A while back I read an interview with old school screenwriter Curt Siodmak who wrote a lot of the scripts for the old timey day monster movies everyone has heard of, if not seen. And in his interview (inside the book “Backstory 2”) he told the story about how he got the idea for a movie that, if you adjust for inflation, sequels, longevity, reboots, merchandising, conventions, books, comics, spin-offs\u2026 has been probably worth billions collectively.<\/p>\n
An idea that came about, quite frankly, as a joke.<\/p>\n
What happened was this:<\/p>\n
He was sitting at the Universal commissary (back during WW2) with a friend who was drafted and wanted to sell his car. Apparently, back then, you really couldn\u2019t get a car since car companies only churned out war material. So this was a chance to get a car during a time when cars were not easy to get.<\/p>\n
The problem?<\/p>\n
He didn\u2019t have the money.<\/p>\n
But, what he did have was a sense of humor.<\/p>\n
And he made a joke to another guy at the table (a movie producer):<\/p>\n
\u201cFrankenstein Wolfs the Meat Man, I mean, Meets the Wolf Man.\u201d<\/p>\n
His friend (the producer) didn\u2019t laugh.<\/p>\n
Instead, the guy came back to Curt\u2019s office a couple days later and asked Curt if he\u2019d bought the car. Curt said he\u2019d need another job to pay for it. And the Producer said, \u201cyou have a job, \u2018Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man.\u2019 You have two hours to accept.\u201d<\/p>\n
Personally, I love hearing stories like that.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s also why I tell anyone who will listen:<\/p>\n
Write ALL ideas down and be obnoxiously paranoid about it.<\/p>\n
Great ideas can be extremely fragile and fleeting.<\/p>\n
And it only takes one to change the trajectory of your business and life.<\/p>\n
Do what you will with that.<\/p>\n
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