2023 OSCARS: Banshees of Inisherin (2022) - One Key to Writing Memorable Parts for Women

[Quick Summary: On a small Irish island of Inisherin in 1923, Padric is stunned when his fiddler friend Colm refuses to ever speak to him.]

I am impressed how well Martin McDonagh can write parts for women.  My first exposure was the two female leads in this early play, which blew my hair back.

How does he do it?  One key is that he is very observant of subtext.  He pays attention to the underlying dynamics women juggle, ex. societal expectations.

In the scene below:
- Padraic has been wrestling with why his friend Colm has suddenly changed.
- However, watch Siobhan, his sister, who is simultaneously having to juggle a sad Colm and neighbor Mrs. McCormick.
- Siobhan is required to host and attend to Mrs. McCormick in a way Padraic is not (societal norms).
- Also, the last lines of "hide behind walls" made me realize no one asked about Siobhan's dreams.  In taking care of everyone else, what's she suppressing?

INT. PADRAIC'S HOUSE - DUSK

PADRAIC, SIOBHAN & MRS. MCCORMICK, a spooky-looking, white faced, neighbor, 80, smoking a clay pipe through blackened teeth. SIOBHAN sews rose decorations on a black shawl, as PADRAIC refills the lamps around the room from a pail of Paraffin.

MRS. MCCORMICK: Is it six years since yere Mammy and Daddy died, Siobhan, or is it seven years since they died?

SIOBHAN: It's seven years, Mrs. McCormick, aye.

MRS. MCCORMICK: Is it seven years? Doesn't time be flying?

PADRAIC: Aye. When you're having fun.

SIOBHAN: Be off to the pub, now, Padraic, if you're going to be annoying us.

PADRAIC: I don't have to be down there every night, do I?

SIOBHAN almost double-takes, MRS. MCCORMICK just smirks.

MRS. MCCORMICK: ColmSonnyLarry's scared him off, I suppose.

PADRAIC: What did you hear of ColumSonnyLarry?

MRS. MCCORMICK: Didn't you and he used be the best of friends?

PADRAIC: We're still the best of friends.

MRS. MCCORMICK: No ye're not.

PADRAIC: Who says we're not?

MRS. MCCORMICK (pointing to SIOBHAN): She says!

PADRAIC: Ar for God's sake, Siobhan!

SIOBHAN: I said nothing of the like, Mrs. McCormick, I was just chatting! Now you go off to Jonjo's, Padraic, and don't be getting under our feet, sure Mrs. McCormick never gets a chance to come over for a chat...

SIOBHAN makes PADRAIC put on his coat.

PADRAIC: She never gets a chance cos you avoid her.

SIOBHAN: I do not avoid her!

PADRAIC: You hide behind walls if she's coming up the road!

SIOBHAN gives an embarrassed laugh as PADRAIC exits. She sits back down.

SIOBHAN: 'Hide behind walls'.

SIOBHAN tries to smile, but MRS. MCCORMICK just stares at her, smoking. they sit in awkward silence.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The Siohban part impressed me because there is a lot of emotional juggling for the actress to do, though it may not look like it on the page.

Banshees of Inisherin (2022)(June 29, 2021)
by Martin McDonagh

TODAY'S NUGGET: Melvin and Howard (1980) - What Does a "Well Fleshed-out Character" Look Like?

[Quick Summary: The adventures of down-on-his luck Melvin who rescues an unrecognizable Howard [Hughes], and may be left a fortune in the latter's will.]

I went into this script cold, as I prefer to do.  I did not know what it was about, nor much about the writer, nor who directed it. **  Could he hold my attention?

In short, yes, but I'm not sure how.  After Howard disappears (p. 23), it's mostly about Melvin's shambolic life (until the will shows up p. 101).

Yet I couldn't take my eyes off this odd character Melvin, who can't hold down a job, who keeps going back to his ex, and who makes up songs that he sings badly.

And that's what really shines in this script, more than plot.

The writer puts Melvin in odd circumstances, but it's his odd decision making, his reliance on the short term, that kept me reading.

For example, in the scene below:
- Melvin now works as a door-to-door dairy deliveryman.
- He is now hanging out with his dairy truck co-workers at the bar.
- He is sad that his ex left with the kids for the umpteenth time.
- Bill Matilla owns the bar and gave Melvin a break as a regular featured singer.
- Bonnie works in the cashier's office at the dairy. She has had her eye on Melvin at work, at church.
- Melvin has been goaded into singing his song and has just finished it.
- Notice how well fleshed out and realistic Melvin is.  We recognize he isn't necessarily impulsive, just trying to bet on a "sure thing."

LA HABRA - TIKI RESTAURANT

...Dead silence, then applause and cheering erupts. Melvin is shy on the stage, his friends, Pete and Ralph and George Rush over to him, lift him off the stage, the band strikes up -- Bonnie rushes to Melvin.

She throws her arms around him.

MELVIN (all embarrassed): Hey, that was nice. You married, Bonnie? 

BONNIE: No I'm not, Melvin Dummar. And neither are you any more.

Melvin waits.

BONNIE: So what do you say?

MELVIN (shrugs): Gee, I don't know, Bonnie.

BONNIE: I'll take care of you, Melvin -- til you get on your feet. I got my welfare money saved up ---

MELVIN: You on welfare, Bonnie --?

BONNIE: I got two kids ---

MELVIN: Oh my Lord ---

BONNIE: Listen Melvin, I got a cousin up in Utah -- lost his lease on a gas station -- we run it right we get a thousand a month clear -- I've been waiting for this moment -- and the moment is now -- so what do you say?!

Melvin hesitates.

BONNIE: Or don't you come swinging your dick around the cashier's office no more!

MELVIN: Bonnie? A Mormon girl -- swearing?!

BONNIE: Bet your ass.

Melvin looks over at Bill Matilla who is dancing with a Japanese hostess. Melvin shakes his head.

MELVIN: When do we leave?

BONNIE: Tonight.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Despite never being a dairy truck driver or a bar singer, I recognize Melvin, his habits, his attempts to bet on a winner. It's realistic.

I think that's what is meant by the term,  a "well fleshed-out" character.

Melvin and Howard (1980)(undated)
by Bo Goldman

* Though you may not have heard of double Oscar winning writer Bo Goldman (who is still alive), you will know some of the films that he's written: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Oscar winner); The Rose, Scent of a Woman (Oscar nominated); Meet Joe Black; Rules Don't Apply.

** This was directed by Jonathan Demme, who later directed Something Wild, Silence of the Lambs.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Never Say Never Again (1983) - When You Need a Good Villain

[Quick Summary: When S.P.E.C.T.R.E steals American nuclear warheads, Bond investigates.]

THREE THOUGHTS:

1) HISTORY. For those who might not know this film's history, it's another adaption of the book Thunderball, and one of two Bond films not produced by EON Productions.

2) BORED? Having read 5 other EON produced scripts, I find this one lacks ...heart? Despite the danger, quips, gadgets, Bond feels mechanical, and uh, bored?

3) GOOD VILLAIN. However, this script does have a good villain, Fatima, a S.P.E.C.T.R.E. henchman, who has Jack, an American, in her clutches.

In the scene below:
- I felt real emotion for poor Jack as I see him suffer (vs. being told of it).
- Fatima holds the upper hand on his life (via his drug addiction) and his sister's life (real stakes).
- Fatima identifies his weaknesses and uses them against him.  This is one reason why we don't like her and she's a good villain.

INT. JACK'S ROOM - SHRUBLANDS - NIGHT

JACK sits on the BED. With shaking hands he reaches inside a SMALL OVERNIGHT BAG and takes out a pack of CIGARETTES and a small box of wooden MATCHES. His hands continue to shake as he struggles to ignite the match. Finally, it burns.

He inhales deeply. Beads of sweat are on his forehead. He inhales again; he beings to cough and shake. Hearing a sound from the corridor he quickly pitches the CIGARETTE into the fireplace and hides the cigarette PACK and MATCHES under the MATTRESS.  [The smoking = addicted to cigarettes. The sweating = likely addicted to some kind of drug.]

FATIMA enters. She stops short; locking the DOOR, she sniffs the air. JACK, his back to her, coughs weakly, unable to control himself. [His poor physical condition gives him away.]

FATIMA: Baby's been smoking again.

She slowly approaches JACK and turns his face to hers.

FATIMA (staring down at him): Baby was ordered not to smoke. Smoking is dirty, it gets into baby's eye.  [This baby talk is creepy.]

She suddenly yanks off the HEAD BANDAGE. It's METAL CLIP taking away a tuft of JACK'S hair and making him yell with pain. he bursts into a spasm of coughs and begins to hyperventilate. [Pulling of the hair is a good visceral detail.]

FATIMA: If baby wants his fix....

She takes a hypo needle attached to her thigh (garter belt). [Showing the audience her dominance.]

JACK takes a deep breath quieting his coughs.

FATIMA (continuing): Baby must do what he is told if baby wants his fast cars and pretty clothes, if baby wants to keep his sister alive, then baby's got to pay the price.

Suddenly violent, JACK rises and pushes FATIMA back, attacking her.

JACK: You leave DOMINO out of this....  [Jack still has fight in him! I root for you, Jack!]

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:  I liked that I knew exactly what Fatima wants, and how far she is willing to go (both physical and psychological).  

I also like that her approach, though creepy, is unusual.

Never Say Never Again (1983)(dated Dec., 1982)
by Lorenzo Semple, Jr.
Original story by Kevin McClory & Jack Whittingham & Ian Fleming

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) - A Good Sight Gag Has Layered Meanings

[Quick Summary: Bond and a female Russian operative search for missing submarines with nuclear warheads, leading them to the villain's underwater lair.]

I like sight gags, especially when they can be combined with call backs and foreshadowing, so the audience knows more than the characters.

Early in this script, the villain Stromberg fed his traitorous assistant to the sharks.  

Later, when Bond meets Stromberg, there is a sight gag (below).  It is also:
- a call back to the early scene,
- a foreshadowing of what Stromberg has in store for Bond,
- a clue to Bond there is danger ahead (an increase in the stakes).

INT. SITTING ROOM - ATLANTIS - DAY

...STROMBERG moves slowly round the room. BOND goes with him.

STROMBERG: I'm somewhat of a recluse. I wish to conduct my life on my own terms - and in surroundings with which I can identify. That is a privilege of wealth. 

BOND: You don't miss the outside world?

STROMBERG: For me, this is all the world.

He points to a shoal of beautiful, brightly coloured fish in the tank they are opposite.

STROMBERG: There is beauty...

He points to a hideously ugly fish.

STROMBERG: There is ugliness.

We see a fish with a head of a small fish protruding from its mouth.

STROMBERG: And there is death.

As he turns away, the menacing grey shadow of a shark appears behind the glass with a glimpse of murderous teeth. BOND watches it as it swoops down and up again, seeming to direct BOND's attention to the bottom of the tank. Lying there is a female hand with, on it, the rings and bracelets we have seen worn by the ASSISTANT. BOND turns at the sound of STROMBERG'S VOICE behind him.

STROMBERG (overlaid): I think you will find this interesting, Mr. Sterling.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I liked the multiple layers of meaning to this one sight gag.

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)(final shooting script, 8/23/76)
by Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum
Based on the novel by Ian Fleming

TODAY'S NUGGET: Identity (2003) - How to Infuse Energy into Act 2 (Anticipation of Clues)

[Quick Summary: With a homicidal prisoner potentially on the loose, ten strangers, who are stranded at a lonely motel, are being killed off one by one.]

Q: If you had to sum up this script in word, what would it be?
A: ENERGY.

Q: Even in the dreaded act 2?
A: That's what made it so unusual!  The energy never flagged.

Q: Why is that?
A: Anticipation, i.e., with each clue revealed, the stakes rose for the survivors.

Q: Can you give a good example?
A: In the scene below, notice that our curiosity is lit with an audible clue
--> we see the aftermath of a horror scene, which keeps us curious
--> the characters find more clues
--> they realize what this means for them
--> and we have to turn the page to get to see if they're right.

EXT. COURTYARD -- NIGHT -- CONTINUOUS

In the rain-soaked earth, Ed finds --

A single shower curtain ring...Then another...

They lead like breadcrumbs from Caroline's room out and away to the rear of the motel. Ed follows them to the walkway of a rundown swimming pool half-filled with rainwater.

Then he notices -- THE SWINGING GATE -- leading out into the black desert. Thunder cracks.

And then he hears it...

A dull metallic thudding...Bang-bang... Bang-bang... He tries to distinguish it from the downpour... Bang-bang... Bang-bang...He heads off around the side of the building...  [Audible clue!]

INT. MOTEL LAUNDRY -- NIGHT

Darkness before Ed switches on the overhead fluorescent... Bang-bang... Bang-bang... THREE DRYERS ARE ON -- But one of them is making the noise... Bang-bang... Inside one of them, something inside is tumbling over and over...

Ed reaches out to a dryer door. Bang-bang... Bang-bang...Opens it... Nothing. It shuts off.

Ed cautiously opens the SECOND DRYER -- NOTHING... It shuts off.

Hesitantly, he opens THE THIRD DRYER -- And finds -- [By the Rule of 3, we expect something here, rhythmically in the story, but there is nothing.]

A pair of sneakers klunking round and round in the dryer. They come to a stop. Ed sighs -- but then notices --

EYES -- staring at him -- reflected in the circular glass on the dryer door -- [Then, BAM! Surprise clue!]

Ed spins around to face --

CAROLINE'S DECAPITATED HEAD staring at him from the fourth dryer cradle. Rhodes and Larry enter and freeze...

LARRY: Oh, Jesus Mother of God. That's a... (notices Ed's stony expression) ...you're real calm for a guy staring at a human head.

Ed considers this.

ED: She wasn't that human. [A little humor can't be bad.]

Rhodes kneels in front of the dryer and reaches inside.

ED (CONT'D): 'The hell you doing?

RHODES: ...There's something in there. [Another clue? Anticipation!]

Ed hands Rhodes a dryer sheet.

ED: Use this.

LARRY: ...You a cop?

Rhodes and Ed lock eyes.

ED: Not anymore.

Rhodes pulls out a BLOOD SOAKED OBJECT and examines it...

IT IS A MOTEL ROOM KEY -- NUMBER TEN. [Clue! What does it mean?!]

LARRY: Oh, man. That is fucked up.

ED: Was she in room ten?

LARRY (shakes his head, then points to Rhodes): ...They were.

ED (to Rhodes): Where's your guy?

RHODES (uneasy): ...'Cuffed to a toilet.  [Oh no!  Gotta turn the page to see if the prisoner guy is still in Rm. 10, or on the loose.]

                                                             CUT TO:

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I like that the stakes increased organically (threatened the characters in realistic way) vs. artificially (only there to get us from point A to B).

Identity (2003)(revised draft)
by Michael Cooney and James Mangold