How A Writer Can Turn An Ordinary Idea Into A Great One - Corey Mandell

Corey Mandell is an award-winning playwright and screenwriter who has written projects for Ridley Scott, Wolfgang Petersen, Harrison Ford, John Travolta, Warner Brothers, Universal, 20th Century Fox, Fox 2000, Fox Family, Working Title, Paramount, Live Planet, Beacon Films, Touchstone, Trilogy, Radiant and Walt Disney Pictures.
Corey teaches screenwriting via private online classes using video conferencing to allow participants to see and hear each other in real time. His highly popular classes draw students from across the US, Europe and Australia.
His students have gone on to sell or option scripts to Warner Brothers, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Disney, Fox, Fox 2000, MGM, Universal, USA Network and Lifetime. Others have gained admission to the USC Graduate Screenwriting Program, the AFI Conservatory Screenwriting Program and Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab.
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[@filmcourage]

Here is our full interview with Corey - kzbin.info/www/bejne/eYjJlJ2Ebcadfsk

[@KieronRobbins]

Theatre was not banned during Shakespeare's time. It was a very popular form of entertainment with multiple theatres giving daily performances. In 1591 plays were prohibited on Thursdays as the popularity of theatre was damaging to other entertainment, specifically bear-baiting. Theatre wasn't banned until 26 years after Shakespeare's death, and this was due to the civil war in 1642 and the role theatre played in propaganda and public order. The idea that theatre was some underground illegal thing during Shakespeare's time is wildly inaccurate. It was public and very well attended by a wide selection of the social strata, including Lords and Ladies. Royals regularly summoned public theatre groups for private performances.

[@lokki245]

I was hoping someone had already said this in the comments, because it saved my some typing. The mangling of history and geography at the start of this video made me wince. Other than that, i quite liked the message of the video. :-)

[@EffieReal]

It made for a good story, though. 😂

[@le4ne]

Not entirely correct as Theatres/Playhouses and plays were banned upon a couple of occasions at this time. 1. Theatres were banned 1592 - 1594, and again 1603 - 1613 to prevent the spread of the plague. 2. They were banned in 1642 - 1660's to prevent public disorder and to stop an uprising. At this time, the country was gripped by Civil War (Charles I vs Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentarians).

[@nengelen]

Great info 👍. I've been binging these types of videos and most of these cherry picked examples are just setups to share 2 genuine good tips in 17 minutes and then go "as a writer, I..." for the remaining 16:48 anyway.

[@alanstowe2245]

Totally. My gf is a medievalist and the whole time she was like wrong. That's wrong. That's wrong. That's also wrong. Can't take this guy seriously and didn't finish the video since he doesn't know what he's talking about. Also the advice is just have a strong opening. Groundbreaking. He's obviously after McKees legacy with that one 😂😂😂

[@inder11111]

Simple ideas often have the most profound impact. Loved this

[@ronreidjr]

Karen and team bring the right guests to push our craft to get better

[@MaxwellWurme]

“The way Shakespeare did it.” What an opening line!

[@departmentofdreams]

His Shakespeare analogy is pushing it. People know about theater for thousands of years dating back to ancient Athens.

[@abstraktfilms]

Been stuck writing a pilot for a psych-thriller for a very long time now- definitely something you could call high concept. Listening to this gave me a spark that drove me to course-correct in just ten minutes. I'm not abandoning the "high concept" aspects but rather finding ways to make the more ordinary parts of the characters more heightened yet relatable and using the bigger plot as a vehicle to have the character continue pursuing her more personal journey. Seems like such an obvious choice to make now that I'm looking at it that way, but sometimes the simplest advice is gold. Thanks!

[@jruthnam]

I think this has become my new favourite Film Courage video. Wow, this really enlightened me on such a simple idea!

[@filmcourage]

Nice to hear!

[@palootto4021]

Thank you sir for emphasizing the Courage in Film Courage, which is what we need to get off the launching pad. Thank you for the very good questions and for the inspiring responses.

[@brothermichael1521]

What a brilliant idea! Take the ordinary and heighten it to get the extraordinary. Genius!

[@ARJUNKN100]

what is ordinary about death note? It hooks us in the first 20 minutes

[@ronreidjr]

Thank you Karen and team. Corey Mandell hits another home run with his analogies from Shakespeare to Tina Fey to THE BEAR to BREAKING BAD. I hope I will use this to impact my writing and pitches this week and next.

[@mekhiingram85]

what qualifies as high concept for shakespeare? A midsummer nights dream was about fairy royals playing with mortals and was a classic. that sounds rather high concept to me.

[@ronreidjr]

yeah, he didn't cover enough Shakespeare. He covered Hamlet but that probably wasn't enough. @@mekhiingram85

[@lbrowning2543]

That! Was the best explanation of “high concept” I have ever heard. Absolutely 💯. Thank you!

[@Ryanin2D]

He took 12 minutes to say "take a relatable aspect/trait of a character and exxagerate it." Simple. It's one of the oldest techniques. Your protagonist is stubborn? Make him really stubborn to the point it negatively affects his relationships, but also protects him from harm. Etc etc

[@milkflavored]

Thank you for explaining this bc I was like “okay where is the actual advice lol”

[@jobantwisp6060]

thanks,, the 30seconds of explaining extraordinary really beat the enthusiasm out of me,, next video

[@philbertius]

Having a justification for why one should exaggerate is also important, fwiw

[@fabianthaesler1317]

Great episode - Corey Mandell brings together the things that belongs together. The concept of courage finally hightens this episode. Thanks for sharing and making all this content - and Merry Christmas! :-)

[@StayFractalesque]

You and your guests give me courage.. ..to express myself, take risks, push my self imposed boundaries out (at least a little further away) ..youre a saint for using your connections in the industry and bring them in front of those who care enough to search it out of the noise and grifters.. ..i think yall a selfless channel, both giving voice to those others wont, and bringing those voices to those without the same access.. ..i dunno, i just really appreciate every video, i have new thoughts every time, and new tools for self actualization.. thank you..

[@HaleyMary]

Turn ordinary into extra ordinary. I'm going to try to remember this when I write.

[@inkcap9817]

Wow, this was quite a breakthrough message for me in understanding what makes a story successful! Thank you! 🙏

[@cherirose6660]

You guys always have the best guests!❤Corey shared some interesting advice that will help me in rewriting a screenplay. Thank you so much Film Courage…….you’re first CLASS!

[@Maazzzo]

Corey was very interesting! Please bring him back for more.

[@starwing2814]

I've been struggling lately to understand writing characters. It's easy to get swept in the fantasy aspects and sci-fi aspects, that take me away from the character journey. This has been very enlightening!!!! I get it now!!!

[@chris55529]

Five minutes in, and this guy has *already* helped me with my screenplay. Thank you!

[@bethezebra]

Holy crap. Thank you!

[@Everyday.Runway]

Wow, this was moving.. thank you 👏🏽

[@DovieRuthAuthor]

Great inspiration! I will try to remember this when I sit down to write tomorrow morning.

[@filmcourage]

Cheers Dovie!

[@oracleofaltoona]

Amazing insight. Thank you.

[@filmcourage]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@shrug_shrugsly]

Fantastic. Great intro hook!!! ❤ Video was a helpful way of relating writing concept!!

[@jeancarloaranda8363]

What a great way to explain, loved it!

[@judyabingdon4432]

Yes! Breaking Bad is a great example. Think Tyler Darden! I will never forget this,. ThanksCorey.

[@ushasinghal574]

This is pure gold ❤❤

[@user-zd1jh5zz9n]

Absolutely awesome.. Thanks you Film Courage and a very big thank you to Corey for sharing.. That's was very very helpful..

[@davidm9618]

Beautiful.

[@artgoshow]

Impactful explanation 🎉🙏❤

[@kermitfrog593]

I got stuck writing a high concept story. Finished a detailed outline, which took some time and I really worked at it. But when it came down to writing actual scenes, giving voice to my characters, I realized i just didn't know these people, or their world, in any intimate detail. I'm writing something much more simple and relatable now.

[@faithdaniel684]

Thank you ❤

[@filmcourage]

Cheers! ❤

[@overknox6558]

Brilliant and super helpfull, thank you!

[@filmcourage]

Great to hear!

[@AllThingsFilm1]

Wow. This is one of the best videos on writing I’ve seen in a long time. Taking an ordinary (relatable) situation and adding a heightened version of it to grab your audience. So many ideas for a story I’m working on started swirling around in my head after watching this. What a gift. Perfect timing as having seen this on Christmas Eve 2023. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

[@filmcourage]

Glad it was helpful! Merry Christmas!

[@NINJED1]

Another Great Example Of Why Corey Mandell Understands How To Write Scripts That Force The Gatekeepers Interested In Investing..

[@Andrea-nom]

Wow! This is a great video ❤❤❤

[@filmcourage]

Thank you so much!!

[@johnrobinson4445]

Another great talk with this gentleman. Thank you. 297.

[@filmcourage]

Thanks for your comment John!

[@arturolivares]

There was no theatre ban on Shakespeare's time. Quite the opposite, it was a very popular form of entertainment

[@lturner7159]

Excellent analysis 🔥👌🏾

[@filmcourage]

Thanks for watching!

[@nothereorthere8686]

Thank you for our video it's added a new insight into creating different story ideas. I, myself don't understand Shakespeare, never been exposed to his plays, I'm more interested in ideas that are going knock people's socks off.

[@issaqua]

Thank you - this was awesome. This reminds me of the old saying: paradox is where discovery/creativity lies. In this case merging the normal (relatable) with the abnormal (absurd yet plausible) in a way that helps us explore what it is to be human: what would I do (limits) in that extreme? And, what are the unfolding consequences of this position/decision? Breaking bad is a perfect example of this to me - it is a story of how the desire to protect family can become poisonous to everyone. I think the best stories make the invisible, visible and leave us asking: where would I draw the line?

[@electricdreamer]

Trick is telling extraordinary stories of ordinary people. And "ordinary" is a trick to get you to relate to the character. But it doesn't have to be ordinary. Just something that the audience can understand.

[@milkflavored]

So if your story idea is out there, make it relatable, and if your story is relatable, heighten it?

[@skiatauli]

This was a great interview. Thank you for this. I have been having a question popping up in my head of late and I didn't know where to put it, and this seemed like the right interview to put it at: There is so much emphasis on story telling, or telling a story, and that is good, , we must tell a story, but can a film be about giving audience an experience through sound and visual? In this experience-giving film too, there can be characters...

[@ericpeterson3838]

This guy was great!

[@Doprishipunjabi]

Thanks very much:)

[@colinsims7568]

I’m not sure why, but this guy is absurdly engaging. So basically, tell your story the way this guy talks.

[@henryblunt8503]

Cranks suppose the plays are so high-brow that an ordinary bloke like WS couldn't have written them. Corey is saying the opposite - that starting from common experiences that everyone understands is what made WS's plays work, so there's no shame in doing the same. Good point. (His potted history of English Renaissance Theatre is largely folklore though. For example, there were public theatres before the Globe, and performances in inns before that. Patrons at the Globe knew what they were going to see).

[@merryman9423]

I love you guys.

[@datscrazy4095]

That’s why we always say THATS LITERALLY ME

[@phillipwesson8785]

Yea, not sure how accurate the history of the Globe theatre, but as story telling advice, this is a solid lesson!

[@concernedcitizen7385]

As a natural coward, I found this very helpful and informative 😄👍🏼🙏

[@jimcoyle4453]

This Mandell guy has a great way of explaining things. I'm a teacher and I can recognize he is a good teacher. I don't know whether or not he is an authority or accurate on Shakespeare and his audience, and frankly I don't really care. What I do care about is how he uses that reference and his writing technique and how it relates to modern day shows, a couple of which I am familiar with. I never had the concept of heightened drama explained and how it relates to building a premise of a show that becomes a hit. That's insider information that just became available. To me. Thanks!

[@filmcourage]

Great to hear, thanks for posting!

[@LucyGMagaldi]

I'm a writer and this One of the best episodes I've ever seen.

[@marcpaters0n]

This is brilliant advice.

[@nadadoyle8926]

It's not true that theater was illegal in Shakespeare's day and that people in those days did not know what a play was. Traveling theater companies would produce plays in inn yards. They didn't necessarily have proscenium arches, but theater was common. In fact, there was a section of the audience--the groundlings--made up of common people who paid less to stand and view the plays presented. Theater at the time was in part a holdover in part from religious plays that were done. Plays were highly regulated for moral reasons, but they were not illegal. The idea at the time was that plays attracted crime--pickpockets and prostitutes, etc. and that theater people were of generally low character. There were occasional outbreaks of the plague, but this was not the time of the bubonic plague in which 1/4 to 1/3 of the population of Europe died--that was earlier.

[@tituspannell6009]

Wow! Corey perfectly explained exactly what makes a great film, and I have been greatly enriched by this new revelation. I already knew about it in some form or another, but him using Shakespeare and breaking it down to an elementary level just made me completely understand why certain films work and others don't even though the have the same exact elements, but only how they go about relating their characters makes a huge difference.

[@kermitfrog593]

Well said. Most of us have not sold crystal meth like Walter White but probably fantasized about it (or worse). I guess the key to extra-ordinary writing is recording the fantasies we have when in the throes of a real life circumstance.

[@kenyatah907]

Love this channel 🫶🏾🫶🏾

[@C.Church]

A couple years ago, I once joked at an hours long Corey Mandell video "moar!" and I think the channel took it the wrong way like it wasn't good enough. If it did come off as ungrateful, I apologize sincerely. Truly it was a compliment. Can't get enough of what's in this guy's mind. Thank you both, FilmCourage and Corey Mandell. :)

[@TheresaReichley]

I think this is exactly why I love fight club. At the very basic level, it’s a guy living a life in which everything is out of his control, where he feels this lack of meaning because is the ultimate company man and ultimate consumer building the life that TV told him to build even though he does ethically shady stuff (the cost benefit of recalls is the crux of his life at that point) and he leaves all of that behind to live on paper street selling people fat to rich people and even plotting revenge on people who created a world he’s not allowed to be free in.

[@pdalea9256]

“ His name is Robert Paulson “

[@feliciasaunders8970]

WOW 🎉 the courage to run to what scares me 😊😊😊😊

[@ernststravoblofeld]

You kinda have to wonder if this guy has ever seen The Tempest.

[@filmcourage]

What do you think?

[@familycorvette]

After seeing several of his videos, I have to conclude that, while Corey seems like a very nice guy, he just has no idea what he is talking about. Nothing he has to say about Shakespeare or theatre in Shakespeare's time is even remotely accurate. Nice guys who don't know what they're talking about are a menace.

[@5Gburn]

I feel there is no need to dichotomize high concept versus low concept--they're two ways you can paint a canvas, like acrylic versus oils, watercolor versus gouache. Further, I think of high concept as: I see the movie poster, I immediately know whether or not I want to see the movie. Then there's Magnolia and Vanilla Sky, in which I only know I want to see Tom Cruise and his fantastic acting skills...and hope for the best when I watch the movie 😂. (Vanilla Sky is devastating, by the way. See it if you haven't.)

[@StayFractalesque]

I don't always comment, but I'm always watching.. ..I think yall assemble some of the most experienced and knowledgeable folks out there in the industry, and through thoughtful genuine questions, yall extract absolute gems of experience and wisdom that is found rarely anywhere else, if ever... thats what I think.. 🙏

[@cdrmusicaz]

I think that these videos are amazing and thank you so much for posting them

[@maskcollector6949]

Dissecting High Brow concepts from heightened concepts is essential information.

[@PixelateForWork]

Can’t watch without a pen and pad for the editorial gold.

[@thisricardopalma]

That was very engenius from Shakespeare. Someone watching could think: my life is messed up but not as that play. This could have a double edge result like, people either could think I am good like this I don't want to change my life because it's not "that bad" although it would need some kind of change or think that actually gave some ideas to implement on my own life, for better or worse... The human mind is very complex and it certainly has evolve emotionally since those times.

[@TheLEGOZora]

Extra ordinary😊

[@HumbleHerman]

Take his course. It's the Holy Grail, He knows what's happening, and proves it.

[@SamTziotzios]

Way before Shakespeare there was Aeschylus and Euripides and Sophocles, creating tragedy and comedy dramas. Moving audiences with the same basic principles of connecting to the audience, conflict, emotions etc.

[@cliveadams7629]

Sopranos I always wondered why I hated The Office. That's not me, even a little bit.

[@johansigg3869]

Do you have the kurge?

[@JL-ze5qm]

The only time theatres were outlawed in London was when the Puritans took over briefly, during Cromwell's Republic. Theatres were shunned by high-brow society simply because actors were considered to be low-born characters, but they were never illegal, generally.

[@lonjohnson5161]

Corey is a smart teacher. I just watched a video that is less than an hour old. In it, he references this video. I had already watched it, but I thought I'd give it another watch. THIS time I really listened. It is as if I was seeing it for the first time.

[@stevebruce7206]

3 simple rules. Get the audience's attention. Keep the audience's attention. Reward (satisfy) the audience's attention.

[@Dancing_Alone_wRentals]

What do I think? I think I'm not a good story teller. I think KZbin would dissolve my channel if they could......but, it would haunt their conscience because I'm so appreciative of good videos like this one. I press the like button and say tHank you for posting ....oh and Happy New year to all!

[@Ghost-27X]

1. At the start of the story grab the audience attention. 2. Write a relatable story that's extraordinary.

[@velocitor3792]

Shakespeare was 200 years after the Bubonic plague.

[@posefile8873]

I like what Corey has to teach. His definition of “High Concept” is waaaaaaayyyy off base, and his history lesson is wiiiiiiillldly inaccurate,… but BESIDES THAT, I like what he has to teach.

[@lacolem1]

“There’s a meteor coming!” “Uh, half of us will die painfully from the plague, and we’re sitting in shit” “Oh…” *Audience kills everyone on stage*

[@yatharthsinghchauhan9161]

That's why Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal is successful I think 😁

[@Erzmann255]

Extra Ordinary does not mean a heightened version of the ordinary. It means outside of the ordinary.

[@AnthonyBadenSaggers]

Shakespeare didn't do high concept? Are we sure about that?

[@ragequitredux]

extralegal = a heightened version of legal

[@demitrisalloum5131]

Our most popular stories have 2 things: 1) Emotional relatability + 2) Fantasy scenarios (or high concept, exaggerated, as he puts it). Look at Titanic - a lot of people can relate to the emotional conflicts of either Jack or Rose. Drop that in this fantastical situation and you’ve given us escapism. Recipe for success. Execution is the hard part.

[@joshuastanko2886]

Five minutes in, this man has been talking for four and a half minutes without saying a damn thing. Do what Shakespeare did. Did you know he showed his plays in bars, he had to make them interesting, you should make them interesting. Heres what extradorinary means. You should make it extradorinary. Thank you for providing no actual writing advice.

[@crrtpf]

Exactly!

[@AKFCproduction]

I agree that his explanation is extremely long-winded and isn't much use to you or myself, but a few years ago this probably would've started those butterflies in my stomach. Those who remind us anyone can be a writer if it's their true, authentic desire in life.

[@joshuastanko2886]

@@AKFCproduction Well said.

[@lbrowning2543]

Snap. Shakespeare didn’t adhere to the 5 minute Disney rule either.

[@randommcranderson5155]

When asked "how to make an ordinary idea into a great one", takes 4.5 minutes to get to "by telling extraordinary stories, here's the plot of Breaking Bad" as if he'd revealed some universal truth. What a fucking writer lol.

[@Jenleahhh]

Every Ryan Gosling movie

[@MrAcethesecond]

"Sex was never my thing." Found the writer.

[@jeanpauldelachaumette2409]

I sort of disagree on this as well because if you extrapolate where he is coming from you understand why Hollywood sucks now. All the Alphabet message nonsense over substance, story and characters. Because that's the "thing" that's relevant today. There are many ways to grab your audience and yes he describes one way from one period with specific conditions. Not the environment, climate or medium. There are far more interesting and creative ways to captivate your audience. Don't Look Up is a very good example of a movie that literally shatters this guys argument... I'm just an aspiring writer inspired by Tolkien, Rowling and etc...

[@demitrisalloum5131]

Maybe you’re not understanding? It’s about emotionally relatable. Don’t Look Up is relatable not because of the it being topical today, it’s because it’s about people feeling their voice isn’t being heard. We can all relate to moments when it feels like we have to fight for our beliefs. It’s about survival. There’s lots of things we can all relate to emotionally. That’s what makes anything successful. Frodo is faced with having to leave his comfort zone and the ideal life he has in order to pursue something bigger than him and enter a larger world. I could relate that to a someone moving out of their parents to go to university.

[@johnathandeveraux4578]

This guy seems like he dislikes everything until it becomes successful then heaps praise once it’s acceptable . This is how most people act. Bandwagoneers.

[@RogerWade-wp4cr]

"The people who watched Shakespeare had never seen plays before." What a colossal amount of BS.

[@spanishvideoclub4901]

Heightening the ordinary is great but how do you avoid it from turning into melodrama?

[@Fuliginosus]

I liked "A Midsummer Night's Dream" because I could relate to the people who were kidnapped by fairies.

[@travel6489]

Hilarious 😂

[@davegibbs6423]

His history of Shakespearean London is very mistaken.

[@Crowka274]

After 4:37 this guy doles out a stupid reveal. 🎉congratulations

[@Darfaultner]

You lost me at "That's the problem with high concept, nobody cares." I care. High concept movies make up the top 100 of IMDB highest rated movies.

[@ProgZ]

TL;DR : - Make something your audience experiences, and it becomes meaningless to them: why watch it when they can experience it in real life? - Make something your audience can't identify with, and they can't relate with the character - You have to make something extraordinary ; ordinary enough so that people relate to the character and understand how they feel, but making it extra, by exaggerating the situation for example, in which the audience would never be in

[@jonelectronics510]

I am sure Shakespeare created theatre...not the Greeks.....just like Shakespeare didn't at all copy from any Greek plays because he was entirely the original creator of plays and theatre. Definitely not the Greeks. Who keeps mentioning the Greeks?

[@Lark88]

Oh wow, I didn't realized how tough Shakespeare had it just putting on a performance.

[@Amintoymaker]

You mean Shakespeare, do what Eminem do now, but different language different times😢😅😮😂