TODAY'S NUGGET: Flubber (1997) - The Space Between Two Characters

[Quick Summary: An absent minded professor invents flying rubber ("flubber") that might save his college from closing.]

GOOD NEWS: I can tell John Hughes worked really, really hard on this script.

BAD NEWS: I'm not sure if it was requirements of the job or not, but it tries to go large.  I felt it lost some of that intimate, Hughes-ian dynamic.

GOOD NEWS: The beginning starts off with that intimate feel, and some of the best character work.

I think the scene below remained very real and intimate to me because it is focused on the space between the Professor and the students. 

Who will realize what is going on first? Who will dare speak up first?

ex.  "EXT. MEDFIELD COLLEGE. AFTERNOON

A pleasant, small town university. Brick buildings spangled with ivy, clipped lawns, mature trees overhanging quiet walks.

INT. LIFE DRAWING CLASS. CU. MODEL

From behind. Nude. ART STUDENTS are drawing.

INT. ART CLASSROOM. DOOR

The Professor walks into the classroom.

CU. MODEL

She looks over her shoulder with surprise.

HER POV

The Professor crosses to a still-life table. He  removes an orange, a pheasant, and a bunch of grapes and places them on a desk beside the table. He sets his briefcase on the table.

PROFESSOR: Whoever brought me the orange, the pheasant, and the grapes, thank you.

INT. ART CLASSROOM. STUDENTS

They stare at Phillip with confusion.

CU. PROFESSOR

He clears his throat.

PROFESSOR: Last time we met, we were discussing the unstable and transient nature of supersaturated solutions.

He steps back from the table and puts his hands in his pockets.

INT. ART CLASSROOM. STUDENTS

They exchange puzzled looks.

CU. PROFESSOR

He grins warmly.

PROFESSOR: Stick with me, it's simple.

Something catches his eye. His smile fades. He snaps his fingers angrily.

PROFESSOR: Young lady! Shirt and shoes in my class, please.That's the rule.

CU. MODEL

The startled Model holds her robe to her chest and shoulders. She quickly puts on her slippers."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I found this script hard to believe.

(Perhaps it was because the important dilemma for everyone else (save or destroy the university) was not really important to the Professor?)

Absent Minded Professor/Flubber (1997)(early draft, 10/31/95)
by John Hughes
Based on a short story,"A Situation of Gravity," by Samuel W. Taylor