules and takes Gizmo back to his son Billy, which results in Billy getting Gizmo wet and feeding it after midnight, which then results in Gizmo multiplying and all of his copies go terrorise the town and terrorises cinemas as well. 

Chris Columbus through the Gremlins franchise has given me more perspective and an open mind on civilisations and the worlds I can create while being realistic as possible, while dealing with plot twists and witty ways to deal with the problems that the characters face in the film itself. One of the morals in Gremlins is ‘Do what you're told, otherwise there will be consequences’ this is clearly shown in the main protagonist’s actions in the movie. While the Goonies is adventurous it shows a different view, instead of a young man trying to look after a cannibalistic gremlin, we see younger characters than Rand who work together in order to prevent their homes from being taken away.

The Goonies, according to commonsensemedia.org, uses pirate-themed treasure hunt action to attract their audience in to try to figure out how to pay off their house’s debt. They stumble across many deadly Rube Goldberg-inspired booby traps that was set by the man that made the map, the 17^th century pirate chieftain ‘One-Eyed Willie’, that they found in Irving Walsh’s, the local museum curators, attic framed ads it was apparently one of the rejected items from his museum. They also, according to the same website above, overall promotes positive messages about teamwork, believing in yourself, and the triumph of the underdog. What I mean by this is that the film itself shows the ‘Goonies’ group itself as outcasts and it shows that the outcasts should be welcomed into society as they are like everyone else.

Chris Columbus through the Goonies has given me a new perspective of how to write my stories. It has done this because it has shown me different obstacles that protagonists, and characters in general, can take in order for the stories I write to be more interesting and more appealing to the audience. Chris Columbus is also announced to be writing ‘The Goonies 2’ and ‘Gremlins 3’ but the film release for both of them hasn't been released yet.