TODAY'S NUGGET: #65 WGA Script of All Time - Singing in the Rain (1952)

[Quick Summary: A famous silent film era actor must convince a new female singer-dancer to help out when his team has trouble transitioning into the talkie era.]

I liked the scene inside the movie theater, which cuts between action on the movie screen & action in the audience.

For once, I didn't mind the use of several "CUT TO:" in a row. 

Why? Because 1) it clarifies where to look; & 2) it reads faster than a lot of narrative.

"There is laughter from the audience and shushing.

CUT BACK TO: SCREEN

DON (kissing Lina's hand): Imperious Princess of the night, I love you.
LINA: Oh, Pierre!
DON: I love you!
LINA: Oh, Pierre!
Don (covering her arm with kisses up to her neck): I love you - I love you - I love you - I love you - I love you - I love you - I love you - I love you - I love you -

CUT TO:
AUDIENCE

They start to laugh.

COSMO: Did someone get paid for writing that dialogue?

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: When there are a lot of transitions in a scene, it's best to keep it simple.

Singing in the Rain (1952)
by Aldoph Green & Betty Comden

TODAY'S NUGGET: #66 WGA Script of All Time - Jerry Maguire (1996)

[Quick Summary: When a dissatisfied sports agent tries to take a higher road, he is fired & must start over with only one client.]

I'm ornery. 

When people said, "You have to read 'Jerry Maguire'!", I didn't want to.

So I'll understand if you don't want to read it either. 

But if you ever want to see great pacing & character set up, read the first 10 pages of this script.

The pacing is brisk, yet we see a completely character based snapshot of Jerry & his problems.

p.1 - In a montage, we see Jerry's sports clients. [A-ha! Jerry is a sports agent.]
p. 2 - Jerry is hard at work negotiating for a NFL client.  [He excels at his job.]
p. 3 - Jerry competes at the office with his fellow agents.  [This is a story about good guy vs. bad guys.]
p. 4 - We see Jerry losing heart because sports is now more about money. [Jerry is a decent guy.]
p. 5 -  Jerry is even more disillusioned when a severely injured client insists on playing because of a bonus.  [Our hero will face questionable decisions.]
p. 6 - Jerry writes his Manifesto & reclaims some honor.  [We're hopeful!]
p. 7 - The Manifesto gives Jerry hope.  [More hope!]
p. 8 - His fellow agents read the Manifesto & applaud him.  [Uh-oh...niggling doubts.]
p. 9 - We meet Dorothy, who is Jerry's guardian angel & antagonist.  [Hope again!]
p. 10 - Jerry confides in a fellow passenger about his shaky love life.  [This is not good.]

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:  Great pacing = My eyes never slowed down or backtracked.

Why? Because the character & his conflicts were clear and were revealed on a rolling basis.

Jerry Maguire (1996)
by Cameron Crowe

TODAY'S NUGGET: #67 WGA Script of All Time - E.T. (1982)

[Quick Summary: A 10 yr. old boy strives to return an abandoned alien back home, but must outwit the adults who want to get their hands on it.]

It drives me batty when people say, "The tone of that script is good/bad/not there", but don't explain.  

What the hell is "tone" anyway? 

My unscientific definition: Tone is the mood of a script. 

Why is it important?  You can teach structure or dialogue, but it's harder to explain how to keep a tone/mood consistent.

However, in reading the script for "E.T.", I did find a few clues:  

- This script never violates character.  It's realistic & truthful.

GOOD - The script is realistic when the kids hide their new alien friend & take him food.
BAD - The script would've been false if the kids thought like adults & called a press conference.

- The script doesn't try to be too politically correct & lose the point of view. 

GOOD - From the kids' point of view, the adults who want E.T. are BAD people.
BAD - If the script tried to defend the adults & make everyone happy, the conflict is lost.  The tone is more like a news show than a story.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: If you don't violate character, you probably won't violate tone/mood either.

E.T. (1982)
by Melissa Mathison

TODAY'S NUGGET: #68 WGA Script of All Time - Star Wars (1977)

[Quick Summary: After his home is destroyed by the evil Galactic Empire, a young farm boy leaves to learn the ways of the Force and fight with rebel forces.]

When I first saw this film as a child, I couldn't stop talking about them.

Luke & Leia? Han & Chewie? R2D2 & C3PO? They're burned into my psyche.

Best script I've ever read? Well, no.

One of the best sci-fi scripts I've ever read? Hands down yes.

Here are my top 3 reasons:

1) It lays out the rules of the world from page 1, & doesn't violate the rules.

2) It's about something universal (good vs. evil) & not just about futuristic weapons or advanced technology.

3) Luke's goal to prove himself drives the story. 

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Even in an advanced sci-fi world, classic story structure makes it universally understood.

Star Wars (1977)
by George Lucas

TODAY'S NUGGET: #69 WGA Script of All Time - Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

[Quick Summary: Based on a true 1972 story, two robbers hold up a Brooklyn bank (one robber is financing his lover's sex change operation), and become the first inadvertent media darlings.]

Though the 1st half of the script was struggle to read, I was impressed by the opening lines:

"EXT. ELECTRIC SIGN

It FILLS THE SCREEN....It says:

2:51

This message will be a little cryptic to the movie audience on an essentially BLACK SCREEN. HOLD for a beat, then it changes: the lights flash this sign, which should explain it to everyone:

94 degrees F."

I know everything in a few sentences: 

- It's summer & hot & in the afternoon.
- We're at a bank.
- Something is about to go down at the bank.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED:  It's extremely smart to orient your reader to the location. 

It says, "I'm not trying to outsmart you, reader. I trust you. We're in this together."

Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
by Frank Pierson

TODAY'S NUGGET: #70 WGA Script of All Time -The African Queen (1951)

[Quick Summary: After the Germans burn down her jungle village, the only survivor, a missionary's sister, convinces a riverman to hunt down enemy's warship.]

*Sigh.*

I know I'm supposed to like this script, but I did not.  I wish I did.

It's well crafted.  There are stakes.  The dialogue flows.

Yet, it didn't move me.

Well, except for the spark between Allnutt (Bogart) & Rose (Hepburn).  Allnutt changes dramatically because of Rose.  She's a strong female who doesn't fall into overused female stereotypes. 

Guess what is her strongest tool? Her opinion of Allnutt.  It's more effective than a sword.

ex. Rose has just dumped all Allnutt's precious gin into the jungle river.  He is aghast.

ROSE: So you think it was your nasty drunkenness I mind.

A foolish, helpless gesture from Allnutt.

ALLNUTT (bewildered): Well --wot else?

ROSE: You lied to me.....You promised.

ALLNUTT (shouting): Well, I'm takin' my promise back!

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: To write a strong female character, make her a woman to be reckoned with.

The African Queen (1951)
by James Agee, John Huston & Peter Viertel

TODAY'S NUGGET: #71 WGA Script of All Time - Lion in Winter (1968)

[Quick Summary: King Henry II & his estranged wife Eleanor of Acquitaine battle over which son will succeed to the throne: his pick (weak teenager John), her pick (military Richard), or no one's pick (Geoffrey).]

Eleanor of Acquitaine has some @_#$)(*%&!! balls.

She's been imprisoned for 10 yrs., her husband has replaced her with a  mistress, she has weak sons, & her heart still aches for Henry.

Yet she is conniving & EXTREME in getting her son Richard on the throne. 

The best two moments in the script are when the stakes rise to unbelievably tense heights:

- After 10 yrs. in prison, Henry promises her freedom - if he gets the Acquitaine in exchange.  Unfortunately, the transfer would 100% ensure that Richard will not be king.  Will she give up her freedom for her son's throne (her goal)?

- Henry knocks her for a loop when he demands an annulment so he can marry his mistress, French princess Alais (who is actually intended as a wife for Richard). 

This shatters her.  Above all else, she prizes being important to Henry.  If he truly wants to cut ties with her, how will Eleanor deal with being unimportant to him?

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Stakes rise because the character is about to lose something of great importance.

Knowing your character's trigger points is extremely helpful.

Lion in Winter (1968)
by James Goldman (older brother of William Goldman)

TODAY'S NUGGET: #72 WGA Script of All Time - Thelma & Louise (1991)

[Quick Summary: When two female best friends go on a road trip, Thelma is almost raped by a stranger, & Louise shoots him, causing them to flee toward Mexico, with a trail of police on their tail.]

Louise has a cloud that hangs over her.

The audience doesn't know where it comes from until late into the film, but we SEE it underneath her actions.

The writer shows her mastery of subtext by showing, not telling, that Louise is a control freak & has trouble trusting any man. 

ex. Harlan laughs. Thelma laughs, too, but doesn't really get the joke. Louise does not laugh.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This is trusting your reader.

Giving just enough info, but not treating them like they can''t put two and two together.

Thelma & Louise (1991)
by Callie Khouri

TODAY'S NUGGET: #73 WGA Script of All Time - Amadeus (1984)

[Quick Summary: In an insane asylum, Antonio Salieri recalls how he manipulated everything in his power so that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart cannot succeed - but fails.]

Salieri is a damned man.

He's a vindictive guy, consumed by jealousy, powerful, rich, & ...oh yeah, he's the protagonist.

How did the writer, Peter Shaffer, make the bad guy someone the audience actually sympathizes with? 

One reason is that it is easy to relate to Salieri: 

- He shows (NOT TELLS) his jealousy. 
- He wants to be the best composer (his goal), but Mozart is better.
- He is prideful (a universal flaw) which he struggles with.

Another reason is that Mozart is a tough antagonist.

Watch how the script uses music as an extension of Mozart...Mozart is pushing Salieri even though Mozart isn't in the room.

ex. "[Salieri] walks around and around his salon, reading the pages [Mozart's work] and dropping them on the floor when he is done with them. [This is the action we see on screen.]

We see his agonized and wondering face: he shudders as if in a rough and tumbling sea; he experiences the point where beauty and great pain coalesce.... [This is the reaction shot to the music, i.e., his enemy Mozart.]

Finally we hear the tremendous Qui Tollis from the Mass in C Minor. It seems to break over him like a wave and, unable to bear any more of it, he slams the portfolio shut. [Salieri & Mozart have battled.]

Instantly the music breaks off, reverberating in his head. [The stakes have risen. Salieri knows he's lost to Mozart & is shaken.]

He stands shaking, staring wildly. Constanze [Mozart's wife] gets up, perplexed.

CONSTANZE: Is it no good?
A pause.
SALIERI: It is miraculous."

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: A bad guy is sympathetic if he's flawed & human.

Amadeus (1984)
by Peter Shaffer

TODAY'S NUGGET: #74 WGA Script of All Time - Being John Malkovich (1999)

[Quick Summary: A puppeteer begins work at a short, rather hum-drum office, and discovers a portal directly into actor John Malkovich's head.]

The reason why Charlie Kaufman is on this danged list three times is because he writes stuff like this:

INT. CAR - NIGHT

Lotte drives. Craig looks out the window. Both are silent.

LOTTE (finally): Is the trial date set?
CRAIG: May 11th.

More silence.

LOTTE: Why'd you do it, Craig?
CRAIG: I'm a puppeteer.

In that small scene, the audience knows who Craig is. 

He's a guy who takes risks, lives on the edge, & connects with others through a weird passion for puppeteering. 
He's got a wife who isn't on the same wavelength.
He's kind of crazy, but not insane. 
He's going to get in a lot of trouble (& drive the action) because he has this pent up need to express himself, & makes unwise decisions.

So why do we root for Craig? And, more importantly, how did Charlie Kaufman do that?

Kaufman wrote Craig as a man doggedly pursuing a hope & a longing to connect. 

Craig may make unwise decisions, & fail, & encounter unbelievable things, but he never has a false moment.  And that is why Craig is universally understood.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I don't have to like the character, or his decisions or actions, but I DO have to understand him.

Being John Malkovich (1999)
by Charlie Kaufman