TODAY'S NUGGET: Risky Business (1983) - How a Line of Dialogue Set Up the Next Three Scenes (Unity of Theme)

[Quick Summary: After his parents leave for the weekend, chaos ensues in a high schooler's house.]

Roger Ebert wrote:

The very best thing about the movie is its dialogue. Paul Brickman, who wrote and directed, has an ear so good that he knows what to leave out. This is one of those movies where a few words or a single line says everything that needs to be said, implies everything that needs to be implied, and gets a laugh. When the hooker tells the kid, "Oh, Joel, go to school. Learn something," the precise inflection of those words defines their relationship for the next three scenes.

So what is their relationship for the next three scenes?  I think it's about how Joel sees it (adolescent sex) vs. how Lana sees it (business):*

SCENE 1 - Because Lana still has his mother's glass egg, Joel has no choice but to leave her at his house while he is at school. He is desperately unprepared for a pop quiz.

SCENE 2- Meanwhile, Lana checks out all the silverware, art, etc.  She takes his dad's Porsche for a drive.

SCENE 3 - Joel returns home to find Lana has invited her hooker friends to use the house for customers.  Here is the scene when he returns home and finds out:

EXT. JOEL'S HOUSE - AFTER SCHOOL - DAY

Joel stops his station wagon midway up the driveway. Miles is hanging out in the front yard. Joel goes to him.

MILES: Hi Joel.

JOEL: What's going on?

MILES: I'm waiting for Glenn?

JOEL: Where is he?

MILES: Inside.

JOEL: In the house?

MILES: He wanted to meet her.

JOEL (not pleased): What is this?

Joel goes toward the house. Glenn exits. He sports a wide grin.

JOEL: What're you doing?

GLENN: I was inside.

JOEL: I can see that.

GLENN (vamping awkwardly): So... you're home now...

Something is definitely up.

JOEL: Yeah, I live here, remember?

Joel turns to look at Miles. Conveniently, Miles is facing the street, his back turned to them.

JOEL: Is Lana still here?

GLENN: She's inside.

JOEL: Tell me you didn't do anything with her --

GLENN: Who? Lana?

JOEL: Yeah.

GLENN: No. Nothing. I just met her. She's nice.

JOEL: You're sure. You didn't do anything with her.

GLENN: Yeah. I swear.

Joel looks back at Miles. He's holding back a chuckle.

JOEL: You fucked her, didn't you?

GLENN: No.  I told you.

JOEL: Yes. You did.

GLENN (indignantly): I did not fuck her, Joel.

JOEL (after a beat): Okay.

GLENN: Ask me about Vicki.

JOEL: Who's Vicki?

A VOICE from the front door. It comes from a tall blonde on a rather large frame. VICKI'S about eight hard years older than Lana.

VICKI: Are you Joel?

Glenn punches Joel's arm gratefully.

GLENN: Owe you one.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:  I was impressed how the dialogue ("go to school, learn something") nailed the theme, which was then played out in the next three scenes.

Risky Business (1983)(3rd draft, 11/30/81)
by Paul Brickman

*Ebert is not often "astounded," so I thought I'd include his thoughts:

"The next best thing about the movie is the casting. Rebecca De Mornay somehow manages to take that thankless role, the hooker with a heart of gold, and turn it into a very specific character. She isn't all good and she isn't all cliches: She's a very complicated young woman with quirks and insecurities and a wayward ability to love I became quietly astounded when I realized that this movie was going to create an original, interesting relationship involving a teenager and a hooker. The teenage kid, in what will be called the Dustin Hoffman role, is played by Tom Cruise, who also knows how to imply a whole world by what he won't say, can't fell, and doesn't understand."

TODAY'S NUGGET: From Russia with Love (1963) - One Way to Intercut Locations While Spouting Exposition

[Quick Summary: Bond goes into Istanbul to retrieve a Russian defector and decoder machine.]

I find it difficult to maintain a story's rhythm and flow while intercutting between locations.  I also loathe exposition dumps.

So I was quite impressed when I read the scene below, which does BOTH SIMULTANEOUSLY.  It is a marvel of craft and hard work. 

NOTE:
- Watch closely as the scene moves from Istanbul ferry boat --> M's office --> Moneypenny's office --> Istanbul office. 
- Notice how the taped conversation is the common thread between scenes.
- Also note how well this scene suits cinema in particular.  The flow of dialogue + different locations = The audience sees the information is being transmitted to M without being told so.

ON THE FERRY BOAT

...Bond glances around then lowers the front flap of the camera case, revealing a tape recorder.

BOND: Talk into this. Answer my questions quietly but clearly. How long is the machine?

TANIA: Like...like a typewriter....

                                                                                         DISSOLVE TO:

A LARGE TAPE RECORDER

The reels are spinning. PULL BACK to reveal:

INT. 'M'S' OFFICE - DAY

The tape recorder is on "M's' desk and he sits listening. Moneypenny sits beside him taking notes. Across the desk sit a NAVAL OFFICER, an ARMY OFFICER and FOUR OTHER SUPERNUMERARIES. 'M' lights and puffs his pipe.

Bond and Tania's voices come through the speakers:

TANIA'S VOICE: There are twenty-four symbols, sixteen code keys. It is inserted in a slot. And the message comes out on a paper roll from another slot on the other side And the mechanism is...oh, James...James...will you make love to me all the time in England?

BOND'S VOICE: Day and night. Go on about the mechanism....

'M' shuts off the machine.

'M': Thank you, Miss Moneypenny. That's all, that's all.

She gets up and exits past the men. We hear a door close, then 'M' re-starts the tape recorder.

BOND'S VOICE: Later, later.

IN MISS MONEYPENNY'S OFFICE - SAME TIME

Miss Moneypenny flips on her intercom and sits down at her desk. She hears the tape playing in the other room.

...BOND'S VOICE: Go on with what you were telling me...No, not that! The mechanism!

'M's' VOICE (over intercom): Miss Moneypenny, as you're no doubt listening, perhaps you'd take this cable. Text reads...merchandise appears genuine...

                                                                                      DISSOLVE TO:

INT. KERIM'S OFFICE - DAY

Bond sits across from Kerim's desk reading the telegram aloud

BOND (overlapping 'M'): '..merchandise appears genuine. Stop. Go ahead with deal. Signed "M".'

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I liked the use of the taped conversation as a common thread to "show, not tell" exposition while intercutting to locations.

From Russia with Love (1963)(undated)
by Richard Maibaum
Adapted by Johanna Harwood
Based on the novel by Ian Fleming

TODAY'S NUGGET: Dr. No (1962) - "The pictures are so much funnier than my books."

[Quick Summary: After henchmen kill and steal at MI-6's Jamaican HQ, MI-6 sends 007 to investigate a plan to interfere with American missiles.]

I was interested what Richard Maibaum said in an interview:

I met Ian Fleming several times while he was still alive, but I did not speak to him about screenwriting. He didn't seem very interested. He didn't have script approval, but as a matter of courtesy we gave him the scripts to read. He would make minimal notes in the margin, in very tiny handwriting, that usually dealt with questions of protocol - what Bond called M in the office as opposed to what he called him at their club, things like that.

He did say to me once, "The pictures are so much funnier than my books." He was a little bemused and a little obtuse about it, I thought, because he really didn't understand that we were trying to make them funnier. That was the thing we changed most about the books as far as the pictures were concerned. We made Bond more humorous, throwing away those one-liners that are now obligatory in Bond films. [my emphasis]

A good example is the first introduction below to Bond in this first film:
- The introduction to Bond starts with ..."a MAN holding the back has his back to the CAMERA" and we do not see his face until the moment below.
-  The writers took time to set up the spy world, so Bond doesn't appear until p. 10.
- Note this scene is amusing, but the writers also hid some character work in it (Bond is observant, chivalrous, polite, flirty).
- Also, note the dialogue's humor comes mostly from the subtext underneath.

INT. GAMING ROOM. TOP STAKES TABLE. MED. SHOT. NIGHT

... SYLVIA (glancing across at him enigmatically): Suivi....

BOND looks at her, frankly surprised this time.  His eyes drop to her small pile of chips.

SYLVIA: The house will cover the difference.

BOND glances at the CROUPIER, who nods almost imperceptibly. Again BOND (whom we have still not seen front-view) deals.

SYLVIA: Carte.

BOND gives her another card. It is five. BOND's cards are turned. he has two kings. He takes another. It is a seven. The CROUPIER rakes the chips over to him again. 

BOND deliberately breaks the tension by taking out his cigarette case and offering it to SYLVIA.  [This deliberate, subtle move puts Bond back in charge. Good character stuff.]

BOND: I admire your courage, Miss....?

SYLVIA (taking a cigarette): Trench....Sylvia Trench...

He lights her cigarette.

SYLVIA: And I admire your luck, Mr....?

BOND (as he brings the lighter up to his own cigarette, and for the first time we see his face): Bond....James Bond.

Their eyes meet, appraisingly. Then a man comes up behind BOND bends down to whisper something. BOND listens attentively, nods, rises.

BOND (to croupier): Afraid I'll have to pass the shoe. Andree. (to SYLVIA) Forgive me...an urgent matter.

He gets up - she gets up and joins him.

SYLVIA: Too bad. Just as it was getting interesting. [She flirts first, testing the waters.]

BOND (amused by her obvious pass): Do you play anything else but Chemin de Fer? [He picks up the gauntlet.]

SYLVIA: Golf occasionally.

BOND: How about a game tomorrow. (slight pause) and dinner afterwards? [He's not just talking about a game and dinner. Good subtext.]

SYLVIA: Its tempting. May I let you know in the morning? [Playing hard to get.]

BOND (taking a card from his pocket and handing it to her): Fine....Here's my card....give me a call... [He makes a move, but gives her a choice.]

He smiles, moves away. SYLVIA watches him go thoughtfully. 

SYLVIA (to herself): Maybe I will.... [She's impressed.]

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:  A lot of the humor is in the witty dialogue but also in the subtext. 

Dr. No (1962)(5th draft, 8/1/62)
by Richard Maibaum, Wolf Mankowitz, and J.M. Harwood
From the novel by Ian Fleming

TODAY'S NUGGET: Blow-Up (1966) - Use the Search/Process to Flip Expectations

[Quick Summary: A photographer follows a couple in the park, and unwittingly may have photographed a murder.]

In its day, audiences buzzed about this film because of the nudity, and orgy scene.*

However, it remains a significant film because it broke new ground in how to tell a story, and influenced many other filmmakers later.**

I went into this script cold and was not surprised that not all the loose ends get tied up by the ending.  However, I did learn two things:

1) Antonioni is not interested in plot, but rather "the perceptive nature of reality and the often baffling relationship of truth and perception." 

In fact, Antonioni himself stated: 

The search for reality in a photographed image provides the central plot for Blow-up.

2) Use the search/process, not the answer, to flip expectations.   

Many scripts about getting to the answer.  This one is about the search/process.

It is heavy with photos + people, and exploring how the two interact.  Is reality in the photos? Outside the photos? What is truth? Or was it my perception?

The writers use that dynamic to flip our expectations.

For example, in the scene below:
- Thomas (photographer) has just caught Girl trying to steal his camera from his studio.
- He'd taken photos of her and her older lover earlier in the park.
- She has just asked what he wants for the photos, and taken her top off.
- Note the moment she flips [brackets below] from chasing the photos (her past) to disregarding them for the present. Is reality in those images or in this studio?
- Note how he reacts to her interest in him>> the photos.  Is it truth or only his perception?

Resume on the Girl. She puts her blouse down and stands waiting. They look at each other, suddenly serious and tense. Camera moves with Thomas as he goes up to her, ducking under the plume rack, and places his hands on her shoulders.
He looks at her silently.
Reverse angle shot of them looking at one another. He moves away and she turns to look at him.

THOMAS: Get dressed. I'll cut out the negatives you want.

He goes off down the gangway leading to the darkrooms. He opens the purple door of the first one.
Inside the darkroom the door slides open, revealing Thomas in close-up. Camera follows him as he goes to the table and takes the reel from the camera. He toys with it, as if still undecided whether to give it to her or not. Then he puts it out of sight and picks up another roll of film, and turns back to the door.
He comes back into the studio and looks round, toying with the film still in hand.  At first glance it seems the Girl has disappeared. The music is now cool, quiet jazz.
The Girl's legs are visible but the rest of her body is obscured by the lilac back-drop.  He pulls it from the wall and looks behind it. She is standing still, half-naked, with her arms folded across her breasts. Thomas comes toward her behind the purple paper, holding it back, then letting it fall, obscuring them both from view.
Thomas comes up to the Girl and tosses her the roll of film.
She takes it and moves away, camera following her. But after one or two steps she stops and turns back. She looks at Thomas almost tenderly. Then gives him a kiss. A fleeting kiss. And again moves away. [Flip moment: She's gotten what she came for. Why doesn't she flee?]
This time it is his turn to follow her. She stands in close-up against the purple screen, and he takes her in his arms, holds her tight and kisses her. This, too, is brief.
Then, with an arm round her shoulders, he leads her gently towards the bedroom. As they pass, camera tracks in rapidly to the Girl's blouse as she tosses the reel of film onto it.
They reach the doorway to the bedroom. She wraps her arms round his neck...when the doorbell rings. They both pause.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Since this script is not driven by a formula or "find X," I found these flip moments much more interesting.

Blow-Up (1966)
by Michelangelo Antonioni and Tonino Guerra; English dialogue in collaboration with Edward Bond
Inspired by a short story by Julio Cortazar

*Interestingly, Roger Ebert notes that today's audiences might consider them tame, and would likely be more offended by the photographer's contempt of his models. 

***Including Coppola's The Conversation (1974) and de Palma's Blow Out (1981).