The Anatomy of Genres — A Conversation with John Truby | @BeyondTheScreenplay

John Truby (author of one of our favorite screenwriting books, The Anatomy of Story) joins us to talk about his new book, The Anatomy of Genres. We chat about movies and breakdown why people don't talk enough about genre, if they talk about it at all.

🎧 Check out our podcast @BeyondTheScreenplay

00:00 - Intro
01:05 - Episode start

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[LessonsfromtheScreenplay]

After everything John Truby has done to help this channel (his book was mentioned in the very first video) it was a pleasure to have him on to talk about his new book, The Anatomy of Genres. Links to the book:

[silentjohnny]

Knowing how much you love the Mass Effect games, I don't mind missing out on video essays if it means you're living out your dreams. All my favorite youtubers are accomplishing so much lately. For what it's worth, Im proud of you guys!

[thatrandomderp]

It's awesome to finally see the man, the myth, the legend John Truby himself in action on this podcast. His reputation precedes him with all the credit and praise you've given him.

[rohailkhan]

John Truby is a Storytelling Genius.

- Each genre' is a different "Story Type" reflecting a different "Life Philosophy".
- Understanding different genre's leads us to understand life better and write better.
- Genre's are not static. They are dynamic.
- To become a top writer, we need to "Transcend beyond Genre's".

- Twisting the story beat and blending genre's will take our storytelling to next levels.

[Firegen]

Congrats on the Mass Effect gig, Michael. This is a nice surprise before/during the holidays. Also... I think I may need to grab a copy in readiness for the new year as a creative mentor.

[laertesdd]

Thanks for the inspirng talk to all three of you.

What Truby says about transcending the genre and modifying the beats to create something new out of the known is exactly what the great composers did and still do in music.

Beethoven, for example, had a lot of capable contemporaries who knew how to compose a symphony. But they did what had already been done.

Beethoven on the other hand made something new of the symphony, starting with his Third.

There is an anecdote of an older music professor listening to Beethoven's Fifth when it was performed for the first time. And when the concert was finished he supposedly stormed out of the building muttering: "To compose like that should be forbidden."

Now, that's what I call transcending the genre 😉

[omniframe]

I used to email john and his team would help me with a lot of story issues and questions i would have, im glad to see he’s still thriving! And congrats on bioware and ME5 Michael!!

[TheZuluninja]

John Truby and Michael together...instant like

[KizetteandTotoro]

Goody! Its great to have you back. (Even for one video). I bought (and voraciously read countless times) John Truby’s book when you mentioned it on a video, so many years ago... In fact, I have bought every book you have ever mentioned. All great! Can’t wait to get my hands on this new book. Thank you so much for a great podcast and the inspiration.

[ADeadlierSnake]

A Now You See It and Lessons from the Screenplay video on the same day? God damn. Now all we need is Every Frame a Painting to come back.

[stephenpowstinger]

A fascinating book. I’m not even a story writer, I just like to analyze stories. And as a philosopher I find the unusual application of philosophy to genres most entertaining.

[therealmvp_]

This was my favorite film analysis channel. I wondered why I forgot about this page and realized it's been years. Thanks for the update and congrats🙏🏾 you're literally living your dreams

[joshradmore]

This was amazing to listen to. I'm so glad John understands that LFTS is a compliment and an asset to his work. I don't know if I ever would have read the Anatomy of Story without this channel, and I will be picking up the Anatomy of Genres immediately!

Seeing him here has furthered my appreciation of his work.

[PrimerCinePodcast]

I can’t believe you guys are involved in the next Mass Effect, I’ve been a fan of both your work and ME for many, many years. And as an aspiring filmmaker, your Mass Effect pitch for Tv for so articulate and inspiring, and now seeing that you made connections with Bioware.. it’s like history happening before my eyes hahahha. Way to goo :)

[DavetheTurnip]

Woah. You’re writing on the new Mass Effect? That’s amazing. Congratulations!

[YouGuessIGuess]

Love love LOVE when YouTube channels that draw heavily from books and other creators interview those creators. I know that this video convinced me to check out this new book, and I'm excited to dive deeper into Truby's insights.

[cook]

I recently found Beyond the Screenplay, and I’ve been binging (bingeing?) my way through the backlog. This was a treat, one I’ll probably come back to a couple times a year. Looking forward to more content, especially if it comes after a Bioware logo;)

[GiacomoDeBello]

John Truby meets LFTS??? This is crazy 😮

[AScreenwritersJourney]

I ordered my copy of The Anatomy of Genres before your video was even over. Thank you for bringing this new book to my attention. It will help me greatly as I re-write a script I finished typing into Final Draft last night for NaNoWriMo.

[Groovestonenz]

I'm not on the cesspool that is Twitter, so it does mean I occasionally miss out on good bits of news that make their way to the top of the pool. Congrats on the Mass Effect gig! My favourite series of games (loved your video on ideas for a TV show). Thanks for posting this too, love Anatomy of Story. Going to pick this one up for sure!