Where Film Ideas Come From

by Jose Ordoñez Jr.

As I’m writing this blog, Florida is under the threat of a category 5 storm that is currently whipping the Bahamas. I’m sitting in the set of Three Bedrooms, where I also hunkered down for hurricane Irma just two years ago. Now that I’ve gotten the dramatic hook out of the way, let me just say that I will most likely not be terribly affected by this hurricane, at least not in the way that others are. 

One of the recurring questions I hear aspiring screenwriters ask in forums is: Where do script ideas come from? I can definitely tell you from experience that it does not come from sitting down and thinking. Maybe that’s what the actual writing can look like, but not where the brainstorming occurs. Brainstorming often looks like a flash of lighting striking the subconscious. I don’t know much about the psychology of creativity from an academic perspective, but from personal involvement, I can tell you that my best ideas have come from experiencing life. 

Three Bedrooms is the combined result of three happenings in my life. The first was a deeply personal and impactful relational episode in my college years. The second, an awkward family encounter in rural Colombia two years ago. The last one was Irma.

Three Bedrooms was filmed where I first experienced hurricane Irma.

“Writing is introspection and memory.”

Writing Three Bedrooms felt like a walk in the park. I mean, I obviously spent six months writing and re-writing; but still, the spine of the story came about easily. I didn’t have to imagine what things would be like. All I had to do was remember; to translate personal feelings into imagery, to develop a character from an experience, and to time the outline to the speed of a storm. Writing is introspection and memory. Characters become extensions of personality and plots reimagined experience. If you’re in search of a film idea to write, stop imagining and begin experiencing. Or maybe continue experiencing and begin remembering. There’s enough joy and pain to go around. Imagine, but more importantly, remember.

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