Lucas' Hero's Journey vs. Spielberg's Imagination

I’ve heard how The Hero’s Journey is a great learning tool for young screenwriters, but it’s nothing but an overrated blueprint. I used The Hero’s Journey as a guide for my screenplay The Lost Continent of Atlantis with each scene lasting 5 pages. While the idea was high concept and had mass appeal, the screenplay itself fell flat. It was when I started writing screenplays with shorter scenes lasting 2-3 pages, and treating every 10 minutes of the story as their own individual reels of film that I learned how to write a good screenplay.

There’s no denying The Hero’s Journey did wonders for George Lucas as it made Star Wars a box office hit in 1977, and made him a household name. Since the film’s success, many others have tried to copy the template of using The Hero’s Journey for their screenplays, and have failed either at the box office or with movie critics. Of course, there are rare exceptions such as The Matrix Trilogy, and a few other films here and there. Hell, the Star Wars prequels weren’t even well received. And you’re probably asking, what about all the Spielberg films over the years?

While The Hero’s Journey was the main source of inspiration for George Lucas, Steven Spielberg has never even once claimed to be inspired by The Hero’s Journey. He cites four classics films as his main source of inspiration, It’s A Wonderful Life directed by Frank Capra and starring Jimmy Stewart, The Searchers directed by John Ford and starring John Wayne, Seven Samurai, a Japanese film directed by Akira Kurosawa, and Lawrence of Arabia directed by David Lean and starring Peter O’Toole.

While Lucas has also been inspired these films, he still rehashes The Hero’s Journey in the forefront of his films which overshadows these cinematic influences. Spielberg on the other hand, incorporates four tiny subtle themes such as ordinary characters in extraordinary plots, difficult father-son relationships, an innocent sense of wonder in childhood or losing innocence and coming of age, and an optimistic view of the world. By making these elements small in detail and showcasing these elements in a different way in each film, these cinematic influences become clear as crystal within both the story and the cinematography.

In addition to the influences of Lucas and Spielberg, one must also consider their track records as directors. Lucas directed the experimental sci-fi flop THX-1138 which he followed up with a moderate success called American Graffiti, and then had his breakthrough film as a director with Star Wars. He then handed over The Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi to other directors while he shifted more of his attention to writing and producing. He didn’t direct any other films until the Star Wars prequels years later, and now since those are finished, he plans on returning to writing and producing.

Spielberg has directed nonstop from his first professional assignment directing the pilot for Rod Serling’s Night Gallery all the way down to his next three films. He will direct the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones franchise (all four have been written and produced by Lucas, which he’s directed). And he’ll also be directing a biopic about Abraham Lincoln as well as the upcoming psychological sci-fi film Interstellar.

There’s no denying Star Wars was an influential trilogy that changed the business, and demonstrated what was possible on the big screen. Not to mention Lucas’ contributions to the development of sound design and special effects with Skywalker Sound and Industrial, Light & Magic are immeasurable. But George Lucas as a filmmaker as well as The Hero’s Journey are both way overrated. In contrast, Steven Spielberg has proven you don’t need The Hero’s Journey to be king at the box office, just a wonderful imagination and a good eye for storytelling.