The wizard of Oz and The secret garden, both based on a book. Wizard of Oz: how universal messages (home is where your heart is, self growth, self acceptance, courage to change) are told by a fantasy story. It also appeals to everyone, it's ageless. Every time I watch this story I feel good and hopeful. The secret garden: also a beautiful timeless and ageless story with universal themes (the healing part of bonding with nature, finding your place after a trauma, and off course 'the magic' the girls finds in her garden and seeing the beauty of budding flowers, talking to birds and literally becoming positive in one's attitude towards life). I've seen this story many times, it never fails me.

FIELD OF DREAMS. I'll never forget the pure delight I felt watching that movie and going with the characters on that strange and wonderful journey. Then again, I'm a big softie.

Serendipity - I just love the idea of fate and karma intertwined with chance - around the theme of love. It was brilliant for all of the actors. I still go to Serendipity 3 Cafe in NYC and relive that movie moment where the two share an ice cream sundae in complete bewilderment at their chance meeting. I so wish I would have written this movie - it was a movie I saw on opening night - twice! There I said it!

Inception or Pacific Rim. Deep, rich worlds of the imagination, full of action and fun and surprises, but also full of human emotion. Worlds that make you feel things.

The Sixth Sense - Although I actually caught the trick very early in the film, it didn't spoil it for me at all. I loved the concept that you could simultaneously tell these two stories. The ideas played out were both very "at the core" ones for me. The fears of childhood - the monster under the bed moments - always seemed so intensely real. Even as an adult, I can absolutely give myself serious willies if I think back to the dark corners of my youthful bedroom. :) As an adult, of course, our fears are so different... For most happily married people, the sure knowledge that one of you will eventually be left without the other is always on the edge of your mental horizon, so, the thought that some ghost can't reconcile that after a violent, tragic, before-his-time death resonates too. That both those stories intersected and formed another story altogether - one that could really ONLY be told in images, in film! - was a wonderful thing. That's not something you can play out in a great number of stories for the entire length of a feature, but, I try and keep it at the forefront of my thinking when I write - because you CAN have multiple layers of things happening on the level of a scene. The current vogue is to talk about "subtext," and there is some element of that involved, but, this is literally two different stories playing out in the same space. There's a short you can see on YouTube, "The Lunch Date," which has the same thing happening. Two people intersect and are living two entirely different stories in the same scene - and it's only at the end that one of them realizes it. It's a lovely conceit. One I'd love to include as often as possible. :) I think we can use that *perspective* in every script if we think about the goals of both the antagonist and the protagonist. In most cases, it's the antagonist who really has the original agenda and the protagonist that stumbles into that story and tries to change it. If I have their two paths firmly in my brain, it lets me think about how they interact a bit differently. Useful tools.

First story that comes to mind is THE USUAL SUSPECTS. I remember being so absolutely blown away by that movie! Loved it all the way through, and then was completely blind-sided at the end. I love multiple characters like that, the "underdog" (albeit also the mastermind), the thrill of the chase/discovery for the authorities and trying to unravel and piece things together right along with them, and, of course, the surprise reveal and how awesome that whole "bulletin board" scene was as you were flung into the A-ha --- loved all of it! I'm also a fan of stories which weave multiple story-lines together -- BABEL and CRASH are two that spring to mind as movies I adore in that vein -- complex, involving, engaging ... and I marvel at how the writers and filmmakers made choices about how and when to weave those threads together. Fabulous!!

In terms of pure concept I would have to say "Jaws in space"* every time. Assuming you were already aware of 'Jaws', then this concept tells you everything you need to know. In terms of taking a concept and making a great film (or novel) I would have to agree with the above; 'Inception', 'Sixth Sense' & 'Usual Suspects', but also add in 'Fight Club'. I guess from that list you can see that perhaps I like a good twist :) *Alien

It looks as if everyone likes a good twist :-) Glad I was a day late and a dollar short on this one. Very informative.

Though they are practically opposites of each other: Amelie and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. Both are compelling stories about people's secret desires and motivations, the lies we tell ourselves and how the world comes crashing into them. Interestingly, I don't feel like I've only ever had one screenplay concept that is even in the same vein. Also The Manchurian Candidate - which manages to be political and topical without ever feeling preachy.

Here is some general takeaway from the question posed with the OP. Each of you was able to single out some point of connection to the movie of your choice. It may be emotional, intellectual, creative, most likely all three and then some. That is an IMPORTANT consideration when you sort through your own story ideas to determine what you want to write. How do you CONNECT with the idea? It's critical you do have some sort of psychological resonance with the story material, but also knowing the specifics of why and what that resonance is, then taking note of it at the beginning of the process can be a touchstone for you throughout the process. So six months down the road on your third rewrite and you ask yourself, "Why the hell did I think I wanted to write this in the first place," you've got those initial notes to remind you why.