TODAY'S NUGGET: Meet Joe Black (1998) - Setting Mood of Doubt from Pg. 1

[Quick Summary: In exchange for a few more days with his family, a media owner makes an agreement with Death to be his guide on Earth.]

I read this script this week, in my quest to read as many Bo Goldman scripts as possible.  (He's listed as the last of four screenwriters. Maybe tough adaptation?)

I remembered this film did not hang together for me, despite great performances (which critic Roger Ebert explains much better here). 

Thus I was surprised how much the script captured my attention from p. 1.

I really liked how little phrases set the mood with hints of doubts about the protagonist when he becomes aware of Death as a being (I've bolded them below):

INT. PARRISH'S BEDROOM - 4:00 AM

MOVE THROUGH the doorway to reveal a master bedroom furnished with exquisite simplicity, revelatory of its sleeping occupant, WILLIAM PARRISH, 64, a warm but commanding face, a man of maturity yet who exudes a glow of enthusiasm.

Although asleep, there is an uncommon restlessness to him. Parrish grips his upper arm as if in pain. Now the severity of the pain wakes him, he squeezes his arm. The wind comes up, through the wind a VOICE is heard distantly, or is it the wind itself:

VOICE (V.O.): ...Yes.

Parrish blinks, has he heard something, has he not, he is not sure, he releases his arm, his grimace of pain fades, the discomfort seems momentarily to have subsided.

He rises now, crosses to the bathroom. As he pees, a breeze outside the window, the wind again, but then the Voice comes up:

VOICE (V.O.): Yes...

It is unmistakably a Voice, it is not the wind, Parrish has heard something, he looks around, but no one is there. He can't finish peeing, turns back to his bedroom. All bewildered, Parrish looks around once more, climbs back into bed, trying to trace the source of what he has heard or hasn't heard; he is not sure.

He pulls the covers up now, not a SOUND, tries to close his eyes.

VOICE (V.O.): Yes.

Parrish sits up again, frightened, but still there is no one there, he seems fraught with indecision, should he get up, should he not, what is happening? He looks out: absolute stillness and silence, CRICKETS chirp down by the river, a light FLICKERS from a shadboat, Parrish closes his eyes but then they flutter open, he glances up at the ceiling and finally, exhausted, falls back asleep.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The writer's job is to engage the reader. This first page made me feel the doubt and spiked my curiosity: What is this about? I must turn the page and find out.

Meet Joe Black (1996)(Bo Goldman draft, 10/4/96)
by Ron Osborn & Jeff Reno, and Kevin Wade, and Bo Goldman
Inspired by the earlier screenplay, Death Takes a Holiday (1934), by Maxwell Anderson and Gladys Lehman
Inspired by the play by Alberto Casella and Walter Ferris

TODAY'S NUGGET: Little Nikita (1988) - Re-Writing Three Writers Ahead of You; Sensitivity to Character, Tone

[Quick Summary:  FBI Agent (Sidney Poitier) tries to unmask two Russian sleeper spies and strikes up an unlikely friendship with their son (River Phoenix).]

I've been reading my way through the scripts of double Oscar winner (and triple nominee) Bo Goldman. His work has noticeable depth.*

His originals are impressive (ex. Melvin and Howard, Scent of a Woman), but I've become even more fascinated in how he elevated scripts in his re-write work.

His handiwork is particularly evident in character relationships, even if the final film was not well received (as today's script was not).**  

I think Goldman's sensitivity to characters is seen well in the scene below:
- Jeff is about to interview for the Air Force.
- This may look like an easy scene, but read all the way to the end to see the shifts in tone (semi-serious - shooting the breeze - life changing moment - fork in the road).
- Notice how realistic the silly/serious line is among guy friends.

INT. TEENAGERS' VW - DAY

Rolling down the San Diego County roads, Bret at the wheel, Jeff beside him, in the back, Tom and Tony. Tom and Tony and Bret are guzzling cans of soda and munching potato chips while Jeff sits moodily, his arms folded.

BRET (to Jeff): Don't you want a Mountain Dew?

TOM (heavily): Don't force him, today is crucial.

Tom chug-a-lugs his soda noisily, Jeff glances back at him.

JEFF: Okay, gimme one.

Tony pops a can, hands it to Jeff.

TONY: Are we ready, folks, I'm the interviewer...

BRET: And I'm Jeff...

TONY: Son!

BRET: Yes, sir!

TONY: Straighen up, son!

BRET: Yes, sir!

TONY: Statistics, son!

BRET: 'Statistics!' Fire away, sir!

TONY: Barbara Kerry's statistics?!

BRET: 34-18 --

TONY: 69!

Laughs. Jeff doesn't.

JEFF: Okay, okay, I got it.

Jeff shifts the can of soda in his hand. Tom, a gentle giant, removes it from him, gulps the rest.

TOM: ...Why's your interview first?

TONY: Yeah, how come you rate?

BRET: The boy must have clout.

TONY: Your father cal somebody?

TOM: My father knows Chuck Yeager. He autographed his book for my dad. General Yeager may sponsor me. 

TONY: Dr. Ruth autographed her book for my dad.

BRET: Yeah, she may sponsor me.

TONY: ...Who's Chuck Yeager?

TOM: Chuck Yeager? The Sound Barrier? Greatest pilot in the world? Any of this mean anything? I don't think the Air Force is for you, Tony.

Tony looks at him blankly.

TOM (contd): ...Gentlemen, The Wrong Stuff!

Sudden silence as Bret pulls up alongside Camp Pendelton headquarters. Brassy uniforms file in and out of the nerve center of the huge Marine base.

TONY: Good luck, buddy --

TOM: And remember, you live in fame, go down in flame --

But Jeff has already jumped out, is jogging toward the headquarters door, the boys watching as he passes grizzled sergeants, hash-marks up their arms. Jeff glances back now, the boys wave to him reassuringly. Finally, Bret pees out, cacophonous voices float back over the parking lot, "Off we go, into the wild, blue yonder..."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I really liked how realistic this small, but memorable, moment was.

I think it's the writer's rhythm that makes the difference: deft use of shifts in tone; the characters going off on tangents, not talking about the interview ahead.

Little Nikita (1988)(9/15/86 Bo Goldman draft)
by John Hill and Bo Goldman
Story by Tom Musca and Terry Schwartz
* Writer Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Insider) said this about Goldman: 

“The man whose work made the biggest impression on me, because of his audacious originality, his understanding of social mores, his ironic sense of humor, and his outright anger at being human, and all with his soft spoken grace and eloquent simplicity is Bo Goldman. This degenerate horse player of a man lived his life like he lived his politics, never shying from a fight. His words were silk, never wasted or misplaced, and he would throw away what others would consider glorious and did it all without a moment’s fanfare.”

**Roger Ebert acknowledged that this was one of those packaged deals that was trying to reach a big audience, especially parents and teens. 

He also pinpointed some of the story's flaws:

"...It turns all of the characters into chess pieces, whose relationships depend on the plot, not on human chemistry. Since the plot is absurdly illogical, you're not left with much....

Everything leads up to the single most unbelievable chain of coincidences in recent movie history, when the entire plot depends on all of the key characters accidentally boarding the same trolley car. 

Because 'Little Nikita' is impossible to believe, impossible even to accept as a plausible fantasy, it is impossible to care about. 

As a general rule, a thriller must have some sort of interior consistency; if anything can happen, how can we feel any suspense about what does happen?"

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: #45 WGA Script of All Time - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

[Quick Summary: When a rebel is shipped to a super-oppressive psychiatric ward, he incites fellow patients to buck the establishment & take back some autonomy.]

My latest pet peeve in spec scripts are protagonists without goals.

"What if it's hard to describe the goal?" you might ask.  "Like Jack Nicholson in 'One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'? What's his goal?"

Let's take a look.

This is a hard script to explain, much less summarize. 

Murphy, the main character, arrives and quickly learns he can't do squat. Everything is pre-measured. Every response is critiqued.

It's like a cult. The routine is dull and designed to strip all creative thought.

So what does Murphy want? His goal is to be able to make his own decisions. (That is so theoretical. Ugh.)

But what does Murphy do to get to his goal?
- He takes patients for a joy ride to go fishing.
- He includes an unlikely patient in a basketball game, and it becomes competitive for once.
- He challenges a nurse re: showing the World Series on the tv.

Hmmm...these are very concrete actions. Murphy pushes boundaries so he can have more freedom.

How do we measure if Murphy is moving toward his goal?  This is a comedy-tragedy, so Murphy actually loses ground. 

But his effect on the other patients is amazing.  They begin to act differently, respond differently than pre-Murphy.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: When a goal is hard to explain, at least create step-by-step scenes so we see the protagonist making progress toward it.

Here, decision-making is the goal. Murphy creates situations that allow him to exercise and expand his decision making abilities.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
by Lawrence Hauben & Bo Goldman
Based on the novel by Ken Kesey