2026 OSCARS: Sinners (2025) - How to Explain Vampire Rules Without Explaining Them ("Show, Not Tell" in Reactions)

[Quick Summary: Troubled twins set up a juke joint in the South, but vampires stand in the way of its success.]

In this well written script, I particularly enjoyed how the writer built suspense with an uneasy feeling that something is wrong.

For example, in the scene below:
- Smoke and Stack are twins who have come back to the South, after fleeing Chicago. 
- They have decided to set up a juke joint and charge cover fees.
- They hire Annie to cook for the joint.
- Annie is a practitioner of the occult, and was once an item with Smoke.
- One of their employees, Cornbread, has been missing for awhile and returns. 
- Notice how the scene starts out with an argument and Cornbread's offer to help.
- Though viewers may not know the vampire rule (you have to be asked to enter a building), they sense that Annie is uneasy about something. 
- She does not say out loud what she suspects, but challenges Cornbread to act. 
- I thought it was clever how Cornbread avoids the question and throw the focus back on Annie.
- Also, it's unusual to create a reveal of this vampire rule without telling it, but showing in the reactions and other dialogue unrelated to what is being revealed.

 

INT. ENTRY HALLWAY - JUKE JOINT - LUMBER MILL - NIGHT - CONTINUOUS

 ...Cornbread finally notices Smoke is covered in blood.

CORNBREAD: Goddamn Smoke...what happened to you?

SMOKE: What happened to me? Stack is dead. What the fuck happened to you? You was supposed to be watching the place. Not taking a hour long piss.

CORNBREAD: I'm sorry. Well let me come in and help.

Annie clocks this. [Annie is the first to have suspicions.]

She extends her hands to Smoke to stop him.

Smoke looks back at Annie confused. Delta Slim as well.

They stare at Cornbread, who stares back at them with an almost comically confused expression. 

CORNBREAD: What ya'll doing?

The three continue to stare without budging.

CORNBREAD (CONT'D): Smoke. Just step aside and let me on in. [He needs an invitation.]

ANNIE: Why you need him to do that? You big and strong enough to push past us. [Annie confronts him with a question that requires him to act first. This is, in essence, "showing, not telling" about the vampire rules, which the audience may or may not know about. ]

CORNBREAD: Because that wouldn't be very polite of me now, would it? I don't know why I'm even talking to you. Probably your fish sandwich that made me so sick. Using that old stale grease. [Cornbread knows she is suspicious, so he tries to distract her.] 

ANNIE: I ain't never used stale grease and you know it.  [His accusation puts her on the defensive about her food.]

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: One way to "show and not tell" the vampire rules is to require the vampire to violate the rule, i.e., to act.

"Show, not tell" usually means visuals and not dialogue.  The example above was a rare instance of using other dialogue and reactions, rather than what I expected, i.e., visuals alone.

Sinners (2025)(undated draft)
by Ryan Coogler /

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Man Who Would Be King (1975) - One Element in World Building To Deliver "Adventure in All Its Glory!"

[Quick Summary: In 1880s India, two Englishmen decide to become kings in Kafiristan, a place where no white man had been since Alexander the Great.]

Recently, I read Kipling's famous short story, The Man Who Would Be King (1888),  and marveled at how it takes you so effortlessly on a grand adventure. 

Would the script deliver the promise from the film's posters ("Adventure in all its glory!")?  It did.

I was surprised at:
1) how faithful this script is to the short story 
2) the fact that the script's ending is more hopeful than the short story.
3) the fact that what sells a great adventure film is how it brings the audience into an untraveled world.  (After all, international travel was uncommon at the time.)

An example of the last point can be found in the scene below: 
- Kipling, the author, put himself into the story as a young newspaper publisher.
- Carnehan (Michael Caine) is one of the English con men.
- I really liked how the writers took the time to set the scene with vivid details, both familiar (our protagonist buying a ticket) and unfamiliar (swarming travelers). 
- I also really liked how they didn't rush the timing of the reveal. Carnehan doesn't look at his loot until he's certain Kipling isn't looking for it. 

 

INT. LAHORE RAILWAY STATION - FULL SHOT - DAY

A swarm of travellers: Sedate Brahmins, shrill Vishnamites, Shivites with caste marks on their palms, Sikhs with daggers in their hair. Crouching Moslem women, in purdah, are like a cluster of little tents.

Two Laden Orderlies shout to clear a passage for a brace of young English Subalterns in the brilliant turbans, sashes and coats of a Horse Regiment. An English family, women and children, wait beside an enormous bastion of trunks and hatboxes. CAMERA PANS to the MOVING CUE before a ticket window, MOVES to:

CLOSE SHOT - KIPLING

KIPLING (to Clerk): Jodhpore... 

As he unbuttons his coat and reaches into a trouser pocket, a HAND comes into SCENE and deftly removes a watch and chain from his waistcoat. Kipling pays for his ticket, picks up his telescope traveling case and turns away from the window. His place is taken by the thief, a sharp-faced man in soiled whites: Carenhan. He pushes a small coin forward onto the counter.

CARNEHAN: Platform ticket.

The roar of a train entering the station SOUNDS over scene as he, in turn, leaves the window. He watches Kipling climb the ramp to the station platform and continue out of sight - then takes the stolen watch out of his pocket and examines it. He frowns and starts slightly.

 INSERT - WATCH-CHAIN AND EMBLEM

The Enblem resting int he palm of his hand: it is the insignia of a Grand Master Freemason - the rayed, all-seeing Eye of God above a pendant square, within the spread arms of a compass.

CARNEHAN'S VOICE (O.S.): Blast!

MEDIUM SHOT - CARNEHAN

Pocketing the watch, he begins to push his way through the crowd toward the ramp. 

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: When building an unfamiliar world, it's helpful to include things that ARE familiar in order to give the audience some context.

The Man Who Would Be King (1975)(11/15/74 draft)
by John Huston and Gladys Hill
Adapted from a short story by Rudyard Kipling/

TODAY'S NUGGET: Live and Let Die (1973) - Avoid Monotony in Action: A Clever, Unusual Way to Use a Location

[Quick Summary: Bond tries to stop a heroin ring with the help of psychic tarot card reader.]

As I read through these Bond scripts, I tend to get bored at the monotony of action. 

So when I see something clever or unusual, I pay attention.

One of these is the pre-title sequence below.  It's fresh and unexpected because:
- It takes advantage of its location (New Orleans) and its unusual customs.
- There is a double twist:  The black gentleman and parade seem unconnected, but are actually in cahoots. It seems to be a funeral, but it's a cover.
- I love the use of the coffin as a facade and camouflage.
- It sets up the spy world for the audience: expect the unexpected.
- FYI: Hamilton is a British agent whose disappearance will cause Bond to go to New Orleans.

ANGLE ON FILLET OF SOUL - HAMILTON'S POV

The Fillet of Soul Restaurant. A garishly-coloured building with neon sign in front: CONTINUOUS ENTERTAINMENT. As CAMERA HOLDS, a slow, dearth, jazz blues is heard in b.g.

BACK TO HAMILTON

He looks off towards the increasingly louder sound of the music. CAMERA PANS. From around the corner: A funeral procession, in true New Orleans style. MUSICIANS lead the parade, marching to a slow cadence. Behind them, PALL BEARERS carry a coffin. FRIENDS and RELATIVES string out behind. The group is all black. CAMERA PANS with PARADE as it approaches HAMILTON.

CLOSER ON HAMILTON

He stands, watching. A wizened, little old BLACK GENTLEMAN with white hair suddenly appears next to him, watches the procession solemnly. Tears form in his eyes - he wipes one away, shakes his head sadly. HAMILTON removes his hat.

HAMILTON (nicely): Whose funeral is it?

BLACK GENTLEMAN: Yours....

A switchblade flashes out from the BLACK GENTLEMAN'S hand, plunges into HAMILTON'S side. The parade marches past as HAMILTON falls to the street. PALL BEARERS stop, lower the coffin over HAMILTON'S body, pick it up again. The body has disappeared. The process breaks out into a happy, ragtime tune, struts up the street.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Find a location with unusual customs and/or culture (ex. funeral parade), then put a twist (or two) on even what is typical there (ex. funeral parade as a cover).

Live and Let Die (1973)(10/2/72)
by Tom Mankiewicz

TODAY'S NUGGET: Rainmaker (1997) - How to Show a Character Revealing Knowledge

[Quick Summary: While studying to take the bar exam, Rudy takes on a case of a dying leukemia patient whose insurance company refused to pay for treatment.]

What is the most interesting way to show a character revealing knowledge, especially when he/she knows something that the audience does not?

I found a few clues in this script:

1) The character does not need to explain everything. It leaves some mystery!

2) Allow for the audience to make the leap of logic (but don't require huge leaps of logic that no one can follow).

Notice below:

1) In the first scene, Rudy has an idea who is wiretapping his phone, but he does not tell us.  Instead, there is a cut to a conversation with Rudy and Deck.

2) This leap is easy to follow: Rudy thinks he knows who the wiretapper is --> Rudy and Deck lay a trap for the wiretapper.

ex. INT. CLUB AMBER - DAY

Rudy, Deck and Butch are seated in a corner booth, having drinks and looking at the performers.

BUTCH: The bugging device is manufactured in Czechoslovakia, medium grade in quality, and feeds a transmitter located somewhere close by.  It wasn't planted by cops or feds.

DECK: Someone else is listening.

Rudy is stunned.

BUTCH: Who else would it be?

RUDY: I've got an idea. Go to a pay phone...                              
                                                                                             DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. PAY PHONE - DAY

Deck is at an outdoor pay phone.

DECK (on phone): Just checking in. you need anything from downtown?

INT. RUDY'S OFFICE - DAY

Rudy is on the phone, talking to Deck. He's sewing a button on his jacket.

RUDY: Nah. Oh, guess who wants to settle now?

DECK (O.S.): Who?

RUDY: Dot Black.

DECK (O.S.)(incredulous and phony): Dot Black?

RUDY: Yeah, I stopped by this morning to check on her, took her a fruitcake. She said she just doesn't have the willpower to suffer through the trial, wants to settle right now.

DECK (O.S.): How much?

RUDY: Said she'd take a hundred and seventy five...

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This is a much more creative way of showing what Rudy knows ("I think I know who it is" ---> lay trap) rather than boring exposition.

Rainmaker (1997)(1st draft, dated 7/11/96)
by Francis Ford Coppola
Adapted from the novel by John Grisham

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Stunt Man (1980) - Strengthening a Good Turning Point/Reveal

[Quick Summary: After he barely escapes arresting officers, Cameron stumbles onto a film shoot, where he is hired to be a stunt man.]

I got a headache after reading this script.  I felt frustrated and manipulated.

Roger Ebert explains why much better than I can:

Railsback begins to suspect that O'Toole really wants to kill him, either in the service of cinematic art or for some sadistic private purpose. And that is essentially the situation the film repeats, over and over, scene after scene, all the way to the end.

That's what bothered me. I caught on right away (it didn't take much deep thought) that the method of the movie was to deceive and mislead me. Because the ability to do that is completely within the director's ability-because I can know only what he chooses to tell me-I found the movie's approach more frustrating than challenging.

Did I like anything? I did like the turning point/reveal below. 

In this scene, Cameron (protagonist) and Henry (assistant cameraman) talk about Eli Cross (director). Cameron thinks only Eli knows Cameron's secret.

ex. "INT. HOTEL BAR - LATE NIGHT

...CAMERON: Ya quittin'?

HENRY: Fuckin' A. Gettin' out tonight. But not without splittin' a Schlitz with the one guy, 'cept me, who wouldn't take shit from that screwball.

As the BARTENDER is taking away the empties, Henry puts his finger down on a DIME.

HENRY (cont'd): Change is for you, except that. That's a very special dime. (holds it up for Cameron to see) Know what this is? Ask me!

CAMERON: It's a dime...am I close?

HENRY: It's Eli Cross' ass. People think 'cause you're easygoin' they can walk all over you. Bull-shit...I'm blowin' the whistle with this dime in that phone...killin' a man and hiding it from the police...are you kiddin'...? Who is he think he is? [Oh no! Does Henry know Cameron's secret too?]

Cameron pales, knowing that drunken Henry's desire for revenge can expose him to the police. He grabs the dime from Henry's fingers and drops it into a PEANUT VENDING MACHINE. [Cameron jumps to the logical conclusion, i.e., He thinks it's me.]

HENRY: What the hell you doin'?

They have reached the HOTEL DOORWAY. By now, Henry is convinced Cameron means business. He stops.

HENRY: Do whatever you wanna do, but I better do it with ya! You'll need help 'cause that goddamn looney is dangerous.

CAMERON (blustering): Not to me, he ain't. I'm going to the cops. You gotta earn your living in pictures, but I don't give a shit. He can't hurt me.

HENRY: Don't be too sure. Damned psycho nearly strangled me! Don't believe me? Wanna see marks...?(tears open shirt collar to show bruises) ...Lucky to be alive!

CAMERON (confused): Henry, what are you talking about? I watched that whole thing today, he didn't even touch you.

HENRY: Not today. When Burt went into the water. (Cameron is wide-eyed) [Wow! Henry was talking about Eli's secret, not Cameron's secret. This is a great reveal and reversal of our expectations.]

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: It really helps that Cameron jumps to the most logical conclusion first ("Henry thinks I'm the killer").

It makes the reveal stronger (Henry is talking about Eli) and the reverses our expectations.

The Stunt Man (1980)(final shooting draft)
by Lawrence B. Marcus
Adaptation by Richard Rush
Based on the novel by Paul Brodeur

TODAY'S NUGGET: After Hours (1985) - Satire Needs Good Pacing & Tension

[Quick Summary: After meeting an intriguing woman at 2 a.m., Paul, a bored computer processor, has a bad, bad, bad, horrible night.]

This is one weird script. Ebert calls this the "tensest comedy" and a satire.

I get "comedy" but "satire"?

In this story, Paul meets a stranger, Marcy, at 2 a.m. in New York.  She invites him to her friend's apartment, and he encounters stranger and stranger situations.

Oh, I see! They're trying to satirize is what it feels like to live in a big city, i.e., the dealing with the unexpected. 

But how to pull it off?

a) Satire = Exaggeration. The writer gave Paul merciless, unrelenting waves of the unexpected.  This is funny for some reason.

b) Pacing & Tension. However, it was crucial to have strong pacing and tension to harness the waves.  Otherwise, it's just random scenes leading nowhere.

In the scene below, note:
- The pacing races along until Kiki's reveal, i.e., the a-ha! moment.
- Paul is quite tense &/or relieved, based on wrong facts.
- The overall effect is feeling discombobulated.  These people are not real, are they?
- It's a funny scene...Is it because of the situation? Or how people respond to tension?

ex. "EXT. SPRING ST.

PAUL begins heading int he direction of the bar, when, crossing a street, he sees, to the south, two FIGURES, one carrying a  TV set and the other that life-size sculpture from KIKI'S loft. The FIGURES stop behind a van parked on the street. PAUL runs toward them.

PAUL: Hey! [This scene establishes Paul's expectations: Robbers stole an acquaintance's sculpture. Paul is offended.]

Hearing this, both FIGURES drop what they're carrying. They quickly climb into the van and drive off, speeding by PAUL who soon reaches the TV, the tube broken, and the sculpture.  He straddles the latter behind him, piggy-back style, and carries it toward Broome St. [Paul has rescued Kiki's stolen property & is relieved.]
                                                                                     CUT TO:

EXT. LOFT BUILDING.

PAUL presses KIKI's buzzer, then looks up at the fourth floor window. KIKI pops her head out, but she is gagged and, apparently, bound. Her head disappears, then pops out again with her keys dangling from her mouth. She lets them fall. [Paul sees Kiki is bound & assumes it was before the robbery. He is tense again.]

INT. LOFT BUILDING.

PAUL rounds a landing with difficulty, the statue an awkward burden. [This is ironic that he wouldn't put down the statue.  This is unexpected & funny.]
                                                                                       CUT TO:

INT. KIKI'S LOFT.

PAUL enters. KIKI is huddled in a corner, tied up. PAUL moves over to her and removes her gag.

KIKI: Paul...

PAUL: Kiki...

KIKI: It's raining!

PAUL: No, it isn't.

PAUL begins to untie her.

PAUL: How'd they get in?

KIKI: How'd who get in?

PAUL: The burglars.

KIKI: What burglars?

PAUL stops untying her, confused. [Pacing: It's been fast, fast, now slows.]

PAUL: The guys I just saw with your sculpture...and a TV set. [Paul states his beliefs.]

KIKI slowly breaks into a grin.

KIKI: Neil and Pepe?..I just sold them my television. What are you doing with my sculpture? [Reveal: Kiki's property was not stolen. Paul's beliefs are upended.]

At that moment HORST enters, dressed in black leather clothing, with spurred boots and spiked bracelets. [Pacing: A new character is introduced, adding to the mayhem.]

KIKI (to PAUL): I'm sorry, but you can't stay the night. Not after the way you walked out on Marcy. Regular ladykiller, aren't ya? [Twist: Kiki is acting as if being bound is normal. This is odd to a normal guy like Paul.]

HORST: This the guy? (to PAUL) I'm Horst. [Twist: Horst is acting as if Kiki being bound is normal too. This is doubly odd for Paul.]

PAUL: Paul. Could you...? (indicates sculpture still on his back)" [Comedy: It's funny that Paul is carrying the sculpture all this time.]

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:  It took me awhile to see the satire.  I am impressed that as weird as it was to read, it was simply grounded, i.e., This guy just wants to go home.

After Hours (1985)(4th draft, dated 6/6/84)
by Joseph Minion

TODAY'S NUGGET: They Live (1988) - "Compare & Contrast" Technique for a Reveal

[Quick Summary: Down on his luck worker finds a pair of sunglasses that allows him to see that aliens are keeping humans asleep and enslaved.]

How would you reveal aliens among us?

In this script, writer John Carpenter first grounds us in the mundane...

...and then mixes it with the extraordinary (because he is, after all, Carpenter).

Below, he uses a "compare and contrast" technique to get the reveal across:

a) Nada, our hero, sees a human get into a car (no sunglasses, ordinary).
b) Nada sees an alien (with sunglasses, extraordinary).
c) Nada can't make sense of what he's just seen (can't process the illogical).

ex. "Nada looks over...

HIS POV: (normal, color) as the Well-Dressed Customer walks up to his Mercedes. He drops a full paper on the sidewalk, keeps the business section, gets into the car. Sunglasses come up OVER FRAME (black and white) and now it's a Well-Dressed Hideous Ghoul who shoots Nada a final glance...

VENDOR: Hey buddy -- I don't want a hassle, okay? Either pay me or put it back...

Nada numbly puts back the magazine. He's moving on auto pilot now, staggering past the Vendor who looks at him curiously. Moving on down the street...

HIS POV: THRU SUNGLASSES (black and white), a BUSINESSMAN GHOUL, same awful face, stands at a pay phone...

BUSINESSMAN GHOUL: Don't worry, the insurance company will take care of it."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: "Comparing and contrasting" external situations is an effective way to reveal what a character is having difficulty processing internally.

They Live (1988)
by John Carpenter (written as Frank Armitage)(shooting script)
Based upon the short story, "Eight O'Clock in the Morning," by Ray Nelson*

* I am interested that Nelson is apparently the creator of the propeller beanie.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007) - Delaying the Reveal Gets the Reader to Participate

[Quick Summary: Two brothers rob their parents' jewelry store, but it goes very wrong.]

I find that Sidney Lumet scripts pull you in without you knowing it.

They get the reader to participate.

ex. "INT. HOSPITAL - DAY

Gina and Andy hurry down a long corridor to...

INT. HOSPITAL WAITING ROOM - DAY

They turn into it and both stop. A lone man sits hunched over in a chair with his face buried in his hands. Andy runs to him as Gina hangs back.

ANDY: Dad!

The man looks up and we see it's Charles."

Note:

- This scene does not reveal who the man is right away.
- It makes us wait to discover his identity WITH the other characters.
- We're curious about the "lone man", so we keep reading.

(Also, I like how the scene is uncluttered, i.e., not overloaded with adjectives or description.)

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Don't tell the reader everything immediately.

When possible, let the reader discover things with the characters.

P.S. If you're looking for how to segues into a flashback, this script has several excellent examples.

Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (2007)
by Kelley Masterson

TODAY'S NUGGET: #47 WGA Script of All Time - The Maltese Falcon (1941)

[Quick Summary: When a private investigator takes a case from a gorgeous client, he faces three thugs, two dead bodies, and a boatload of lies that surround a missing Maltese falcon.]

I've struggled for years to write suspense. 

But how to craft an artful punch-in-the-gut reveal?  I read several great ones in this script.

For example:

A) Sam Spade gets an early morning call to come to a crime scene. [He's a p.i. This is part of the job, you know?]

B) He looks down a hill at a dead body, but doesn't move closer. [Wow, wonder what happened to the deceased.]

C) Police tells Spade it was a single shot. Spade reconstructs what happened: "Miles goes back, taking the top of the fence..." [Wait a minute - Miles? Oh no! Not Miles, Spade's partner! How can Spade be so controlled?]

You see, the suspense here is built around Spade:

A) His non-reaction in here does not alert the audience. We think it's just part of the job.

B) He does not approach the body. This is also normal. Only later do we see why that's odd.

C) This is the first time we realize the likeable Miles has died. It's a shock for us, but Spade is just pragmatic, which is very consistent with his character.  We're just not prepared for HOW pragmatic he is.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: For a good reveal, don't announce the reveal.

However, an unexpected (but in character) response works well.

The Maltese Falcon (1941)
by John Huston