I've tried them before but never really got any feedback on if they were good so what is the perfect formula for writing good action fight sequences?

I don't care about car chases, fights like in the old Jean Claude films or as recent as say Ong Bak, how would you write those and have people while they read think I can literally see this happening?

That's what I want to know, the burning question.

Two great scripts to look at are Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. Perfect examples of how to write an action movie. Not sure about any martial arts examples, I guess most of it is choreographed on-set and the scripts are hard to find.

William C Martel has a good book on the subject, I think it's called "Secrets of Action Screenwriting". It has some great techniques for writing fight scenes.

Fight coordinators are usually brought in for movies.  In writing a fight sequence, you write a general overview of the fight.  Your fight may be used for the sake of pacing (how long the fight will be), to show the type of fighting (skilled martial arts or brawling), and what weapons or props (knife, bar stool) will be used.

There's no way you can write a fight sequence blow by blow.  A one minute fight would take ten or fifteen pages to write.  Rent a Jackie Chan film and try writing one of the fights in that, blow by blow.  Your head would explode before you finished.


Phil

See but I need the other type of action (Fighting) I am not worried at this point in time about the action film genre itself.

I was looking for some of the film screenplays I've seen that have fighting action not the type you mean, old Jean Claude films, Ong Bak the fighting martial arts but doesn't have to be that type.

I don't know, it seems they don't release these screenplays, even Mortal Kombat could help me to see how they're written (The fights)

Anybody know if Rambo has a lot of fighting action? I also noticed Rush Hour is on the main site in the database and if I remember correctly it's packed with fighting action.

Thanks requiem though for attempting to help, anybody else think of anything to add please by all means.


(Thanks Dogglebe that gives me something to think about while reading Rush Hour)

If you want a good fight sequence without martial arts, you can always go further back.  Look up Clint Eastwood's "Anywhich Way You Can."  Or the old Charles Bronsan movies.  He played a street fighter in one or two films.

Rambo, IIRC, doesn't have any great fights in it as Rambo outclassed all the hick deputies.

I don't know if you'd want to refer to Jackie Chan movies as he always went for flamoyant and comical fighting.


Phil

Again... let me offer this...

http://www.simplyscripts.com/scripts/bestservedcold.pdf


It may answer some questions about writing action.

Bill

If your action is guns and action sequences like car chases again it won't help me, I can read Rush Hour and most likely get exactly what I need. The fighting action not the action action of action films ha-ha if you know what I mean.

How about Two guys racing through a Home Depot trying to take each other out.  Or inside the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?

Check it out.

I take inspiration from John Carpenter’s "They Live", great fight scene, one of the best. No kung fu,no wire works, no CG just two guys beating the shit out of each other in an alley. I wish I could get a hold of that script.

Haha, I was gonna mention They Live. It's like a 7 and a half minute wrestling match and one of the funniest movie scenes ever

I read the original short story that They Lived was based on.  It took me less time to read it than it did to watch that fight.


Phil

"I'm here to kick a** and chew bubble gum.  And I'm all out of bubble gum."

You're right, Phil.  The short story is REALLY short... and not very good.

Does anyone know if R. Pipper did any other films and pornos don't count.

I wouldn't say that movie was that good.  It was good, but not THAT good.  I never did like stories where the hero is an antagonist.  THis is part of the reason why I hate Steven Segal movies.

Roddy Rowdy Piper was a big antagonist.  He was trying too hard to be tough and cool.


Phil

The fight between Nada (Roddy Piper) and Frank (Keith David) was only supposed to last 20 seconds, but Piper and David decided to fight it out for real, only faking the punches to the face. Carpenter was so impressed he kept the 5 minutes and 20 second scene intact. Interesting...

That is interesting.  That scene's great, but it's not the main reason why I love the movie.  It's very imaginitive.  The glasses.  That transporter to that other planet.  And I don't think he was an antagonist at all.  He's a badass, but he saved the world, and that makes him a protagonist in my books.  There were other good movies with badasses as main characters.  Escape from New York.  Escape from L.A. ... the Evil Dead series.  The Running Man.  

I've never seen Mad Max or Beyond Thunderdome ... but I keep hearing that they're good.