Friday, June 3, 2011

TODAY'S NUGGET: #78 WGA Script of All Time - Rocky (1976)

[Quick Summary: A small time boxer gets the chance of a lifetime to fight the reigning Champ.]

"Rocky" surprised me.  It's a simple, clean script.

Rocky has a clear goal. He's got flaws to overcome.  He's got a strong antagonist that pushes him to arc. There are subplots that support Rocky's journey.

How hard is it to write a simple, clean script with a character that sticks to his goal and overcomes his flaw?

Very.

Most of the specs I see are overwritten (ex. overlapping description in both the dialogue and narrative) or underwritten (ex. jumps of logic that make it hard to follow). 

It's tough to get the balance just right such as "Rocky".

So what's a solution?  Writing lots of scripts. Reading lots of scripts.

How many is "lots of scripts"? One more than you have written or read.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: "Rocky" works because it's simple, and clean.  Very hard to do.

Rocky (1976)
By Sylvester Stallone

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