2020 OSCARS: Little Women (2019) - Doing Something Different Isn't Enough in an Adaptation

[Quick Summary: The story of aspiring writer Jo March and her sisters Meg, Amy, and Beth in the 1850s.]

TWO THOUGHTS:

1) STUNNED. My sister is one of the hardest demographics to get into theaters:
- She BALKS at going to the movies.
- She would rather watch tv re-runs of "Say Yes to the Dress" at home because she can multi-task, i.e., short attention span.

However, she is also the best demographic if she likes the film:
- She tells EVERYONE about the film.  You can't pay her to shut up.
- She buys the soundtracks, DVDs for the extras. 

So when she insisted that we must see this film on opening day (Christmas), I was stunned. * **

2) DOING SOMETHING DIFFERENT ISN'T ENOUGH IN ADAPTATION.

Making a film just to "do something different" would have been boring and a waste of money.  Audiences want more.  (Or as my sister put it, "well done.")

I think the smartest thing the producers did here was to match the right writer to the material.

Writer/director Greta Gerwig said that this film is about "women, art, and money," and understood that these themes have not gone away for women.

How did Gerwig make this script FEEL like the book even though the structure is different (told in flashback)?

I think it is because she:
a) was well aware of the themes and
b) used the form (flashback) to make a point about it.

In the scenes below, notice the contrast from past (carefree, close family fun) to present (hard work, poor, lonely).

ex. "INT./EXT. MARCH HOUSE. NIGHT. 1861.
...The girls laugh and prance and gossip around the warm fire. He stands apart, loving them all, the whole family...

EXT. MARCH HOUSE. NIGHT. CONTINUOUS.

...but most especially Jo. As Laurie retreats back to his big, lonely house, he looks across the field to Jo, writing alone in the attic, absorbed with her work.

THE PRESENT. EXT./INT. NEW YORK BOARDING HOUSE. NIGHT. 1868.

Jo works with her writing costume on: an antique military jacket. Her writing is like an attack, moving into enemy territory and occupying space. Her hand starts to cramp, she shakes it, stretches it, and then switches hands.

Suddenly she stops - she's heard something. She opens the door, but the hallway is empty. She looks down and sees a book, a very beautiful copy of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. She opens the cover - inside there is a note:

FRIEDRICH (read to camera): For the writer in the attic: Because you enjoyed the play o much tonight, I wanted you to have this. It will help you study character and paint it with your pen. I would love to read what you're writing, if you'll trust me. I promise honesty and whatever intelligence I can muster. Yours, Friedrich

Jo opens the book and almost greedily she begins to read, reciting the words to herself.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I was impressed that Gerwig always knew what point she was making. It shows up in the unity of the script.

Little Women (2019)
by Greta Gerwig
Based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott

*You all want to know, "How do you get THAT demographic into the theater?!"

When I asked her, she replied, "It has to be well done."

Sigh. Not helpful. What makes a film "well done"?! 

**She also mentioned becoming interested after seeing a segment interviewing the director on  her favorite "CBS Sunday Morning."

So I guess knowing the audience you're marketing your film to?

P.S. on Dreams on Spec (2007)

Be sure to watch the extra Interviews with established writers.  Really fun war stories.

(They're on the DVD, but I'm not sure if they're available via streaming.)

TODAY'S NUGGET: Dreams on Spec (2007) - Screenwriters chasing the dream

If you're a screenwriter, this is an eye opening documentary.

It has the usual famous screenwriter interviews, but I particularly like how it shows the sacrifice and struggles of not famous writers:

- One writer has been working on a script for three years. It's tough on his family.

- Another writer has his script re-written by the director.  He is not happy with the changes.

- A former creative executive-turned-writer downscales to a small apartment in order to write and direct her first film.

You get to see what it's like when:

- A writer switches managers.
- A writer seeks help from a script consultant.
- A writer gets to see his first film produced.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: If you're serious about writing, this is as close to reality as I've seen.

But if you don't want to know how the sausage is made; if you don't want the glamor stripped from the process, don't watch this.

Dreams on Spec (2007)

TODAY'S NUGGET: Goal Acomplished!

I finished the 101 WGA Scripts of All Time!

I managed to read all but two (#57 Crimes & Misdemeanors, & #37 The Philadelphia Story).

Some I simply could not finish (ex. #23 Gone With the Wind).

A few I did not completely understand (ex.#87 8 1/2).

But overall, this was the best thing I've ever done for myself as a  writer. 

Thank you, writers, for allowing me to stuff my tool box with little things that I noticed in your scripts that made them great.

I think I will keep up this one script per week as long as I can.  

Any suggestions?

TODAY'S NUGGET: #48 WGA Script of All Time - Bridge On the River Kwai (1957)

[Quick Summary: At first, a British colonel POW defies the Japanese war camp commander over building a bridge, but eventually adopts the enemy's task with enthusiasm.]

Alas, I had a hard time reading this script.  Just not my cup of tea.

However, I did find it interesting how the writer used the image of a pin up calendar girl in the Japanese commander's office. 

This image was seen several times, always in the background or the commander looking directly at it.

As the story moves along, the commander looks crazier & crazier in contrast to the girl who remains the same...and that's a great way to tell a story without "telling" a story.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The right props can keep engaging the audience - all without dialogue.

Bridge On the River Kwai (1957)
by Pierre Boulle

TODAY'S 2nd NUGGET: Francis Ford Coppola & Hope

On days I find it hard to believe I'm just one script away from a career, I think about the story behind Patton.

Francis Ford Coppola was hired to write "Patton," but there was a disagreement about the now iconic opening. He was replaced by another writer.

Time passes. Just as Coppola is about to be fired again from "The Godfather," "Patton" is up for an Academy Award, & Coppola wins for best screenplay!

Coppola has said that if he hadn't won for "Patton", it's likely he would've been fired from "The Godfather."

This gives me great hope that things work out the way they should.

TODAY'S NUGGET: It's All About the Script for Harvey

When I read the "King's Speech" & "My Week With Marilyn" last year, I knew the old Harvey Weinstein had got his touch back.

These were above excellent at the script stage, & Weinstein was looking for funding. Both boded well.

Harvey is finally getting back to his roots.

Here's what he had to say in today's L.A. Times:

"Speaking from London, where his company is producing "My Week With Marilyn," about a little-known relationship between a young man and Marilyn Monroe, Weinstein avowed he's returned to what he knows best. "I didn't read 'Juno' or 'Slumdog Millionaire' and I was only coming to the festivals to make my presence known," he said, referring to the two independent hits snatched by rival Fox Searchlight. "Now, I realize the strongest thing I can do for my company is read 15 scripts a week.""

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Harvey is reading FIFTEEN scripts a week.

How many are you reading?

TODAY'S NUGGET: Four Words

Famous crime novelist Michael Connelly was a police reporter before he started writing. 

In yesterday's USA Today, an article about Connelly spoke of his admiration for legendary Miami Herald police reporter Edna Buchanan. 

"Buchanan added to her fame in his eyes with a lead about a would-be gunman shot dead at a fast-food counter: 'Gary Robinson died hungry.'"

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: May we all be this succinct. 

In four words, this reporter tells us:
- the protagonist of the story
- what happened to him
- with some humor

There's no fat on that sentence, yet it has a very distinctive voice.

TOP 10 CHECKLIST: Before You Submit...

I wrote this checklist awhile ago, but don't remember posting it here.

(And if I did, world, you're not listening.  So read this list again.)

1.  The script should be stripped to bare bones. No unessential plots, characters, or scenes.

If not, I will put down your script.

2.  Electricity should shoot through your script easily. If there are wandering or confusing scenes, electricity will stop.

And I will put down your script.

3.  Have you addressed all the things I will look for:  Premise, Character, Conflict, Structure, Dialogue?

4.  Have you properly introduced: a) the rules to your world (ESPECIALLY in Sci-fi and Horror), and b) the characters in the 1st ten pages?  Don't make me guess.

5.  All chase, fight, & love scenes must develop character & push the story forward.

A gratuitous love scene can kill the mood.  An emotionally laden one will get you a Twilight-like following.

6.  All subplots should mirror, or support the main plot.  This is NOT the minor character's story.

7. Tension-release (also known as hope-fear) is crucial.  Not tension-tension-tension.

8. Does your script read vertically?  If not, read this.

9.  Typos, grammar errors, & exceeding the proper page limit, begone.

The standard is still 120 pgs for drama, & around 90-110 for comedies.  Err on the side that less is more.

10. Cover page should be title, name, address (yours or your agent’s), email, phone.  No need for WGA # or copyright.  We assume you’ve registered with WGA &/or Library of Congress.

WHAT I'VE KNOW:  Keep me reading = I boogie-woogie. 

Slow me down = I slush. 

Shameless Plug for: theOffice

I got a nice email from theOffice about their shared workspace built specifically for writers.  I've been by & it seems like really calm writing digs for those times when you need to run away from home.

They're located in Santa Monica & offer one week free memberships for Twitter followers!

http://www.theofficeonline.com/about.htm

TODAY'S NUGGET: I Am Afraid of Virginia Woolf

Furious Love was just released yesterday.  It's a book of love letters between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, written with the cooperation of Miss White Diamonds herself.

Why do we still care about the Taylor-Burton relationship?

1) They lived on a really grand scale when stars were STARS;
2) They were two very talented people from very different backgrounds; and
3) The love-hate, can't-live-with-you-can't-live-without-you, let's-get-married-divorced-married-divorced dynamic.  In other words, conflict.

Conflict kept them together, but drove them apart.

And their movie roles were similarly at odds.

I confess I could barely stand watching Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? because the conflict made me sweat bullets.  But I couldn't but help watch Taylor go off the deep end.  I really wanted Burton's facade to crack and slap her. 

I realize that a lot of scripts don't keep up that level of conflict & driving need to win.  Smart writers know that even the lulls aren't really lulls.  Conflict must be there all the time. 

It's exhausting.  Which is why movies aren't exactly real life.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: After the movie ended, I saw why this couple mesmerized the public both on screen and off.

CONFLICT.   (And that level of hostility is why Virginia Woolf was darn scary.)

TODAY'S NUGGET: Timing

Recently I've seen writers asking questions recently about how long things take in Hollywood.

How long do I need to prep for a meeting? How long does it take for a prod. co. to read my script? Does it really take them months? What are they doing with all that time?

Until I moved to LA, I too had no idea of the pace of the development process.

So let me clue you in on what makes a new writer stand out vs. a professional:

1 - If you have a meeting with a producer, say in March, a new writer thinks she has plenty of time to rewrite.

A pro will get professional level feedback/story notes ASAP because he knows that it could change everything, even his pitch.

2 - If you submit your script and the producer doesn't get back to you in two weeks, the newbie will call and call and call week after week just to "check in." (True story.)

A pro knows you are allowed ONE AND ONLY ONE "check in" phone call on THAT project. If you are wise, you will use that call to pitch another project you have. Yes, you read that right. You do NOT need to call - they will call you if they're interested.

Trust me. If they're ga-ga over your project, nothing on heaven or earth will prevent them from hunting you down.

You should not be waiting for them to call. You should've already moved on to writing your next project.

3- The smart newbie thinks his agent will get him work and waits and waits.

The pro knows she has to drum up work. If an opportunity presents itself at an odd moment, she must seize it - or it will pass her by.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: First, you're shooting yourself in the foot if you don't master the timing thing.

Second, be prepared for this to take longer than you think. Be prepared to encourage yourself when no one is around to make you feel better. Be prepared to persevere. Many like to write, but not many are writers, i.e., people who write even when no one is around.

Today's 2nd Nugget: Searing Dialogue

Roger Ebert twittered that James Joyce died today in 1941. He linked to his review of The Dead (1987), John Houston's last film. It is based on Joyce's novel and seems unfilmable.

The review mentions these powerful lines of dialogue:

"What was it he died of so young?" asks Gabriel. "Consumption, was it?"
"She replies, "I think he died from me."

Wow! Her six words say it all ...A man who loved her so much he literally died from it when they were parted.

Does that not encapsulate the depth of this man's longing?

Does that not sear your soul?

Can you not sense her subtext of regret, even these many years later?

Pay attention! This is what A list actors are looking for.

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051009/REVIEWS08/510090301/1023

TODAY'S 2nd NUGGET: In the Boxing Ring with Me

Stepping into the ring is Script, a 120 page newbie. We have great hopes for Script, who is a repped thriller/mystery, and looks ready to spar.

In the opposite corner is Reader, a wily son-of-a-gun who has chewed up lesser scripts, and plays dirty. Reader holds up two fingers toward Script, two back at Reader: I've got my eyes on you.

On p. 1-3, Script swings with his best characters. Are these the protagonists? Antagonists? Can't tell. Oops. Script just fell.

Reader is yawning. Script bounces back up, still trying.

On p. 3, a trio of characters show up. Who is the main character again?

Script ducks and dodges. No one lands a punch.

On p. 28, Reader realizes what the story is about, who the characters are, and that this Script is following a predictable pattern. Reader is unimpressed with more of the same. Script swings at air and can't connect.

On p. 36, Reader decks Script with a mean left uppercut. Script is knocked out. It cannot recover, even though the stakes rise in p. 36-120, and there is a satisfying ending.

Script was prepped with a story arc, tension, characters with something to protect, ok dialogue.

What went wrong? Though Script contained a different location, different characters, there were no twists and turns. Reader knew exactly what was going to happen.

Reader walks away, saddened. Script wasn't a worthy opponent.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The Reader is looking for a contender.