Cheers

Groundhog Day, to my mind, is incredibly original. It follows the Hero’s Journey. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is incredibly original and its protagonist is on a Hero’s Journey. Pulp Fiction is incredibly original and Chris Vogler devotes a whole chapter to analysing how it follows the paradigm that Joseph Campbell identified. District 9. Brokeback Mountain. 4 Lions. All great original films. All great original, emotionally engaging films. All follow the Hero’s Journey.

Have some unoriginal screenplays been written to the Hero’s Journey? Millions. But likewise some dreary, self-indulgent dross has resulted from eschewing it.

I think it’s worthwhile to consider what originality means and why it’s important to you. To me originality means creating something that hasn’t been seen before and it’s important because audiences will feel bored if what you serve up is entirely predictable. On the other hand, I’ve seen a lot of (generally) young filmmakers who are desperate to be “original” but it’s got nothing to do with the audience. It’s all about pandering to their egos. The mainstream audience doesn’t get my screenplay? Fantastic! I must be a genius!!!

To me, originality is vital. But it comes in the imagination of your concept. It comes in the conjuring of your story world. In the vividness of your characters. And in the brilliance of your scenes. If you want to write a story that has as its spine the Hero’s Journey, it requires not less originality but more because we’ve seen the stories before. But the great writers can take this shape, reanimate it for their times and make it seem fresh and relevant to a whole new audience.

Yes, it’s not just possible to create original stories with the Hero’s Journey. It’s obligatory. But it’s also a huge creative challenge to which many are called but few are chosen.