3 Story Lessons From Warren Beatty

I had the opportunity to screen RULES DON'T APPLY with legendary filmmaker Warren Beatty recently. Here were three story lessons I took away from our talk afterwards.

1. Character is King - Every one of his films has featured unusual characters that are hard to look away from. Regardless of what scenarios the characters find themselves in, the characters themselves re just fascinating to watch.
2. Keep the Stakes High - The stakes in all his films always come down to love, life, death, or freedom. These themes are universal and of interest to all of us.
3. Make Sure the End Goal of the Main Character is Something you can take a picture of. Learning a lesson or finding love are abstract concepts. You need a simple visual metaphor for every abstract concept that tells the audience when the character has completed their goal.