WRITER’S EDGE: Brainstorming Technique – The Ultimate Blank
Steve Kaire explains the Ultimate Blank is a brainstorming technique that requires the writer to fill in the blank space with a noun that hasn’t been used before in another movie.
Steve Kaire is a Screenwriter/Pitchman who’s sold eight projects to the major studios without representation. Follow Steve on Twitter @SteveKaire.
The Ultimate Blank is a brainstorming technique that requires the writer to fill in the blank space with a noun that hasn't been used before in another movie. Like other brainstorming techniques, it is a shortcut method to creating stories that are original and unique with only a modest amount of effort required.
The film, Robocop is an example that uses this technique. If you fill in the noun “cop” after the words “the ultimate,” you get “the ultimate cop.” In this movie, it's a half man, half robot that takes law enforcement to a whole new level of destruction and technology.
If you put the noun "shark" after the words "the ultimate," you get the film, Jaws. It's a great white that can swallow a human whole and destroy a fishing boat with the swipe of its tail.
If you fill in the word "dog," after the words "the ultimate, it's the Stephen King film, Cujo. It's about a terrifying monster of a canine that preys on anything that moves.
The ultimate crime family would be the Corleones in the Godfather. They are a criminal enterprise with strong family ties that either makes you an offer you can't refuse or eliminates you permanently if you do.
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STEVE KAIRE is a Screenwriter/Pitchman who’s sold 8 projects to the major studios without representation. The last project he sold, he’s Co-Producing for Walden Media. A screenwriter for over 30 years, he holds a Masters in Dramatic Writing and has taught writing classes at the American Film Institute. Steve was featured on the Tonight Show’s, “Pitching to America” and was voted a Star Speaker at Screenwriters Expo three years in a row. His top rated CD, High Concept - How to Create, Pitch & Sell to Hollywood is a best seller.
