Home Star
Log Line: They say the dinosaurs were killed by an asteroid — what if it wasn’t an accident?
Previous Log Line: An adventure to another solar system is undone by envy, treachery and a lust for power that threatens the home star. (Replaced after the movie trailer for “65” made a similar dinosaur extinction reveal which removed the surprise.)
Genre: Science Fiction
Age group: family audience
Market: Star Wars meets Jurassic Park
Triangulation: Star Wars meets Jurassic Park with the technical accuracy of 2001 A Space Odyssey, the philosophical depth of the original Star Trek and the military accuracy of Black Hawk Down.
Business Context
Disney dropped the ball with Star Wars and Home Star was written to fill that gap in the market.
The science fiction market is generally under-served. Only 2-3% of movies produced are in the genre but gave us 18% of the highest grossing movies of all time.
Movies (by genre) released — 2-3% are sci-fi — https://i.imgur.com/sAbm3.png
18% of the Top 100 grossing (adjusted for inflation) movies of all time are sci-fi. That’s excluding fantasy or superhero, just sci-fi. — https://www.filmsite.org/boxoffice3.html
Budget
The story is designed to minimise risk, maximise return on investment and to be “scaleable”, i.e. Low, Med or High budget have corresponding potential. It was written to be shot on a low budget and for any additional budget to end up on the screen.
The cast is small and the live action easy to shoot. The majority of the live action was written specifically to use Virtual Production techniques, i.e. Unreal Engine and video wall technology. Several outdoor locations have been identified that would be suitable for Low, Med or High budget. Many indoor locations are written to re-use the same sets with different dressing.
Effects
A significant proportion of the budget would be for visual effects but the story is careful to keep most of it easy to separate from the live action. Some of the more expensive visual effects are potentially available as stock footage produced for science documentaries. However, preference would be given to bespoke visual effects as they would lead to greater return on investment potential. This web site shows what one person can do from a home office.
Business Potential
Specifically designed to be a “Christmas Afternoon” adventure for all of the family, i.e. the sort of movie that TV companies would compete to show on Christmas afternoon.
Specifically designed to be cinematic — there are many scenes that will be spectacular on a large screen. It was written with High Dynamic Range screens in mind.
Sequels: the ending is designed to lead to excitement for a sequel while at the same time leaving the audience completely satisfied. The story is set in the middle of a time-line to allow for sequels and prequels.
Spin Offs: a broad range of spin-off movies and TV series are possible. The story is set within a coherent “universe” and there are deliberately undeveloped subplots within the script specifically for this purpose.
Other Franchise Possibilities:
Toys – action figures, costumes, props, etc.
Games – broad range of console, computer, role playing and board games possible
Books
Comics and graphic novels