Science fiction movies do well at the box office

Science fiction is a genre that pushes the boundaries of the current laws of science. The are a hybrid of fantasy and what could happen.

Science fiction relates to futuristic technologically advanced societies revolving around a central question of human potential; good or bad, Imagine if…? Imagine if we were immortal, able to read minds or be able to live on other planets?

Only allow one or two variables that defy natural laws such as humans being able to disappear or read minds. This will better engage the audience because it creates a world in the foreseeable future with the majority of physical laws applicable to the modern day.

Writing a science fiction screenplay

Here are some things to bear in mind: 1) THE STORY SHOULD BE A METAPHOR FOR HUMANITY

Show us “something that could actually happen to a person in the world with the rules as we understand them now.” Give us an understanding of our current world using this scientific change as a metaphor for the central theme of your story.

2) ANNOUNCE THE RULES AT THE START AND STICK TO THEM

Bring us into the world, show us the way things are different in the story world and how the rules are different. For instance, Independence Day opens with a shadow passing over the moon. We instantly know we’re not in the ordinary world as we know it. Contact opens with radio signals and shows us how they travel away from the Earth.

3) DIG DEEPER INTO THE BIG IDEA OF YOUR STORY

Stick to that one “What if?” or change and play out the unexpected consequences of it. Contact poses the question, “What if there’s someone out there, and they picked up our radio signals out in space?” and examines it further throughout the film.

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