Reddit reviews The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories

I've read something similar (The Seven Basic Plots). I guess to clarify, I'd say that with movies you have to tell the same story with the same structure in a different way. Maybe it's just because I've studied it the most, but movies seems to be the most mechanically suffocating out of any medium. There are a bajillion things that are not open to creative interpretation that you must abide by if you want to do something new. You have to adapt whatever creative idea you have to make sure it follows every little rule and that's before you even get into creative battles with the producer etc.

Lots of great suggestions in here, but to really get ahead of the game, I would recommend "The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories." It's a very fascinating look at how all kinds of different stories are, at their root, nearly identical to one another. Amazon listing: http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Basic-Plots-Tell-Stories/dp/0826452094

I'm not aware of a TED talk, but The Seven Basic Plots may be what you are looking for:

• Overcoming the monster
  
  
• Rags to riches
  
  
• The quest
  
  
• Voyage and return
  
  
• Comedy
  
  
• Tragedy
  
  
• Rebirth
  
  There are a few other variations on this, but Booker's text is probably the most widely known.