Hollywood Movies and My Nanowrimo Plotline

Been contemplating my nanowrimo story line these few days. Which got me thinking about common storylines found in books, movies, plays, games and TV shows. They are always the same, whether it was made 50 years ago or yesterday. There is a saying that all over the world in any culture, there are about 10 or so folk tale story lines, and it’s they are all pretty similar across different cultures and country.

Anyway, we don’t have to look far. Hollywood recycles the crap plotlines over and over again. Here’s a few. These may or may not feature in Simon’s Nanowrimo novel.

Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy wins back girl. They live happily ever after. However, updated for the new millennium, the variation would go something like this – Boy meets boy at Backstreet Boys concert, boy loses boy… you get the gist of it. Another one I read was even better. Boy robot meets girl robot. Boy robot loses girl robot. Boy robot builds girl robot. Bwahahaha. Cracks me up each time.
Some examples (not the robot one): Any rom com by Meg Ryan or Hugh Grant.

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Fantasy medieval civilization comes under threat of a mad God / evil tyrant / invading warlord / powerful wizard / Godzilla-like creature / horrible natural disaster. Ancient prophecy of a chosen one comes true in the form a small child from the village or a stranger who appears from nowhere. Hero usually has a strange power like prescience / prophecy / shoots flashy thunderbolts from hand / can call upon furry animals or CGI crap like that. Anyway, hero (usually with dark past and broody demeanor) beats the sh!t out of big bad guy, wins the girl, saves the village, rides off into the sunset in a flying Pegasus.
Some example: Clash of the Titans, King Arthur.

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Aging sportsman (like boxer or athlete) gets beaten by cocky rival. Then follows a humiliating phase where he loses everything and all the worldly possessions. He hits rock bottom with alcohol, and finally turns around with help of family or new love. Trains up again for revenge match-up. Wins vindictively, of course. Then some sentimental crap follows.
Some examples: Rocky. Most of these sports movies are pretty crap anyway.

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Former hitman is called out of retirement for one last hit by his former employers, the Mafia, some top secret neo-governmental organization or some seedy rich corporation. Hitman family killed long ago, he’s always gripped with guilt about not being to do anything about it, cue horrifying recurring nightmares and inner demons. Later finds out target mark is some innocent hot chick, has a change of heart, makes a run for it (with the girl, of course, if not there wouldn’t be a movie) while dodging more hitmen from his employers. Lots of slo-mo gunfights and extra in spiffy suits getting wasted in a variety of ways. Hitman and cute chick live happily ever after in Mexico. Or Tahiti.
Some examples: The Replacement Killers.

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Teenager has crummy life, squabbling parents, gets bullied in school. Freak accident sends teenager back in time to childhood or parents teenage years, giving him/ her a chance to fiddle with the past to change the future. Then freak accident happens again and send hero back to present. Now there is two possible endings, either the change is for good, or, there is no change at all, hero realizes to be thankful for his/her life.
Some examples: 13 Going On 30, Back to the Future, Peggy Sue Got Married.

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A group of boys and / or girls go on a road trip across the country (its always America, never Sudan or Kazakhstan) just before entering college, as a last chance of freedom. Along the way, the young kids, discover themselves, fall in and out of love, discover their lost innocence of youth and finally become reach adulthood (as contradictory as that sound), discover the beauty and rural warmth of their country (always America, never Bangladesh or Azerbaijan).
Some examples: mostly road movies, can’t remember their names at the moment.

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Girl sees ghost. Lots of blood, screaming and shuffling in the dark.
Some examples: Every other Korean movie these days.

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Aliens come in their flying saucers at night and abduct nubile girls to perform strange body probes, chip implants and brainwashing. No particular story line or ending.
Some examples: Plan 9 from Outer Space, Mars Attack!