TODAY'S NUGGET: Tango & Cash (1989) - One Key to Make an Action Film Memorable

[Quick Summary: Two headstrong cops have to work together to figure out which drug lord has framed them for murder.] 

Q: I'm writing an awesome action script, with three awesome set pieces. Why do I keep getting the note "flat characters"? Who cares?
A: Audiences may like set pieces, but they'll really come back for the characters.  

Q: Yeah, yeah, yeah, that thing called "three dimensional characters." What is that? 
A: I think it's showing glimpses of what's inside the character, how he thinks or reacts, that makes people interesting to watch. 

Q:  In the middle of the action?! Won't that slow down the action?!
A:  Yes, but it's your job to make those character beats so interesting (and deeper) that the audience won't mind a breather outside the action.

For example, in the scene below from today's script: 
- Tango is the cool cop. Cash is fairly messy. It's not a smooth partnership yet.
- Cash has just met Kiki rehearsing at a club. They go to her apartment.
- Cash doesn't know Kiki is his new partner Tango's sister. 
- This scene gives us a glimpse of Cash's personal life, but it also shows us that's he's also quite persuasive and an improviser away from the job.
- I liked how this character beat was amusing and different from the cop stuff, but still had the same tone of "man on a mission."
- My thoughts are in [ ] below. 

INT. KITCHEN

Cash pulls open cabinets...Stuff like yeast fiber and alfalfa germ. He grabs one promising looking bag and rips it open. Puts a handful in his mouth. He grimaces. It's like eating seasoned cardboard. Opens up the refrigerator and tosses the bag in, pulls out some eggs, a jar full of unidentifiable sauce and a bunch of vegetables.

CASH (calling out to Kiki): I'll make us a Spanish omelet.

He dumps the ingredients on the stove and rifles through another cabinet...An ear-shattering RACKET of POTS and PANS. He comes out with a frying pan. Throws it on the stove and hits the flame.

CASH: Butter...butter...butter...

He goes to the refrigerator and pulls out a whole stick of butter and tosses it in the pan. it immediately SIZZLES and starts to smoke. He breaks the eggs on the side of the pan, about half a dozen of them, and throws the shells in the sink. He dumps in the sauce, crushes up the vegetables and tosses them in as well.

Then he stirs the mixture vigorously with a carrot.

Kiki enters. She's wearing a Japanese robe. Her hair up on her head. She looks more gorgeous every time we see her.

Something CRUNCHES beneath her feet.

KIKI: Why is there turkey stuffing all over the floor?

CASH: Oh, is that what that was. I always make mine fresh. [He thinks quickly on his feet here, which is in line with the cop action scenes.]

She takes a peek into the pan.

KIKI: I thought you were making a Spanish omelet. Why did you put spaghetti sauce in it?

CASH: That's the problem with most people. They get hung up in the technical aspects of cooking. I'm very creative in the kitchen. See, I use a carrot for a spoon. Cuts down on cleanup.

He takes a bit out of the carrot and stirs some more.

CASH: Very organic. 

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Spend time on character beats like the scene above. It's not that important to the action plot, but it deepens our interest in the characters.

This scene not only shows us how Cash thinks and acts in his down time ("more 3-D"), but also spikes the dynamic (suspense) between Cash and Tango through character.  I couldn't wait until Tango found out about his sister and Cash! 

Tango & Cash (1989)(5/30/89 draft)
by Randy Feldman

TODAY'S NUGGET: Running Scared (1986) - Cops Outwitting Other Cops (Ingenuity)

[Quick Summary: In their last 30 days before they retire to Key West, a buddy cop duo try to track down a criminal who's eluded them.]

Cops outwitting other cops is not a new idea.

However, HOW it's done can set the writer apart, especially when it's done with great ingenuity and cleverness.  

For example, in the scene below from today's script:
- Ray and Danny are goofball partners 
- They're good cops, but don't always play by the rules. 
- They say they're ready to retire, but they still have a streak of justice in them that makes them want to pursue a criminal from their past. 
- I liked how they know the police rules yet find creative ways around them. 

POLICE EVIDENCE ROOM - DAY

A police CLERK stands behind a wire cage that protects dozens of shelves and file cabinets of police evidence. Ray passes a sheaf of papers through the window.

CLERK: What the hell is this?

RAY: I dunno. Taking a load of coke to the chemist.

CLERK: All of it? Ten kilos of coke? That's a little unusual.

RAY: The damn lawyer is screaming his client was set up. You know the scam.

CLERK: I'd better check on this.

Ray wants to avoid that. 

RAY: It's all in order. Everything's there in black and white.

CLERK: In this job you gotta cover your ass.

He picks up the phone and dials. Ray turns on the charm. 

RAY: That's the point. You could possibly get my ass in trouble here... [Ray sets up the clerk's expectations here.]

The clerk doesn't mind that at all. He grins. 

CLERK (into the phone): Captain Logan? I got Hughes here, with a request to check out all ten kilos of coke from the missionary bust.

INT. CAPTAIN LOGAN'S OFFICE - DAY

Danny is on the phone. Impersonating Captain Logan, he bellows.

DANNY: One guy? You can't hand twenty million dollars worth of evidence to one guy. Where's his asshole partner. [Misdirect away from the amount of coke to the fact that the officers have not followed protocol.]

INT. EVIDENCE ROOM - DAY

The clerk listens on the telephone.

CLERK: Yes sir... No way... Right sir.

He hangs up with a flourish and gloats at Ray.

CLERK: He says not to give you anything. Not until your partner shows. 

INT. STAIRWELL - DAY

Danny runs down the stairs.

INT. POLICE EVIDENCE ROOM - DAY

Danny bursts through the door, out of breath.

DANNY: Hey, I just got my ass chewed by Logan. What gives? 

The clerk is satisfied that he has demonstrated his power. [This also satisfies the clerk's suspicions that this transaction is unusual and someone should get in trouble.] 

CLERK: Now you can check out the evidence. Sign these papers. 

He goes back to the shelves. Danny and Ray share a grim smile. 

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: So much of what I really liked here is based on character, i.e., the clerk's own weakness for power is used against him. 

Running Scared (1986)(6/28/85, 2nd draft, revised) 
by  Jimmy Huston

TODAY'S NUGGET: Police Academy (1984) - Comedies Are Built on ______ Which is Built By ________

[Quick Summary: A fresh group of academy cadets try to survive basic training.]

Q: I get tired of hearing "you should want to hang out with these characters," and "it's all about the relationships."
A: It's true, nevertheless, especially in comedies.

Q: Why? 
A: Because if you want to hang out, then you'll watch the film.  

Q: But what does it look like, on the page?
A: One thing that makes us feel like we belong is building comradery, a common language, and trust. 

This happens through being thrown into a common experience (ex. school, war, police academy) and  learning to handle one another (ex. playing pranks and jokes on each other).

For example, today's script has a good example, even though it's a first draft:
- Mahoney is a parking lot attendant who defies authority.
- Leslie Barbara is "every bully's dream. He's the kind of wimp who gets sand kicked in his face even when he's not at the beach."
- What is the purpose of this scene where Mahoney plays a joke on Barbara? To see how such different characters start to get to know each other and get along. 

INT. DORM BATHROOM - DAWN

Fackler flushes the urinal and exits. Mahoney enters and crosses to the sink.  He slaps some cold water on his face. He turns to find Barbara standing there staring at him intensely.

MAHONEY: What is it?

BARBARA: I got to take a grumpy.

MAHONEY: A what?

BARBARA: A grumpy.

MAHONEY: You got to grumpy? What's a grumpy?

BARBARA (embarrassed): You know, a grumpy.

MAHONEY (realizing): Oh, a grumpy.

BARBARA: And I can't grumpy with anyone else in the room.

MAHONEY: Who can? I'm going now, so you can grumpy to your heart's delight.

He exits. Barbara checks the other stalls to be certain he is alone. Satisfied, he steps into a stall and sits. Mahoney comes tip-toeing back into the room. Quietly he opens the stall next to Barbara. He closes the door and sits. CAMERA PUSHES IN ON their feet beneath the stall doors.

MAHONEY (O.S.)(piously, as if in a confessional): Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned. 

BARBARA (O.S.): Mahoney!

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Comedies are built on comradery, which is built by common experiences. Don't shy away from finding unusual ways to throw characters together.

Police Academy (1984)(8/1/82 1st draft)
by Neal Israel & Pat Proft 

TODAY'S NUGGET: Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1988) - One Trick When Topping a Gag With Another Gag

[Quick Summary: Lt. Frank Drebin comes out of retirement to go undercover to stop a terrorist bomber who is targeting the Academy Awards ceremony.]

Trying to top a gag with more gags is tricky.  

This script has a good example, and relies on exaggerating the next gag in line:
- Frank, Nordberg, and the Captain are hiding in plain sight.
- They are waiting for goons to appear.
- Three women are trying to drag four carriages up or down the stairs. The cops help them, reluctantly.
- The goons arrive. The cops let go of the carriages to fire at goons. 
- Then the writers mock this whole stair situation by the worst possible things into this tense moment, ex. politicians, etc.
- It's also quite funny to even mock the seriousness of this situation by distracting Frank and have him pick up a shiny object during the gun battle.

INT. TRAIN STATION - DAY

ANGLE - NORDBERG

starts FIRING, realizes he's let go of both his baby carriages. He runs out of FRAME chasing them. Right behind Nordberg, a runaway lawnmower careens through FRAME, followed by a Japanese GARDENER who throws up his hands and mouths the words, "My lawnmower!" [This parodies the "preciousness" of the carriages.]

ANGLE - FRANK

Guns blazing, diving, FIRES at the Goons.

ANGEL - GOONS

 One is hit, rolls down the stairs. The Other is hit -- he rolls up the stairs. [This gag tops the previous one because it's so random and we know people can't roll UP the stairs.]

ANGLE - FRANK

His eyes spot something on the ground. A surprised look crosses his face. Still FIRING, he bends down and picks the object up -- it's a bright, shiny quarter. What luck! Happily, Frank pockets the coin, his gun still blazing away. [Another nonsequitur that works because it's such a ridiculous tangent.]

ANGLE - ED

still struggling to free his gun from his sock. He sits down on the top stair, really goes at it. 

ANGLE - FRANK

FIRING away.

O.S. VOICE: Hey, look, it's the President!

ANOTHER ANGLE

It's BILL CLINTON coming down the stairs with his Secret Service entourage. [This tops the lawnmower as "things that shouldn't be in a shootout."]

RESUME - FRANK

surprised to see the President.

O.S. VOICE: And the Pope!

ANGLE - HIS HOLINESS

is also coming down the stairs with his Security People. [The Pope definitely tops the President as people who would never be here.]

ANGLE - HEZBOLLAH FANATIC

his body rigged with grenades and dynamite suddenly comes out of nowhere, rushes toward the President and the Pope.

FANATIC (screaming): Yee ah! [Fanatics are the absolute worst people to have in a shootout with babies, the President and the Pope.]

ANGLE - FRANK

can't believe this is happening. He whips his gun up, shoots the Hezbollah.

RESUME - HEZBOLLAH

Clothes-lined by Frank's bullet, drops like a rock.

RESUME - FRANK

O.S. VOICE: Oh my God! Look! It's disgruntled Postal Workers!

Frank turns to see 

ANGLE - TOP OF STAIRS

It's a human wave attack of Postal Workers, all in uniform, all with automatic weapons, some with mail sacks. They start spraying the place with AUTOMATIC GUNFIRE. [This made me laugh the hardest because we expect the writers to top the fanatics with someone more traditionally physically violent, and they went the emotional route to long-suffering government workers.] 

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: When trying to top a gag, it's helpful to try unexpected, unusual ways to exaggerate the next gag in line (emotional, physical, psychological, etc.)

Naked Gun 33 1/3: The Final Insult (1994)(2nd draft, 8th revision, 8/13/93)
by Pat Proft