Production-wise, nothing seems to be happening with "Carnival" right now BUT the writer was recently hired to write "Clash of the Titans 2" which proves your original work can still be a writing sample that gets you noticed (even if it doesn't get produced).

"Carnival" didn't blow me away but the guy pretty much proved he's got talent, especially when it comes to "world building", so he does seem like a pretty good match to a fantasy-heavy project.

Quoted from Grandma Bear I believe they do want original ideas....original ideas well told! I've heard many people complain about this and they all seem to think THEIR story is original or unique and Hollywood is just stupid for not buying THEIR script. I've read a shitload  of scripts, spec and produced and very seldom do I read something original. I would say that Killing On Carnival Row was original. Not my type of script, but definitely different and it's in production (I think)... I have also talked to Hollywood people and tried to pitch to them (face to face) and I definitely believe they are looking for unique and original. Like I said, most writers just seem so convinced THEIR stories are fresh and new when they really are not. JMHO...

I agree with you Pia...to an extent.

I don't like talking about "Hollywood" too much, partly because I don't work in that enviroment and partly because it's such a vast array of people and companies that it's probably impossible to say what they are after.

However, simply by looking at what they produce and release tells its own story.

What they mean by "original" seems to be something quite specific. Looking at the article at the beginning I think what they want is this:

"Reasonably fresh takes on well-established genres not based on exsting intellectual properties".

The original stories that are being vaunted there are a sci-fi comedy, 2 heist movies, an action-thriller and a teen comedy etc. They're not looking to re-invent the wheel here.

The heist movie sounds like fun...magicians using their skills to rob a bank. It's a fresh take on a very well-worn story...but at its core it's still probably going to be mechanically very similar to other stories in that vein.

That's not really a bad thing. I think audiences are comfortable with genre anyway.

I also agree with you about the lack of original stories. Since I started looking around for scripts I've come across a tiny number of ideas, let alone fully-developed stories, that were original. I think the influence of Hollywood on writers is so strong that it colours almost everything they touch...people write Hollywood-lite type scripts...they seem to pander to what they think Hollywood wants rather than just expressing themselves.

The screenwriting books also push a very rigid structure on people as well. Not just a script structure, but a structure of thought as well.  New writers are kind of squeezed and pressed by their influences and by the manuals they all gravitate towards when starting into a thin, conformist line.

It's a shame because in a world where we now have the technology to let the world see our crazy stories and wild imaginations, everybody is just trying to lever themselves into one of the few jobs in Hollywood.

OFFTOPIC: The only problem with "Carnival" was that it was awful heavy. It's fantasy was pretty heavy, I felt.