2026 OSCARS: Hamnet (2025) - Telling, Not Showing" is Effective When the Pressure is Too Much (Emotional Life)

[Quick Summary: After William Shakespeare marries the forest-loving Agnes, they grieve the death of their son Hamnet.]

This script has a typical story arc about healing a rift when tragedy happens: 

Will and Agnes meet, marry, and have kids --> Their son Hamnet dies and they grieve --> They are reunited through Will writing the play "Hamlet." 

One thing I really liked about the script is how it expresses small emotional moments that eventually pile up into a barrier of communication. 

I thought it was interesting that the writers did this by breaking the "show, not tell rule"* with the reverse, i.e.,"telling and not showing."  

For example, in the scene below: 
- Will has been very unhappy at his father's glove making business.
- He and Agnes are married and living at his parents' house.
- Agnes wakes up in the night. Will is not there. He's trying to write at night.
- She tries to comfort him, but he yells at her.
- Notice how the "telling and not showing" is to clarify indescribable feelings, or a short cut language.  To explain it on screen is unnecessary.

INT. HENLEY HOUSE - ATTIC - NIGHT

...Once Susanna stops fussing, Agnes comes back to Will. She gently touches the back of his neck, trying to sooth him. But he turns his head away, wiping any tears he may shed. He will never let her see him weak.

WILL (CONT'D): I'm sorry. I've had too much to drink.  

She takes his hand. He flinches.

WILL (CONT'D)(controls himself): Please. Not now.

AGNES: What are you afraid I will see?

WILL: I'm a violent, dangerous man.

He is holding all the emotions in. They are threatening to burst out of his chest and kill him. [I particularly like this description of something he can't express.]

AGNES: You are none of that. You're a good man, a good man. 

He puts his arm around her waist. He lets her rub her fingers through his hair, soothing him.

AGNES (CONT'D): Is it...are you..do you wish we had not...wed? Is that it?

He looks up at her, his face pained, aghast.

WILL: No. Never. How could you say such a thing? You and Susanna are all I live for. Nothing else matters.

AGNES: What is it, then?

WILL: ...I don't know. I'm lost. I have lost my way, Agnes. The landscapes you saw... (changes his mind) It's nothing. It's nothing.

She knows what he means. Those landscapes she saw haven't been realized, and it's torturing him. But he says no more after that. [Note this "breaks a screenwriting rule" that you shouldn't include anything that can't be seen.  I think it's very effective here to explain emotions that the characters don't have to explain to each other.]

AGNES: ...What can I do for you?

WILL: Nothing, my love. Nothing.

She is now at a complete loss. 

WILL (CONT'D): Please go back to sleep. I need to work. All is well. I just need to work.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I think "telling, not showing" can be effective.  Here, it connects a lot of dots for the reader quickly for things that are unnecessary to belabor.

Hamnet (2025)(undated)
by Chloe Zhao & Maggie O'Farrell
Based on the novel by Maggie O'Farrell

*You know how I feel about the so-called "screenwriting rules." They're guidelines when you need help. They're not absolute.  

TODAY'S NUGGET: Bringing Out the Dead (1999) - Earning the Emotional Landing

[Quick Summary: Over several nights in NYC, a tired, burned out emergency medic wrestles with how to constantly face life and death while on the job.]

This is a well written adaptation, full of raw emotions. 

It's a pretty bleak situation. Frank and his medic co-workers numb themselves from the tragic situations that they encounter every day.  

However, in the middle of a downward spiral, Frank connects with Mary, the estranged daughter of a recent heart attack case.   

The script excels at putting Frank through the wringer.  It externalizes how close he is to the edge, as well as wrestle with how he feels about Mary, who grounds him. 

So when Frank finally gets his big moment with Mary, I felt he earned it. 

EXT. MERCY EMERGENCY -- NIGHT

...MARY: OK, last night I was weak. It won't happen again And all that shit I said --it was just because I was stoned. Forget it.

FRANK: No problem. Thanks for letting me crash. It was the best sleep I've had in months. I used some of your soap.

MARY: I wish these people would leave already. I can't listen to another story. Did you see him? (Frank doesn't answer) That doctor says the brain is coming around. They're waitin gfor the heart to stabilize. I don't know who to believe. He says they still have to keep him tied up.

FRANK: Can I bring you something back to eat --a falafal, some pizza?

MARY: No, we just ate. I only remember how tough my father was. Now I know he had to be like that, to make us tough. This city'll kill you if you aren't strong enough.

FRANK: No, the city doesn't discriminate. It gets everybody.

Walls flashes 16XRay's headlights, hits the horns.

FRANK (CONT'D): I gotta go. Another call.

Frank, his heart pounding, steps closer to her.

FRANK (CONT'D): We're all dying, Mary Burke.

He leans as if to kiss her.

MARY: This is not a good time.

FRANK: There is no time.

He places his hand on her shoulder, kisses her lightly, walks toward Walls and the waiting ambulance.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This emotional moment felt just right and stuck the landing: the tone, brevity, Frank's renewed confidence.

Bringing Out the Dead (1999)(1st draft, 11/7/97)
by Paul Schrader
From the novel by Joseph Connelly

TODAY'S NUGGET: Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989) - How To Make Me Care: Flaws + Arcs = Vulnerability

[Quick Summary: When they must complete a history report by tomorrow, 16 y.o. Bill and Ted receive a mysterious time traveling phone booth to help them.]

This was a most excellent adventure to read.

First, the premise is clear: Bill and Ted must present a report on historical figures.

Second, the twist is fun: They actually time traveled to find the historical figures.

But what I liked most was that these characters had real flaws and arcs that were not overshadowed by the flashier bits.

In the scene below:
- Both Bill and Ted are rather irresponsible kids (flaws).
- But because the historical figures are helpless as babies, Bill and Ted change and step up like good 'dads' (arc)

ex. "EXT. PREHISTORIC MARSH - DAY

...TED: Beethoven.  (beat) Beethoven?

Billy the Kid nudges Beethoven, who looks up and raises his hand. Next to him, Sigmund Freud is opening a Pudding Cup. He is about to lick the lid when --

TED (seeing him): Sigmund Freud! Don't lick the lid of the Pudding Cup!

But Freud does anyhow, and winces.

TED: I told you not to. Everyone! Don't lick the lids!

ANOTHER ANGLE

Genghis Khan is elbowing Abraham Lincoln, trying to make more room for himself.

TED: Genghis Khan! Abe Lincoln! That's funny until someone gets hurt!

But Genghis Khan and Lincoln keep horsing around. So Ted calls over toward --

BILL

who is sitting on top of the phone booth, fiddling with the broken antenna.

TED (O.S.): Bill, they won't stop roughhousing.

Bill, the disgruntled "father," sighs and looks over his shoulder --

BILL: Do I have to come over there and make you guys stop?"

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I find vulnerability hard to write.  Perhaps focusing more on flaws and arcs will get me to the same place.

Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)(6th draft, 11/24/86 w/revisions)
by Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon

2018 OSCARS: Call Me By Your Name (2017) - Showing Awkwardness

[Quick Summary: In 1980s Italy, a 17 y.o. boy falls in love for the first time with the family's summer lodger, an American male graduate student.]

Though I'm only halfway through, I am quite impressed with the level of difficulty of the Oscar scripts this year. *

Today's script is quite a high wire act:

1) It's an effective, slow burn drama, AND

2) It shows what a 17 y.o.'s journey through awkwardness feels like, AND

3) It happens during every day life.  There is no "grand crisis" that speeds things up, i.e., no guns, violence, car crash, death, etc.

This script is unusual in that it makes you FEEL Elio's awkwardness through contrasting behaviors (Elio vs. others).

In the scene below, notice:
- Elio is the only one who is unsure and who is not relaxed.
- The other characters may feel that way too, but handle it differently because: a) they're older, and b) have more life experience.
-  Even Oliver is not rattled, though he does not know what to do with the egg at first. He catches on faster than Elio does. 

ex. "EXT. GARDEN IN FRON OF THE KITCHEN - PERLMAN VILLA - DAY

The PERLMANS are eating breakfast outside, in front of the kitchen. OLIVER comes out and sits down, watching how ELIO expertly cracks his soft-boiled egg shell, then attempts to do the same, but only a tiny bit of the shell is pierced, so he pretends to busy himself with his coffee and pushes the egg in its cup away. MAFALDA asks him if he would like juice. He says "Please". She looks down at the discarded egg.

MAFALDA: Lasci fare a me, Signore. (Let me)

She slices the top off and returns to her kitchen.

ANNELLA: Did you recover from your trip, caro?

OLIVER: Big time.

ELIO, who has been trying not to stare at their guest and is concentrating on spreading honey on a piece of bread, now lifts his head and speaks, growing unnaturally loud:

ELIO: I can show you around.

OLIVER: Good. Are we far from town? I need to open a bank account.

Both Professor PERLMAN and ANNELLA look up, interested.

PERLMAN (smiling): None of our residents has ever had a local bank account.

Elio turns in his seat to get a better view of Oliver, who is sitting beside him.

ELIO: Should I take him to Montodine?

PERLMAN: I'm think they're closed for summer vacation. Try Crema.

OLIVER: Is that your orchard?

PERLMAN: Pesca, ciliege, albicooche...(peaches, cherries, apricots...)

ANNELLA: Pomegranate.

MAFALDA returns with a pitcher of apricot juice on a little tray and proceeds to fill Oliver's glass. OLIVER tastes it, then enthusiastically downs it. ELIO realizes he is staring at OLIVER, his head tipped back with his throat swallowing the juice, and notices the Star of David on a necklace around his neck. OLIVER smacks his lips and begins to eat his second egg, giving it a sharp crack. MAFALDA brings him a third egg.

ANNELLA (CONT'D): Have another egg.

OLIVER (shaking his head): I know myself. If I have three, I'll have a fourth, and more.

ELIO has never heard someone Oliver's age say, I know myself. It's somewhat intimidating. He lowers his eyes."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I liked that awkwardness was shown in behavior here, rather relying on dialogue to express it.

Call Me By Your Name (2017)
by James Ivory
Adapted from the novel by Andre Aciman

*In the five years that I've read all the nominated Oscar scripts, this year's group of competitors are the strongest that I've seen.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Stardust Memories (1980) - Seeing What the Writer Saw

[Quick Summary: A comedy filmmaker unsuccessfully tries to break new ground.]

1 - I want script readers to "get" my scripts, i.e., they see what I'm seeing in my head.

So when I read a script that I don't get (like this one), I tend to take a closer look.

This story begins with a popular comedy filmmaker who now wants to make a serious drama. However, the public just wants more of his early stuff.

The filmmaker experiences/complains about the pressures of sycophants, women, family, etc....and then nothing happens.

So WHAT IS THE POINT? I couldn't see what the writer was aiming for.

2 - Here's one scene that was clear, and juggled pathos and comedy as well:

WALKING MAN (Overlapping Sandy's speech): Are you Sandy Bates?
SANDY (To the man, trying to get rid of him) Uh, no. (To Isobel) The kids will probably be starved.
WALKING MAN: Yes, you are.
SANDY (Shaking his head, trying to get rid of the man): Uh, no, no, no, no, no, no. I'm not.
WALKING MAN: My mother buys meat in the same butcher shop your mother does.
SANDY (Laughing): Oh, great.
WALKING MAN (Handing Sandy a piece of paper): Can I have your autograph?
SANDY (Reacting): Oh, Jesus.
WALKING MAN: Could you just write "To Phyllis Weinstein, you unfaithful, lying bitch"?

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: One tip is whatever characters do, they must experience consequences. 

If nothing happens, I'm 99% uninterested.

Stardust Memories (1980)
by Woody Allen
Four Films of Woody Allen (book published 1982)

TODAY'S NUGGET: Regarding Henry (1991) - Juxtapose an Old Foe to Show Arc

[Quick Summary: A head injury changes Henry, his wife Sarah, and daughter completely.]

NEW NEWS, people, NEWS!

You ready?!

The writer of this script, Jeffrey Abrams, is THE J.J. Abrams! [Ok, ok, so this is just new-to-me news.]

Now, on to this script.  It reads fast and clean, and hit me hard. 

If you are dealing with an illness in the family (or ever have), you treasure time over stuff. You savor the small things. You re-prioritize.

People on the outside, however, think you've lost your touch.

Abrams captures that contradiction in the scene below.

Watch how Abrams juxtaposes Phyllis vs. Sarah. (Phyllis represents Sarah's old life.) The contrast shows how much Sarah has changed:

ex. "BRENDA: It's like she's got two kids now.
PHYLLIS: Worse. What does she possibly have to look forward to?
DANIEL: Christ, one minute you're an attorney, the next you're an imbecile.
BRENDA: Well, that's not a very long trip.

Phyllis and the others can't help but laugh.

At that moment, Sarah walks up to Phyllis, holding her glass of red wine --close to Phyllis' white dress.

Their eyes meet. A heavy, quiet moment.

SARAH: Phyllis. I'm afraid we can't stay for dinner. I just wanted to say goodnight and thank you.

Sarah carefully hands the glass of wine to Phyllis, who closes her eyes in humiliation.

Henry walks up behind Phyllis.

HENRY: Yes. Thank you.

Sarah takes Henry by the arm. They leave."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Contrasting an Old Foe with the New You = Shows you much you've changed.

Regarding Henry (1991)
by Jeffrey Abrams (a.k.a. J.J. Abrams)

TODAY'S NUGGET: #88 WGA Script of All Time - Field of Dreams (1989)

[Quick Summary: An Iowa farmer is led by a Voice to build a baseball field in his corn field & to go find a reclusive writer, all in the face of skepticism & potential financial ruin.]

Yeah, I cried.

I banked them for as long as I could, but when Ray says in awe, "I am pitching to Shoeless Joe Jackson", I lost it. 

This script doesn't read like a clunky adaption for two reasons:

1) No Cul de Sacs - I heard the director/writer say in an interview that he first eliminated all the cul de sacs, i.e., the things that didn't push the plot forward. 

I know from covering many scripts that it's such a temptation to keep cool subplots in.

ex. The writer had to drop the identical twin brother storyline from the book because it distracted from Ray's development.

2) Streamline to Focus - The script is a moving bullet from beginning to end because it is always clear what Ray is facing, what his motive is, & what inner struggle he's trying to overcome.  Any other distractions were stricken.

ex.  The writer changed the character of J.D. Salinger to a made up writer b/c mixing fictional and non-fictional people didn't make it real enough on-screen.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Nothing should hamper the story arc pushing forward.

I saw an interview of the book's author who said that he cried when he read the script.  He was moved by a work based on his own book - now that is a great adaption!

Field of Dreams (1989)
by Phil Alden Robinson