TODAY'S NUGGET: A Fish Called Wanda (1988) - The Enemies of Suspense

[Quick Summary: Four thieves steal diamonds, then double and triple cross each other (as well as a barrister) to get to the loot.]

Q: What is one of the biggest keys to a suspense story?
A: What is happening NOW is apt to be less dramatically interesting than what may or may not HAPPEN NEXT.

Q: So this means plot is more important than character?
A: I think the plot comes from characters. (Or characters drive the plot.)

Q: I always hear that it "starts with character." What does that MEAN?
A: To me, interesting characters cause conflict.  Their actions - unpredictable, outrageous, rebellious, stubborn - clash with someone else's, thus driving the plot.

Q: So that's where suspense can come from? 
A: We can't wait to see how the conflict resolves. What comes next? 

In the example below, notice:
- Each character has a conflict with themselves and/or each other.
- The conflicts are visible, i.e., able to be seen on screen.
- Pay particular attention to Otto, the newest member, who disturbs the status quo the most.  Notice we can't stop wondering what he'll do next.*

Interior. Living-room, George's flat. Day.

Ken is still feeding the fish. The door opens and the human Wanda enters. She has exchanged the smooth outfit of the opening sequences for the garb of a gangster's moll: imitation ocelot jacket and leather mini skirt. She is followed by Otto, dressed in black. [I am already interested. Why has Wanda changed clothes to MORE of gangster's moll?]

WANDA. Hi, Ken.

KEN. Hallo, Wwwanda.

WANDA. Ken, this is Otto.

OTTO. Hallo, Ken, Wanda's told me a lot about you. Hey! Great fish.

KEN. Oh, th-th-thank...

OTTO. A little squeeze of lemon, some tartare sauce, perfect...  [Within two lines of dialogue, Otto has clashed with Ken, an animal lover.]

Wanda raps Otto. Otto squeezes her boob. Ken turns. [Only the audience knows that Wanda and Otto have a secret relationship.]

WANDA. George back yet?

She makes for the kitchen.

KEN. Nnnno. He had to ggggo tttto the bbbb...

Otto stares at Ken, astonished. Ken looks at him. 

Wwwwha...

OTTO. That's er, quite a stutter you've got there, Ken. [Again, Otto is being rude to Ken.]

Ken is dumbstruck. Otto smiles at him.

It's all right, it doesn't bother me. So...George needs a weapons man, eh?

Ken looks sharply at Otto. Wanda calls from the kitchen. [Otto has broken the rule about talking too frankly about a potential scam.]

WANDA. Cup of tea, Ken?

KEN. Yyyy...

OTTO. Yeah, he'd like one. I'd a good friend in the CIA had a stutter. Cost him his life, dammit. [Otto is not making a friend of Ken.]

The front door opens and George enters. Wanda runs to him from the kitchen.

WANDA. Hi, George.

She embraces him and he returns the affection with a squeeze of her bottom. Ken is hot on her heels. [Will George find out about Wanda and Otto?!]

KEN. Hallo, George. Get you a Scotch?

GEORGE. Yeah.

Ken scampers off. George eyes Otto.

WANDA. George, this is Otto.

GEORGE. ... So...you're Wanda's brother.  [I wonder if George is suspicious?]

OTTO. Good to be here, George. England is a fine country. 

GEORGE. She tell you what we need?

Otto makes a rapid movement, causing a knife to appear in his hand, and then throws the knife so that it sticks perfectly between the eyes of an animal on one of Ken's posters in the alcove. Ken stares, horrified. [No one expected this!]

OTTO. Something like that? [Otto challenges George.]

GEORGE. Something like that.  [George realizes Otto is unreliable.]

Cut to:

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The chief enemies of suspense?  I'd volunteer predictability and lack of conflict.

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
by John Cleese
Story by John Cleese and Charles Crichton

*FYI: Actor Kevin Kline won an Oscar for this role.

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979) - Making the Daffy Disaster of Whizzing Bullets Count for Character

[Quick Summary: Two farmhands, who want to be the infamous Apple Dumpling Gang, bumble their way into another gang's bank heist, payroll robbery.]

I've always thought the scripts of Don Tait really showcased the physical comedy of actors Don Knotts and Tim Conway. 

But it was not just choosing unusual locations or situations, but how Tait used them to show more of Knotts and Conway's characters.

For example, in this script, Tait used props (whizzing bullets) to emphasize how these guys are clueless and do not think about the consequences of their actions.

Also notice the writing is so economical (summarized in brackets below):

INT. BANK

as Woolly Bill charges IN, Buntline Specials drawn, he comes face to face with Amos and Theodore!

WOOLLY BILL: All right -- hold it right there! Turn around! Now remove your guns easy and drop them.

Amos and Theodore are too frightened to speak, but they obey Woolly Bill's orders. Cautiously, they turn around, reach for their antiquated firearms, and drop them to the marble floor.

INSERT

Both guns DISCHARGE when they hit the floor. [Unthinking actions]

CLOSE - WOOLLY BILL

as one gun is shot from his hand. [Unintended reaction, which makes it funny]

SERIES OF FAST CUTS

as the bullet from Amos' gun SPANGS OFF various metal objects about the bank: a teller's cage bar, a spittoon, a chandelier, a corner of the vault, etc. This all is done to the SOUND OF RICOCHETING BULLETS. [This is a paragraph of actions.]

ANOTHER ANGLE

TO FAVOR Woolly Bill as his eyes try to follow the trajectory of the ricocheting bullet. Suddenly the other Buntline Special is knocked from his hands and Woolly Bill bends over, clutching both hands in pain. [This is Bill's reaction.]

ANOTHER ANGLE

as Theodore glances back over his shoulder and is surprised to find Woolly Bill a victim of their gunfire. Both his white-handled guns are on the floor at his feet. [More reactions]

THEODORE: Maybe we better go.

He grabs up their guns and shoves Amos' revolver at him. He has to shake Amos out of his posture of cringing terror.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This scene is funny because the bullets hitting Bill is unexpected.

However, it's funnier because it's about the characters' cluelessness.

The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979)(shooting draft, 3/28/78 w/revisions)
by Don Tait

TODAY'S NUGGET: Shaggy D.A. (1976) - How to Effectively Use an Animal Actor

[Quick Summary: An attorney runs for District Attorney against the incumbent, but is threatened by a magical ring from his past that turns a human into a dog.]

When the world is tough, all I want to do is follow a dog planting a recording device.

I thought the writer did a great job of understanding: 1) how to set up the story; 2) the limits of what an animal actor could do; and 3) combining 1) and 2) well. 

In the scene below, the story is that "Wilby" is the attorney in his dog form. In the film, it is played by a real trained canine actor.

Notice the skills that the dog can be trained to do: Carry a tape recorder. Open a door. Look toward Roschak. Lay recorder on a chair. Press a button.

Notice also how the writer allows the audience to give meaning of these actions.

INT. WAREHOUSE

...ANOTHER ANGLE 

holding the tape recorder in his mouth, "Wilby" starts across an open stretch toward the stairs

ANOTHER ANGLE "WILBY" 

Tiptoeing up the stairs, toward Roschak's office, carrying the tape recorder in his mouth.

EXT. AREA - SLADE'S CAR

approaching the warehouse.

RESUME "WILBY"

as he opens the door to Roschak's office and enters. This is actually an outer (or secretary's office). But through a second door, leading into Roschak's office, we SEE the crime boss counting money into piles, putting the bills into envelopes.

CLOSE "WILBY"

He looks toward Roschak, then carefully lays the tape recorder on a chair behind the desk. Now comes the anxious moment. Can he push the right button without starting the Marine Band again? "Wilby" reaches a huge paw out ever so carefully and presses a button.

EXTREME CLOSE UP - TAPE RECORDER

as the tape starts moving -- recording. "Wilby" sighs, then again glances toward Roschak and starts to exit the office.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Training an animal is not the hard part.  It is giving MEANING to those actions, which is the writer's job.

One of the reasons this scene lands is because of the set up in previous scenes, ex. "Wilby" hit the wrong button on the tape recorder.  Will he hit the right one now?

Shaggy D.A. (1976)(shooting script 1/7/76)
by Don Tait

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Prize Fighter (1979) - Showing How a Fight is Fixed (Setup-Payoff)

[Quick Summary: Mobster Mike lures Bags, an awful boxer, and Shake, his corner guy, into training at Pop's gym, in hopes of getting his hands on the gym.]

Let me say it from the start: Not everyone can (or likes to) write comedy. But why?

Director Alexander MacKendrick put it very elegantly:

‘Comedy is hard’ (last words of Edmund Kean). Comedy plays best in the mastershot. Comic structure is simply dramatic structure but MORE SO: neater, shorter, faster. Don’t attempt comedy until you are really expert in structuring dramatic material.MacKendrick says it very elegantly above, but I'd never understood what he meant until I had to write one myself. (emphasis mine)

I still didn't understand what he meant until I took a stab myself.  I discovered what one can only discover by doing it: There is an unforgiving rhythm to comedy.*

The truth of "neater, shorter, faster" can be seen in today's script, one of two, which comedian/writer Tim Conway wrote for himself and friend Don Knotts.

In this story, Bags (Conway) and Shake (Knotts) are being set up for a fall.

In the scene below:
-Notice how neat, short, fast the sentences read. Great economy of writing.
-Notice how it keeps our eye moving around the room (setup).
-I underlined the payoff.  Why is it funny? He wins with eyes closed, which the audience knows is impossible and unexpected...unless it's fixed.

INT. CARNIVAL TENT RING - NIGHT

...MIKE

takes a real interest in what's happening with the ring work Bags has come up with. The Champ actually takes a few pokes at Bags but can't seem to catch up to him. Mike leans forward. He likes what he sees. He whispers to Flower. Flower signals the SECOND in the Champ's corner. The Second gets the message.

SECOND (to Champ): Hey, Mule...

He motions to him with a thumbs down signal. The Champ questions it by looking to Mike. Mike nods his head in agreement. The Champ shrugs his shoulders and moves to Bags. He beings to corner Bags so he has no choice but to hit the Champ. He does so with his eyes closed. The Champ goes down. The crowd yells for him.  Bags opens his eyes. He sees the Champ down and out. He bends over to help him.

BAGS: I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, honest.

The Champ looks at him with one eye like, what the hell is the matter with you.

Shake is wide-eyed. He can't believe it. Jimmy goes to Bags and holds his hand high.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: In a drama, you have a lot more leeway with time. The rhythm can ebb and flow at leisure, like waves on a beach.  

In a comedy, you have little leeway.  The rhythm is much more structured, insistent, demanding, like a military march.

The Prize Fighter (1979)
by Tim Conway and John Myhers
Story by Tim Conway

*Writers, please DO NOT take my word for it. Please try it out for yourself and see if comedy fits you or not.  Scientific method the heck out of it.

This a-ha! moment is brought to you by Years of My Own Pain.