How do you make a good or great movie?

[Jayson]

What is the formula?  I think it has to do with the writing of the screenplay and the actor's delivery on it.  In fact, even awesome special effects can't save a poorly written/acted movie.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Jayson

[kingpotato]

I will say Script, Actors and the Camera focus/ picture or whatever you want to call it. First the script needs to hold by itself, some stories are so good that are remade over time so your script needs stand the pass of time, for example the Godfather came out back in 1972 but its still praise as one of the best movies ever made, however worldwide it made 268,5 million dollars and the fast and furious 9 movie made 726.2 million, Is the fast and furious a better movie ? Fuck no, but it was made with the purpose of making money, thats the only reason they keep making FF movies. But I can assure you that in 20 years from now people will still remember the Godfather but nobody will give a crap about FF9.

[The Blackangel]

You have to have a good story first and foremost. After you have that, you need to pick your cast. Not every actor can properly pull off every role. For example Kevin Costner and Marlon Brando could never have pulled off the roles of Harry and Lloyd in Dumb & Dumber. So an appropriately chosen cast is vital. Then you have to have the right director and production company with the right producers. The crew behind the camera is just as important as the cast in front of the camera, if not moreso. But it all begins with an engaging story. If it's not something people would enjoy seeing as a movie, it's not going to make it.

I don't know if any of my stories that I have written (2 novels, several shorts) would make good movies, but it would be interesting.

[egghead]

For me the story line must be very interesting, the plot should be engaging, and the characters should be identifiable. The movie needs a good cinematographer, as well.

[m76]

You need a good story, and that means a clever story. And a clever story can only be written by a clever / intelligent person with lots of life experiences.

But being intelligent and experienced doesn't automatically guarantee that you can write a good story.

The creators of the movie must also put the story above themselves and their ego. Don't look for how the movie can serve you, look for ways how you can make your movie better.

The cast must also respect the source material  if available. Nowadays it has become the chic in hollywood to take a poop on the source material. For example Pedro Pascal is proud of the fact that he knows nothing about the Last of Us games, and tries to spin this as  a good thing. A respectful professional would've played the games immediately when they got the call that they were cast in the screen adaptation. Or if you are not a gamer at least watch the story portions on video. This is unbecoming to a professional actor, it is the behaviour of an entitled ego driven brat.

This has turned into a bit of a rant, but I'm really angry at hollywood for these kinds of transgressions. And their mouthpieces trying to blame the fans for demanding them to respect established lore.

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by m76

[killamch89]

• No Woke Proganda BS
• No Censoring
• Solid script/actors/story
• A decent Budget

[Empire]

For me, it's just entertainment. I have a long week, stress out about work, get rekt at video games so when I make my weekly trip to the cinema all I want is a fun movie that shows me a good time for a couple of hours. Probably why I tend to walk out of movies like Kingsman, Transformers, superhero flicks and high budget action movies buzzed and happy while indie/Oscar bait/slower character driven movies like Widows and Hereditary ( off the top of my head) don't really do it for me.

[Head_Hunter]

I never acted before, and I don't pay attention to movies that much. But I think 'good budget, script/play, story plays a major role towards a quality type of movie.