Quite often I've had ideas for or solved problems in my current script while watching something totally different, so I think it's helpful to watch a broad range of movies. But also, watching movies in your genre in the prep phase can be really useful. It just gets you into the right frame of mind.

I find myself drawn to the genre in which I'm writing, but with a lot of stories there's genre overlap. If I'm writing a sci-fi script I'll watch "The Fly" or "Event Horizon" or "2001..." However, if the story is also about a father and son, I'd be just as inclined to watch "There Will Be Blood" or "Field of Dreams" or... "The Road." lol But you're right about tone -- watching another movie in the same genre while I'm writing is definitely disorienting. Great insight!

I do the same in the pre-writing process; watch films that are in the vein of what I'm going to be writing, but I've never thought of how watching films in that genre while I'm actually scene writing might affect it. The question posed in this post is pretty interesting, especially while applying it to comedy; I would think that it's harder to write comedy while watching tons of comedy because you might write something similar to what you've seen (or read), but then again, how do you know if you're ripping something off if you don't watch what's already been done?

For me it's not a question of genre so much as rhythm: if I can find something with a similar rhythm to something I'm working on, regardless of genre, I'm happy to watch a bit from time to while I'm writing pages to keep my ear (and brain) primed. I generally don't listen to music as I write but I do watch/listen to shows (TV or film) *as* music when I write. For example, I recently watched Breakfast on Pluto and I was blown away by how late it gets into scenes and how early it leaves. I have the film on a constant mental loop right now as a touchstone for the scene pacing I want (and need) on my current project (which is very different in tone and style). Likewise, Blackadder and Fawlty Towers are very different from what I'm working on, but they both have the right dialogue tempo, and ratio of verbal to physical comedy. Watching an episode from time to time and keeping my finger on that comedy pulse is helpful, too. I'm not worried about what I watch "contaminating" what I write because I'm usually watching for very specific, transferrable elements between works that are otherwise significantly different.

I generally take Scott's advice and stay away from the genre I'm writing. However, I'm knee deep in a Sci-fi/thriller and have still been watching the original Twilight Zone series on Netflix. For me, if it inspires to be better, it's positive. Seek for what the masters sought. Rod Serling was a master. I don't want to mimic him, but he has so much to teach.

I'm still a novice, so when I write a script, one of the things I do early on to help me establish tone is figure out the "A meets B via X and Y" pitch and what bits from each movie/tv show I'm going to borrow.

I hear Shakespeare used to do that, too...

Don't mock, be kind...

This is a good question. It all depends on how you were influenced and how you stay motivated to write within that specific genre. Whenever I listen to music I hear the melody and rhythm, not the lyrics. If someone asked what that song I just listened to repeatedly was about, I wouldn't be able to answer. It is obviously different for me with movies, but if you're able to find that emotional charge from watching a movie in the midst of writing, without fixating too much on the mechanics of the movie, it might help in the progression of the story. It's important though to approach your writing and story delicately after that emotional influence, whether it's comedy or drama.