“The Outlaw Josey Wales” My first three movie selections for inspiration are old western movies – obviously. But I draw different aspects from each, like from Clint Eastwood’s, “The Outlaw Josey Wales”, I drew a large connection from this movie and my ideas for my characters revenge arc. He starts off a simple man before something throws him into grief and burning for revenge. It also tells the tale of how he enacts his revenge, and of how he tries to rebuild his life. “Once Upon a Time in the West” In “Once Upon a Time in the West”, it tells a tale of drama and intrigue, as layers of the story are slowly unveiled as the story progresses, such as how the main character, Cheyenne, actually has been out for revenge against the main antagonist, Frank, for far longer than the film shows. This movie details a true looking old west that’s more factual than most other westerns, show casing a harsh world, high stakes, and characters with real motives and aspirations. I want to replicate how Sergio Leone creates such a convincing old west setting and the way he builds tension, which through the “Dollars Trilogy”, is shown to be one of his greatest strengths. “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” Another Sergio Leone classic, “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” show cases everything a good western should be about. It has the classic duels with a new twist, it’s got crime galore, and it even has the backdrop of the America Civil war in the background. The way in which Sergio romanticizes the old west with glorious wide shots of the world around his characters allows us to feel the freedom of the world, as our main characters ride across the scene in their horses. In this way, I want my movie to capture that same feeling of freedom, of large stretches of untamed wilds, to fill my audience with a sense of wonder at the world as it once was. The savagery, the solitary life style, and yet the community that births from it. “The Thing (1982)” A bit off from the others on this list, “The Thing” tells the story of a US science crew in Antartica suddenly finding themselves face-to-face with an alien with the ability to imitate life. Now while my story may not benefit from this horror style of movie, I more so draw inspiration from the characters and tension building techniques this movie utilizes. The in depth characterization of each crew member adds so much to the movie, rather than making them just flat states. Each of them has their own personality, their own goals and lives they lead, allowing the audience to really connect with them, and feel for them when the tension gets real. I was to use the feeling of real people that this movie creates with mine in order to move my audience with convincing characters that they can relate to. In order to set the tone, I described the setting. The dusty wooden town allows us to think of the close knit old western town we see in these classic spaghetti westerns. I also described the people, to allow my audience to feel like they’re right there down on the ground. I tried to hook people with the imagery and the idea of an old western town, with the whimsy that it breathes into a story.