Longlegs
Fabulous recreation of the Oedipus myth
EST V ACT domestic box office revenue
$58 – 87MM V $74MM
Mythosis universal quests used
2
Audience appeal
1.33 – 1.77%
Hidden potential
$730–810MM
Longlegs directed by Osgood Perkins is a story about an FBI agent who is assigned to track down a serial killer responsible for a series of murder-suicides. The movie portrays a conflict between basic human desires of protection & brutal display of power. Mythosis uses 2 mythological tales to extract the plot structure of the movie.
1. The invisible plot structure of Longlegs
1A. The script of Longlegs borrows 87% of its events from 2 mythological tales
Lee’s quest is driven by the desire to stop the killings and mirrors the tale of Oedipus from Greek mythology. Both Oedipus & Lee want to protect but are victims of erroneous judgement.
Longlegs’ quest is driven by the desire to dominate others and mirrors the tale of Circe from Greek mythology. Both Circe & Longlegs use their magical power to acquire unscrupulously.
Ruth’s quest is underdeveloped. She makes a deal with Longlegs for Lee’s sake similar to Demeter’s deal for Persephone.
Carter also has an underdeveloped quest. His search for an elusive person i.e. Longlegs, is similar to Gilgamesh’s search for the Utnapishtim.
NOTE: Detailed mirroring of each character’s primary quest to their respective mythological tales is in section “3A. Quests of characters and their mythological counterparts”
Mythosis plot structure
# 598
Tales interweaved
Circe & Oedipus
I. How does interweaving mythological tales lead to infinite story plots?
II. Can the pursuit of a Desire have more than one quest?
2. The potential of Longlegs' plot structure: $58-87MM
The interweaving of 32 mythological tales can generate a billion unique stories. By using these 32 tales, we can extract the plot structure of any story across various genres. Our study of blockbuster, hit, and flop plot structures led to the discovery of the Mythosis Code, a set of principles for creating compelling stories. The plot structure of a story is analyzed to see how well it adheres to these storytelling principles.
2A. Plot structure evaluation of Longlegs
- All Blockbusters have at least 3 universal quests. Longlegs uses 2 universal quests of Family and Power.
- In Blockbusters, each universal quest is mirrored by ONLY ONE character. Lee mirrors the quest of Family whereas Longlegs mirrors the universal quest of Power.
- Every Blockbuster character borrows at least 35% of the universal quest. Lee borrows 44% of events from the quest for Family. Longlegs borrows 16% from the universal quest of Power.
- Blockbusters have a quest interweaving threshold of 0.5. Interweaving occurs when events of 2 quests occur simultaneously in the story. The quest interweaving score of Longlegs is 0.33 and is below par.
An example of interweaving the quests of Lee & Longlegs:
2B. Box office revenue estimation of Longlegs
The plot structure heavily depends on the singular quest of Lee.
The Script Score measures a plot structure’s adherence to the four principles of Mythosis Code. We use the Script Score to estimate a movie’s audience appeal & revenues. Blockbuster plot structures have a score of at least 0.64 and appeal to 20% of the audiences.
Script Score
0.05
Audience appeal
1.33 – 1.77%
I. How is Mythosis Code used to estimate revenues?
II. Aren’t box-office revenues influenced by several factors beyond just the story plot?
3. The ideal plot structure of Longlegs
We have identified 32 mythological tales, the superset of all tales across cultures. The quests of these tales have also recurred over time periods. They represent human behaviours that are deeply embedded in our shared memories. Each tale is the richest expression of the pursuit of a human desire. The tales have a unique pattern of events spread over 5 major arcs.
Mapping a character’s quest to the relevant mythological tale reveals the gaps in their quest, if any. Plugging these gaps with the missing events deepens the character quest. The missing events also provide an opportunity for interweaving the various quests. These events strengthen the story and unlock its hidden potential.
3A.Quest of characters and their mythological counterparts
Quest 1: Lee mirrors the universal quest for Family
Lee’s desire for Family stems from the need to protect. The tale of Oedipus from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Family.
Quest 2: Longlegs mirrors the universal quest for Power
Longlegs’ desire for Power stems from the need to dominate others. The tale of Circe from Greek mythology is the universal quest for Power.
3B.Gaps in the current plot structure
The current plot structure is constructed with just two quests. Though Lee’s quest is very powerful, the second quest is shallow. Moreover, the interweaving of quests is below threshold leading to a disjointed plot structure.
3C.Unlocking the hidden potential
The ideal plot structure for Longlegs is # 17,991. It is a blockbuster plot structure that interweaves the tales of Circe, Oedipus & Gilgamesh. This plot structure can generate revenues of $730 – 810MM in the domestic market!
The ideal plot structure builds around Lee’s quest, which is very powerful. It makes the following interventions:
- Retains Ruth’s quest
- Deepens Longlegs’ quest by borrowing additional events from Circe’s tale. This makes the character layered and complex.
- Reconstructs Carter’s quest by borrowing events from Gilgamesh’s tale. Building this quest helps in creating a cohesive story.
Explore Mythosis Plot structure # 17,991 that enhances current revenues by ~12X!
Tags: Circe, Oedipus, Power, Family, Osgood Perkins, Neon, Black Bear International, 2024