From the Other Side of the Desk A Development Exec Comes Clean

Can Anyone Write A Teen Movie?
by Frederick Levy

Youth is in. It started with Scream in 1996 and the recent success of that trilogy's final installment proves that the trend shows no signs of receding.

So how do you create fresh, original, and most importantly realistic teenage characters when you can t even remember what year you graduated high school? More so, is it even possible for someone over the age of thirty to write teens effectively?

Having read hundreds of youth oriented scripts over the past few years, I've drawn one conclusion that may upset many readers of this column. The older the writer, the more difficulty they have writing true to life young characters.

Please don't take this as a slam. In much the way a veteran writer would face challenges writing a high school sex comedy like American Pie, I wouldn't expect a scribe fresh out of college to pen an intelligent adult film like As Good As It Gets.

It's imperative to write what you know. One might argue that while they are an adult, they are constantly surrounded by teens. Perhaps they parent high school students. Maybe they are working as a teacher while pursuing a writing career. Whatever the case, I have no doubt that they've collected some wonderful story ideas, but can they accurately tell them from a teen perspective? I think this proves difficult, if not impossible.

I realize this is dangerous turf to tread. Could this same argument not be made with regards to race and sexual orientation? Does this mean that a Caucasian writer would have difficulty creating accurate African-American characters? Or that a heterosexual writer wouldn't be able to accurately depict homosexuals? Without opening a huge can of worms, we'll leave that for thoughtful fodder to be addressed at a different time.

Many writers have penned successful adaptations of teen material and therefore the argument I pose is based mainly on original screenplays. This is due to the fact that much of the youth element in these adaptations is carefully drawn from the original material. In Election, which was brilliantly adapted by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, much of the essence of the original novel by Tom Perrotta is transposed to the screen.

If you examine teen movies that hit it on the nose, you will find more times than not that those films were written by a younger scribe. Adam Herz who wrote American Pie was born in 1972. Show me an adult who can write a movie like this as well.

Of course there are exceptions to every rule. John Hughes, ironically the grandfather of the teen movie, was in his mid-thirties when he wrote his stable of classic youth films such as Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club.

If you are an older writer who finds a youthful voice that transcends to the screen, more power to you. In the meantime, I advise seasoned writers to focus their energy on more adult themed projects. Write the next American Beauty and leave entrees like American Pie to the younger generation.

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