Did you know that the most successful(both in gross revenue and in number of awards) film sequels are the ones that aren't originally created to be sequels?
And there aren't many of these gems... But here is a compilation of Top-10 money-making film scripts, which aren't designed to become a sequel, but ended up being so. Remember that each time a spec-script has a new sequel in series, the writer earns more credit and a higher rank:
(10 being the lowest rank , 1 being the highest rank)
10- Garrett Fort & Francis Edward Faragoh 's "Frankenstein" (followed by The Bride of Frankenstein")
9- Michael Mann's "Manhunter" (followed by "Silence of the Lambs")
8- John A. Russo's "Night of the Living Dead" (followed by "Dawn of the Dead")
7- Kim Krizan & Richard Linklater 's "Before Sunrise" (followed by "Before Sunset")
6- Maurice Richlin's "The Pink Panther" (followed by "A Shot in the Dark")
5- Bob Gale's "Back to the Future" (followed by Back to the Future II")
4- Dan O'Bannon 's "Alien" (followed by "Aliens")
3- James Cameron & Gale Anne Hurd 's "The Terminator" (followed by "The Terminator II")
2- Andy & Lana Wachowski 's "The Matrix" (followed by "Matrix Reloaded")
1- Mario Puzo & Francis Ford Coppola 's "The Godfather" (followed by "The Godfather II")
Any experienced moviemaker knows that obeying all the right filming or right writing rules never can take a film to a desired success point ; but instead the movies which only obey a few rules while destroying others, may become a greatest hit.
And here are the top-3 rules those 10 movies shared together putting into a higher priority against other rules to be followed:
(3 being the least important, 1 being the most)
3- Write a strong and everlasting conflict, so strong and so everlasting that even at the end of the movie, the winner is not quiet satisfied, and the loser hasn't given up yet...
2- Write two strong and enduring characters, so strong and so enduring that the evil one is never beaten, and the good one is never given up...
1- Write one hell of a strong and never-ever-to-be-forgotten ending, so strong and so unforgettable that whoever sees that ending can't pull himself together without thinking "what's gonna happen next" after the closing credits, so he'd aim for becoming a moviemaker to make a sequel for a continuation to that ending... This is exactly what happens to the second-sequel producers, when they see a movie.
Whereas any writer in the business knows that, whether it's publishing a novel or submitting a spec-script to a festival, the most crucial part is the opening and the moment when a story starts to evolve around a hero.
And even so, as I said earlier, these 3 rules are not necessarily the best 3 rules. But they prove one thing for sure that: Obeying a few rules instead of obeying them all, is more picturesque.
