Showing posts with label box office. Show all posts
Showing posts with label box office. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 06, 2012

Preston Sturges's eleven rules for box office appeal

Preston Sturges, director, screenwriter and the father of screwball comedy put down these 11 rules for box office appeal:


(Source: The Cinema of Preston Sturges: A Critical Study; Image: Preston Sturges, via PBS.)


  1. A pretty girl is better than an ugly one.
  2. A leg is better than an arm.
  3. A bedroom is better than a living room.
  4. An arrival is better than a departure.
  5. A birth is better than a death.
  6. A chase is better than a chat.
  7. A dog is better than a landscape.
  8. A kitten is better than a dog.
  9. A baby is better than a kitten.
  10. A kiss is better than a baby.
  11. A pratfall is better than anything.
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