2026 OSCARS: Blue Moon (2025) - This is NOT the Payoff Speech You Expect (Creating an Ironic, Emotionally Satisfying Ending)

[Quick Summary: Lorenz Hart, formerly of the famous Rodgers-Hart duo, struggles with alcoholism and regret on the opening night of the new Rodgers-Hammerstein musical, "Oklahoma!".]

THREE THOUGHTS: 

1) THE PROCESS. In several recent interviews, actor Ethan Hawke spoke about director Richard Linklater's process with the script.*  The most interesting tidbits:

1) "Linklater is very patient." It's taken 10 years to get the script right.
2) Hawke said he knew this was a very small target they were aiming for. 
3) Each time they'd get a draft, Linklater would call it "another layer of paint."

2) THE SCRIPT. I think this patience and persistence paid off.  It's a very tight script (only 85 pgs.), happens all in one night, and mostly in one location.  

It's also a wonderful character piece on how Hart often got in his own way. 

3) PAYOFF THAT PAYS OFF. I imagine getting Hart right was very hard: 

- He was short, overlooked, and full of contradictions (ex. self-destructive and smart; gay, but hopelessly in love with a woman).
- He was both the biggest and smallest person in the room.
- Hawke said that Hart kept talking, talking, talking because he wouldn't be noticed if he stopped. 

What does the writer do with a character who won't shut up? Here, it was fascinating to see the unexpected irony that the writer used in the structure.

To be more specific, the writer allowed Hart to talk, talk, talk for 3/4th of the script, then the woman he loves shuts him up in the last 1/4th with a brilliant monologue.

For example, in the scene below:
- Hart is in love with Elizabeth, who is 20 yrs. younger.
- Hart hasn't told her how he feels about her.
- She's still at Yale and stuck on Cooper, a friend's boyfriend and a junior at Yale.
- She thinks of Hart as a confidante, but doesn't ask much from him except to listen.
- He knows he's gay, but feels seen by her. It's the closest thing to love for him.
- At the party for "Oklahoma!," they go into a closet to have some privacy.
- She tells him about her humiliating 20th birthday with her crush, Cooper.
- On her birthday, they tried to have sex, but Cooper was too drunk and nervous. 
- A week later, Cooper asked her to dinner. They meet at his fraternity.
- This is one of Hart's most important scenes, and it's all in his reaction.
- Note that he's been talking all this time, self-absorbed -- until this moment when SHE becomes more important.
- Also, this is only part of Elizabeth's speech.  I'd highly recommend you read it in its entirety. It's a high wire act.  One of the best of deeply felt, exposing speeches for a female character.  

INT. SARDI'S BAR - ENTRANCE AREA - CONTINUOUS

...COAT ROOM AREA

ELIZABETH: In spades. I mean, it's suddenly pouring. We're practically tearing each other's clothes off. There is no conversation. And this time there is no difficulty. Not the first time. Not the second time.

HART: Stop.

ELIZABETH: He says to me, "Happy belated birthday, Elizabeth," and, you want to hear the unbelievable ending to this sordid little story That was the last time I saw him. That was November - over four months ago. I was absolutely sure he'd call. If only to have sex again, right? No. Never. I thought he'd write. No. So I call him, of course. He couldn't get off the phone fast enough.  So I wrote to him a four-page typed letter. Single-spaced. No response....

I tell myself it was like a fever dream, you know? And, maybe, the fever finally broke. And it all sounds sane and sensible, but, you know something, if he called me right now, right this very second, I'd drop everything in my life and drive three hours, drive thirty hours just to spend one more night with him. What is the matter with me, Larry? 

HART: Why would you drive thirty hours to see someone who treated you like that?

ELIZABETH: Because I'm in love with him?

HART: ...You are?

ELIZABETH: It's illogical. Obsessional. Pathetic. And this is not the first time this has happened to me. It keeps happening to me. I feel like I can't see people clearly. 

She struggles to take a deep breath. He takes out his pocket handkerchief and hands it to her. 

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This payoff ending was emotionally satisfying because:
- The first 3/4 of the script (Hart talking) builds up to this last 1/4 (Hart silenced).
- This speech delivers a comeuppance to Hart in an unusual way.
-  I expected him to talk over her. Hart's silence thwarted my expectations.
- Hart shows us how he was his own worst enemy, and the structure mimics it.

Blue Moon (2025)(1/9/25 conformed script)
by Robert Kaplow
Inspired by the letters of Lorenz Hart and Elizabeth Weiland 

* For example: here, here, and here.  

TODAY'S NUGGET: Juarez (1939) - The Best Way to Give Two Possible Endings

[Quick Summary: In 1863, Benito Juarez, the new president of Mexico who has taken land from the rich for the poor, is maneuvered out of office by unhappy Mexican politicians, and French Napoleon III, in order to install Austrian prince Maximilian von Habsburg as emperor.]

I admired, but did not like, this script, co-written by director John Huston.

It is essentially about historical political maneuverings, which is hard to make cinematic, unless it's about individuals (see my Reds review).

However, I found the ending interesting because:
1) It resolves how Juarez and  von Habsburg both had similar hopes for Mexico, but only one (literally) could survive.
2) The script include two possible, good options, for the ending, which is unusual.

In the ending below:
- Maximilian von Habsburg has just been shot.
- The first ending is more metaphorical, cinematic, and features children, i.e., the future of Mexico.
- The second ending is more conventional and simple (and probably cheaper).

A frightened DOVE is seen flying as the sound of a volley is heard This dissolves to a CHAPEL from the entrance a coffin is seen on a catafalque in the presbytery. A figure comes into view and goes slowly down the nave. It stands motionless over the coffin, and as the scene moves up to a close view BENITO JUAREZ is seen looking down into an open coffin in which rests all that is mortal of Maximilian von Habsburg. A look of pity softens his stone face, following which a wider view shows Juarez straightening up and starting from the coffin.  He continues up the aisle of pews. --He passes an Indian woman who is kneeling in prayer. On her back, int he folds of her serape, she carries her baby, a robust Indian boy of a few months. The baby sucks on his fingers as he gurgles to himself.

The moving scene stops with Juarez as, attracted by the sounds from the baby, he pauses to look at it, following, which a close view of the BABY shows its velvet black eyes fixed on Juarez, as its face crinkles into an ingratiating smile.  A close view of JUAREZ shows the stone mask of his face slowly softening and for the first time we see him smile. Then, the scene widening quickly and revealing both Juarez and the baby, Juarez squares himself and continues down the aisle as his short, squat figure disappears in the gloomy shadows of the church. The scene fades out. 

(ALTERNATE ENDING)

This dissolves to a CHAPEL and a coffin is seen on a catafalque in the presbytery. A figure comes into view and goes slowly down the nave. It stands motionless over the coffin, and as the scene moves up to a close view of BENITO JUAREZ is seen looking down into an open coffin in which rests all that is mortal of Maximilian von Habsburg, Emperor of Mexico and Archduke of Austria.

JUAREZ: Forgive me.

The scene fades out.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I liked how the writers had made a definitive decision about the meaning of the ending. The alternate was just another way to show it. 

I don't particularly enjoy it when the writers create "happy" and "sad" alternates in order to avoid taking a stance on their story.

Juarez (1939)
by John Huston & Aeneas MacKenzie, and Wolfgang Reinhardt
Based on a play by Franz Werfel, and the novel, The Phantom Crown, by Bertita Harding

TODAY'S NUGGET: Turning Point (1977) - Delivering an Emotionally Satisfying End of Character Arc

[Quick Summary: A former dancer faces her decision to give up ballet, after her daughter joins a NYC company that features her (the mother's) former competitor.]

This week's script was a huge pop cultural sensation when it was released.* 

Perhaps one of the reasons is how the writer delivered emotionally satisfying endings, for both mother and daughter separately.

For example, in the scene below:
- Emilia, the daughter who has just joined this NYC company, has been dating Yuri, a very talented fellow dancer. 
- She's been wrapped up in him, thinking they're a couple.
- However, he's been seeing other women without telling her.
- This hits her hard, but it matures her. 
- How does the writer show the triumphant end of her character arc? Through her changed behavior. 
- Notice how she is no longer swayed by every emotion and  keeps it professional ("better give me more support").
- Also note that the fruits of the maturity are not just in private, but also in public ("she smiles -> but not for him -> it's a performer's smile").

INT. MISKOFF THEATRE - UNDER THE STAGE - NIGHT

...She starts to pull away, but he, holding her, makes her dance and then lifts her up in the air just as Wayne lifted Deedee. He smiles up at her.

YURI (coaxing): Emilia...?

She looks down at him. He is very handsome, very appealing. She inclines down just a little, then stops. Cool, confident:

EMILIA: You better give me more support tomorrow night.

He adjusts their position.

CLOSE SHOT - EMILIA

Now she smiles. But not for him. It is a performer's smile, a ballerina smile. Her head goes up, her back arches gracefully and as her hands and arms reach up, her whole body shoots up through the ceiling.

INT. STAGE  - MINSKOFF THEATRE

And there she is, on stage, in full costume and makeup, dancing with Yuri and dancing magnificently. They are perfect together -- as partners on stage. They finish spectacularly and applause breaks like a cloudburst.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I really liked the description "her whole body shoots up through the ceiling" because it's not only how the character felt, but also how I felt going through the arc with the character. 

Turning Point (1977) 
by Arthur Laurents

*Also, it garnered 11 Oscar nominations, including ones for actors Anne Bancroft, Shirley MacLaine, Mikhail Baryshnikov, and writer Arthur Laurents (his only nomination).

2019 OSCARS: The Favourite (2018) - Thought Provoking Ending; Subtext of Manipulation

[Quick Summary: Lady Sarah Marlborough, the Queen's trusted confidante, and Abigail, a new social climber, make pawns of Queen Anne and England.]

For this year's 10 Oscars scripts, I've decided to pick out two things that I think that each script does well.

WHAT THIS SCRIPT DOES WELL:

1)  The ending left me thinking.  I do not think every ending has to be happy.

However, they should be satisfying and predictable.* 

This script adds the extra layer of "thought provoking," which is a special bonus. 

After a full script of manipulating and being manipulated, a major character gets a well timed "aha!" moment that comes too late.

"Is that all manipulation brings?!" I wondered.  Great food for thought.

2) The subtext of manipulation. 

Every character in this script is a manipulator. 

The best ones make their point without saying so (subtext).  This allows the audience the pleasure of putting 2 + 2 together. 

For example, in the scene below, note:
- Harley's words do not match his actions.
- The symbolism of the wren = Abigail

ex. "EXT PALACE LAWNS/ EG  NIGHT

HARLEY: ....I need a friend Abigail, one with cute ears and wide eyes. I am often blind-sided by the distorted situation at court. As Leader of the Opposition I should not be.  I would merely like to know of any plans her Ladyship, Godolphin or the Queen may have.

ABIGAIL: I will not betray my mistress's trust.

HARLEY: Oh look a wren. How cute.

She looks to the trees. Harley trips her and she goes face first into the stony path.

HARLEY (CONT'D): Are you alright? Let me help you up.

He reaches down. She warily reaches out a hand and he pulls her up a little.

HARLEY (CONT'D): Thing is if you're not my friend.  You are..

Then suddenly lets her go, she falls back down.

HARLEY (CONT'D): ...by definition my enemy. Anyway, think on it. No pressure.

Harley stalks off. Abigail sees the little wren, lying dead on the ground beside the path."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:  I liked that the writers had something to say and they delivered it cleanly.

The Favourite (2019)(final draft, 3/23/17)
by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara

* By "predictable," I do not mean dull or trite.  I do mean "logical, foreseeable, and/or the payoff to a previous setup."

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Ice Storm (1997) - To Increase Tension Before the Reveal

[Quick Summary: During a 1970s Thanksgiving, a family of four have different plans how to cope.]

This is a well-written drama/tragedy (maybe satire too?)

It is about lives in quiet desperation in the 1970s.

CON: I'm glad this script exists, but it's simply not my cup of tea. 

It's an observational film, and I couldn't figure out what the characters wanted (relief? oblivion? Maybe that was the point?)

PRO: I did like the last 7 pages, where the characters are confronted with a death.

**WARNING: MILD SPOILERS AHEAD**

I especially liked how the writer included two moments of quiet normalcy before the reveal. It increased the tension: "Oh no! These are the lives that will be shattered!"

In more detail:
- Ben finds the body.
- His wife Elena finds their teen daughter Wendy asleep with Sandy Carver (at the Carver's house. Sandy's dad is Jim Carver.)
- Elena and daughter Wendy have a quiet moment of connection.
- Jim Carver and his son Sandy have a quiet moment of connection.
- Ben brings the body to Carver's house.

Here are the two moments of quiet before the reveal:

ex. "INT. CARVER KITCHEN. DAWN.

Elena pours Wendy a cup of coffee. They're both in their coats.

WENDY: I don't like coffee.

ELENA: It'll warm you up.

Elena sits next to her. They both cross their legs, then raise their cups and sip the coffee, not noticing the simultaneity of their movements.

INT. GUEST ROOM. DAWN.

Jim watches the sleeping Sandy, picks up the half-empty bottle of vodka, pours himself a drink. The noise wakes Sandy up. Jim sits down on the bed at his feet.

SANDY: Dad?

JIM: Sandy.

Jim raises a quiet toast to his son and takes a gulp of vodka."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Don't be afraid to take a pause before the big punch.

It can actually increase the strength of the punch. 

The Ice Storm (1997)
by James Schamus
Based on the book by Rick Moody

TODAY'S NUGGET: Suspicion (1941) - Great Villain + Wrong Casting + Studio Interference = Wrong Ending

[Quick Summary: A young woman is entranced, wooed, and married to a wastrel , and soon finds that her new husband may be trying to kill her.]

*WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*

Johnnie Aysgarth is an excellent villain in this story.

I believe he's shady, devious, underhanded, and unreliable.

I believe he's also in love with his new wife, Lina McLaidlaw. 

I believe he would indeed lie, mislead, and cheat for the funds to keep her.

However, I do not believe the ending in the script, i.e., that he is redeemed.  It is not consistent with Johnnie's character or his choices.

I think Hitchcock thought the same because he wanted a darker ending.

Unfortunately, he had wrongly cast Cary Grant as Johnnie.  The studio didn't think audiences would buy him as a killer, and thus insisted on the current, happier ending.

I would've believed Hitchcock's darker version over the present one.

I think it's because Johnnie has the charisma to sell it:

ex. "ALICE: And Johnnie insisted on meeting you.

LINA (looking at Johnnie): Why?

The girls giggle but before they have time to reply Johnnie says very simply:

JOHNNIE: Well, I understand from these charming ladies that a really bang-up, eligible young man is an unusual sight in this part of the country. My heard was touched.

SEMI-CLOSEUP - Lina and Johnnie. Johnnie remains calm and smiling and Lina is flushed and embarrassed. Behind this we hear others chattering simultaneously."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I'm comforted that even Hitchcock had to compromise, and sometimes it wasn't always for the best.

Suspicion (1941)
by Samson Raphaelson, Alma Reville, and Joan Harrison
Based on the novel,, "Before the Fact," by Francis Iles (pseudonym for A. B. Cox)

TODAY'S NUGGET: A Serious Man (2009) - Ending Scenes with a "Button"

[Quick Summary: Prof. Larry Gopnik cannot believe the events in his Job-like life.]

This wasn't my favorite script, but I did like how the writers ended their scenes.

Each one ended with a satisfying "button."

Sometimes the button was tying up loose ends. 

Other times it was more open ended: a question was left unanswered, an uncomfortable moment that remained unresolved, a setup for a later payoff, etc.

Buttons gave me confidence that the story was making progress and kept me reading.

ex. "SY: You know, Larry - how we handle ourselves, in this situation - it's so impawtant.

LARRY: Uh-huh.

SY: Absolutely. Judith told me that she broke the  news to you. She said you were very adult.

LARRY: Did she.

SY: Absolutely. The respect she has for you.

LARRY: Yes?

SY: Absolutely. But the children, Larry. The children.

He shakes his head.

...The most impawtant.

LARRY: Well, I guess...

SY: Of coss. And Judith says they're handling it so well. A tribute to you. Do you drink wine? Because this is an incredible bottle. This is not Mogen David. This is a wine, Larry. A bawdeaux.

LARRY: You know, Sy --

SY: Open it - let it breathe. Ten minutes. Letting it breathe, so impawtant.

LARRY: Thanks, Sy, but I'm not --

SY: I insist! No reason for discumfit. I'll be uncumftable if you don't take it. These are isgns and tokens, Larry.

LARRY: I'm just - I'm not ungrateful, I'm, I just don't know a lot about wine and given our respective, you --

He is startled when Sy abruptly hugs him.

SY: S'okay.

He finishes the hug off with a couple of thumps on the back.

...S'okay. Wuhgonnabe fine."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Button your scenes.  Let the reader know where you're going.

A Serious Man (2009)(draft dated 6/4/07)
by Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

2015 OSCARS: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014) - An Open-Ended Ending

 [Quick Summary: A once famous film actor struggles with his ego (and alter-ego) during rehearsals for a stage adaption.]

In this day and age of "give the audience answers," I was pleasantly surprised how the ending of this script was so open to interpretation.

I'd like to post examples, but I cannot do so without revealing spoilers.

So I'll just say this:

The story is is familiar (a man who is trapped by his past), but the way it is told is unorthodox.

The ending works because it is equally familiar and unorthodox: 

-Riggins (Michael Keaton) finishes his arc, but in his own eccentric way.

-The ending wraps up the loose ends, but leaves the last shot open to the audience's imagination.

-There's a hint of resolution, i.e., the characters were "going to be ok", but no spoon feeding of exactly one definitive answer.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: A little certainty/resolution is helpful before that last open-ended shot.

Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)(2014)
Written by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. & Armando Bo

TODAY'S NUGGET: American Werwolf in London (1981) - Don't Shrink from a Less Than Happy Ending

[Quick Summary: In London, an American teen turns into a werwolf.]

The wise and wonderful John Landis says that he was very lucky to make movies in the 1970-80s.

He also bemoans that studio movies today insist on "very happy endings where everything is all neatly tied [up]."

ex. Knocked Up (2001) - "Have sex, without protection, get pregnant, with an asshole...then the jerk you slept with will mature, become a wonderful person, and you'll have a wonderful life

ex. Juno (2007) -  "If you're a high school girl, you'll give away the kid, you give it away, it will mean nothing, and it will be fine."

Today's studios wouldn't risk more unsettling fare:

ex. Fast Times of Ridgemont High (1981) - She gets pregnant, and her brother takes her [in] for an abortion.

ex. Animal House (1981) - Ends in civil insurrection, chaos.

Landis doesn't shrink back in American Werwolf either: The werwolf eats people. It must die.

Landis makes a choice and doesn't try to soften the consequences.

ex. "In that brief instant, Alex realizes it will kill her."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Don't be afraid of unhappy endings. Be afraid of unsatisfying endings.

American Werwolf in London (1981)
by John Landis

TODAY'S NUGGET: About Schmidt (2002) - The Satisfying Ending

[Quick Summary: A recent widower takes a road trip to his daughter's wedding.]

*WARNING: This post contains spoilers.*

If you don't want to know the ending, STOP READING NOW.

*Crickets*

Everyone gone?  Good.

Here's the script* in a nutshell:

- Warren is forced into retirement.
- Then Warren's wife Helen dies early on, but he's not exactly heartbroken.
- Warren struggles in this new life, so he takes a road trip to his daughter's wedding. 
- On the way, he revisits his alma mater, and makes a fool of himself.
- He arrives at the wedding, and isn't thrilled with his future in-laws.
- Warren returns home to face that his life has lost meaning.  

So how would you end the story with a satisfying (but not necessarily happy) ending?

Let's work backwards:

- The writers wanted Warren to return home, depressed, and gets an unexpected, hope filled letter.
-  In order to justify this ending, the writers went back to Act 1 and created an orphan kid.
- Warren writes to this kid periodically throughout Act 2.
- The letters show us Warren's mental state and growth.
- Then when lonely Warren gets home --> He reads the first letter from this kid --> Someone cares.

Why is this ending satisfying to me?

Warren has lost a lot along the way.

But he started out disconnected, and he ends connected.

In the end, the journey was worth what he gained.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: A satisfying ending resolves a big issue.

About Schmidt (2002)
by Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor
From the novel by Louis Begley

* FYI: The film's plot differs somewhat from the novel.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Elizabethtown (2005) - When an End Does Me Wrong

[Quick Summary: When a recently fired sneaker designer travels to Kentucky to oversee his father's funeral arrangements, he finds unexpected love.]

In Act 1, I loved the premise of this script, i.e., a guy is sent to retrieve his father's corpse.

In Act 2, I liked the characters, i.e., lost son, smart-ass flight attendant, relatives with grudges.

In Act 3, I became extremely irritated.  First, there is a 7 page speech...by Hollie, Drew's mother.

"Hollie?! Why Hollie?" you ask.

Exactly my point.  This is Drew's story.

Drew flies out to Elizabethtown, KY to deal with his father's family. He falls for the flight attendant, learns about his dad, gets over failures.

Hollie, on the other hand, breaks down and stays in Oregon.

She only appears in Kentucky around p. 105.  And for that she gets a big "this is what I've learned" speech?

No no no.

Second, Act 3 read as if there was no end in sight.

Roger Ebert writes about his first viewing of the first cut: "It seemed to end, and end, and end."*

Reading it also felt that way.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:  Please - no new people, & wrap it up ASAP in Act 3.

Elizabethtown (2005)
Written & directed by Cameron Crowe

*Ebert saw the film twice. The first was longer and shown at the Toronto Film Festival.  The final cut was much tighter, and had 18 min. trimmed.

TODAY'S NUGGET: #58 WGA Script of All Time - Ordinary People (1980)

[Quick Summary: After his well-liked older brother dies, a teenage boy grapples with his feelings, his concerned father, & a bitter mother.]

I really like how this script resolves a household in hell.

In Act 3, Conrad (the son) has a significant breakthrough.  The only thing left to wrap up is the subplot of the parents' rocky marriage.

- The husband sees Conrad healthy for the first time, & also sees that it's such a stark contrast to the wife's (antagonist) unrelenting indifference. 

- The husband breaks down & weeps. He can't go back to the way things were.

- The wife tells Conrad she's leaving.  She's bewildered & has no idea what really just happened.

- The wife breaks down in her bedroom. "She can't find safety [in her familiar surroundings]."

What a satisfying emotional ending!  The good guys learned & grew. 

The antagonist continues her superficial existence because she refused to learn or change.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: When the protagonists are better off than when they started, it's a good day.

Ordinary People (1980)
by Alvin Sargent