[Quick Summary from IMDB: During the on-going Vietnam War, Captain Willard is sent on a dangerous mission into Cambodia to assassinate a renegade Green Beret who has set himself up as a God among a local tribe.]
I know this is considered a classic, a movie of its time, among the first about Vietnam.
I know Rotten Tomatoes calls it a "masterpiece" & "brilliant", & gives it an extremely rare 99%.
But I don't get this script. I barely understood it until p. 100 of 155 pages. I even had to use the logline from IMDB because I was unable to make up my own.
Coppola clearly had a vision, given the finished film. But I couldn't see it on the page.
I didn't know why Willard is really on this journey. Tell me again why I want him to succeed?
I don't know what is the purpose of locating crazy Kurtz. To show the fruitlessness of war? To criticize the decision to go to war? I have no idea.
I exited the jungle very dissatisfied...but even worse than that, I learned squat.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I simply don't get this script, but wish I did. Anyone care to comment?
Apocalypse Now (1979)
by John Milius and Francis Ford Coppola
Based on the novel by Joseph Conrad
Friday, November 4, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
TODAY'S NUGGET: #56 WGA Script of All Time - Back to the Future (1985)
[Quick Summary: When a teenager accidentally gets sent back to the past & meets his parents, he must ensure they fall in love, or he'll cease to exist.]
I was really worried for Marty McFly. There are real, urgent consequences to his situation.
If he doesn't get his dad to the dance, his parents won't meet, & he'll cease to exist.
If he doesn't push his mom toward his dad, they won't fall in love, & he'll cease to exist.
If he doesn't find Doc, he's stuck in the past without any help.
If he doesn't get to Main Street at the exact time, he will miss his one chance to get home.
If Marty fails, the world won't end, but the consequences are important TO HIM. And that's why I really worried.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Tell me what is so urgent. I need to know why the character MUST succeed.
Back to the Future (1985)
by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale
I was really worried for Marty McFly. There are real, urgent consequences to his situation.
If he doesn't get his dad to the dance, his parents won't meet, & he'll cease to exist.
If he doesn't push his mom toward his dad, they won't fall in love, & he'll cease to exist.
If he doesn't find Doc, he's stuck in the past without any help.
If he doesn't get to Main Street at the exact time, he will miss his one chance to get home.
If Marty fails, the world won't end, but the consequences are important TO HIM. And that's why I really worried.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Tell me what is so urgent. I need to know why the character MUST succeed.
Back to the Future (1985)
by Robert Zemeckis & Bob Gale
Friday, October 21, 2011
TODAY'S NUGGET: #57 WGA Script of All Time - Crimes & Misdemeanors (1989)
[Quick Summary: An opthamologist has his mistress killed, & a documentary filmmaker falls for another woman.]
I couldn't find this script available anywhere (boooooo!)
So I re-watched the movie instead (yayyyyyy!)
But it wasn't the same (boooo!)
I was particularly disappointed because this film has many, MANY flashbacks, and it's rare to see flashbacks done right.
(And by "right", I mean flashbacks are there for a specific reason, and not just information dumping.)
In this film, Woody Allen uses flashbacks to show a character's PRESENT EMOTIONAL STATE. That's right - he uses the past to show motives, and/or what the character is feeling NOW.
ex. The mistress waits for her married lover Judah.
The scene goes back to a happy moment when she and Judah walked on the beach. Judah voices doubts: "I don't think we should do this here." She distracts him and mixes up Schubert with Schuman. Judah reassures her: "I'll teach you...some day we'll have a lot of time."
Why is the flashback there? It shows us why the mistress is holding on so tight to Judah NOW.
In the past, they had fun together. He was debonair, he cared about her. He even seemed to promise a future together ("some day we'll have a lot of time").
When the scene returns to the present, it's clear why the mistress feels the way she does.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The flashback can show motive & PRESENT emotional stakes.
ex. If the mistress loses Judah, she loses the only joy her life seems to have.
Crimes & Misdemeanors (1989)
by Woody Allen
I couldn't find this script available anywhere (boooooo!)
So I re-watched the movie instead (yayyyyyy!)
But it wasn't the same (boooo!)
I was particularly disappointed because this film has many, MANY flashbacks, and it's rare to see flashbacks done right.
(And by "right", I mean flashbacks are there for a specific reason, and not just information dumping.)
In this film, Woody Allen uses flashbacks to show a character's PRESENT EMOTIONAL STATE. That's right - he uses the past to show motives, and/or what the character is feeling NOW.
ex. The mistress waits for her married lover Judah.
The scene goes back to a happy moment when she and Judah walked on the beach. Judah voices doubts: "I don't think we should do this here." She distracts him and mixes up Schubert with Schuman. Judah reassures her: "I'll teach you...some day we'll have a lot of time."
Why is the flashback there? It shows us why the mistress is holding on so tight to Judah NOW.
In the past, they had fun together. He was debonair, he cared about her. He even seemed to promise a future together ("some day we'll have a lot of time").
When the scene returns to the present, it's clear why the mistress feels the way she does.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: The flashback can show motive & PRESENT emotional stakes.
ex. If the mistress loses Judah, she loses the only joy her life seems to have.
Crimes & Misdemeanors (1989)
by Woody Allen
Friday, October 14, 2011
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
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
Friday, October 7, 2011
TODAY'S NUGGET: #59 WGA Script of All Time - It Happened One Night (1934)
[Quick Summary: When a spoiled heiress tries to make it home to New York with only a few dollars in her pocket, a journalist helps her out in order to scoop a story, but inadvertently falls in love with her.]
This script is 67 years old, yet it's got more romantic zippity-do-dah than many rom-coms today.
1) Peter (Clark Gable) gets Ellie (Claudette Colbert).
ex. When Ellie gives a poor boy their last dollar, Peter silently admires her for it.
2) Ellie gets Peter.
ex. She silently realizes he's conning the police...& she plays along without missing a beat.
3) They have fun, exasperating adventures together.
ex. Ellie complains that she's hungry. After Peter slips away to find food, Ellie panics. She yells for him, since she's never really been alone before. Peter comes running. She says she's so scared that she's no longer hungry. Peter wants to wring her neck.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I want more "they belong together." I want more of this thing called "chemistry".
It Happened One Night (1934)
by Robert Riskin
This script is 67 years old, yet it's got more romantic zippity-do-dah than many rom-coms today.
1) Peter (Clark Gable) gets Ellie (Claudette Colbert).
ex. When Ellie gives a poor boy their last dollar, Peter silently admires her for it.
2) Ellie gets Peter.
ex. She silently realizes he's conning the police...& she plays along without missing a beat.
3) They have fun, exasperating adventures together.
ex. Ellie complains that she's hungry. After Peter slips away to find food, Ellie panics. She yells for him, since she's never really been alone before. Peter comes running. She says she's so scared that she's no longer hungry. Peter wants to wring her neck.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I want more "they belong together." I want more of this thing called "chemistry".
It Happened One Night (1934)
by Robert Riskin
Thursday, September 29, 2011
TODAY'S NUGGET: #60 WGA Script of All Time - L.A. Confidential (1997)
[Quick Summary: In post-war L.A., three very different cops face corruption in three intertwining stories.]
Helgeland & Hanson are good writers. Damn good.
Of the 71 scripts I've read so far on this list, this is the only one that keeps THREE protagonists with THREE story lines going at once.
(In an interview, Hanson said that producers tried to get him to reduce the number of protagonists, but he resisted.)
How did they make it easy to follow?
1) The three story lines are like three strands of a braid. All are distinct, but will eventually combine to form one unit.
2) It is always clear which protagonists' story it is, even if the other protagonists are present.
ex. Early on, Bud's partner gets in trouble. Exley agrees to testify against Bud's partner in exchange for a promotion. For the rest of the script, Bud tries to clear the partner's name.
This is Bud's story line. Exley is not involved... until much later when Exley's story crosses with Bud's.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This story wouldn't have been as good with 2 protagonists.
It is possible to have three protagonists...but only if the story remains tight.
L.A. Confidential (1997)
by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson
Helgeland & Hanson are good writers. Damn good.
Of the 71 scripts I've read so far on this list, this is the only one that keeps THREE protagonists with THREE story lines going at once.
(In an interview, Hanson said that producers tried to get him to reduce the number of protagonists, but he resisted.)
How did they make it easy to follow?
1) The three story lines are like three strands of a braid. All are distinct, but will eventually combine to form one unit.
2) It is always clear which protagonists' story it is, even if the other protagonists are present.
ex. Early on, Bud's partner gets in trouble. Exley agrees to testify against Bud's partner in exchange for a promotion. For the rest of the script, Bud tries to clear the partner's name.
This is Bud's story line. Exley is not involved... until much later when Exley's story crosses with Bud's.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This story wouldn't have been as good with 2 protagonists.
It is possible to have three protagonists...but only if the story remains tight.
L.A. Confidential (1997)
by Brian Helgeland & Curtis Hanson
Thursday, September 22, 2011
TODAY'S NUGGET: #61 WGA Script of All Time - Silence of the Lambs (1991)
[Quick Summary: A female FBI agent-to-be must elicit information out of the incarcerated psychiatrist Dr. Hannibal Lecter in order to find the serial killer Buffalo Bill.]
In this script, I really like how Clarice Starling is introduced to us. We infer a lot about her personally through her actions.
- She's polite.
ex. In the middle of Crawford's long dialogue: "Claire notices, in the corner of the room, a rumpled cot, a hot plate, soiled dishes. She looks back at him." (p. 3)
The absence of Clarice speaking here shows us that she's too polite to mention the mess.
- She's vulnerable.
ex. "Clarice flinches as a heavy steel gate CLANGS shut behind her, the bolt shooting home." (p. 5)
- She thinks fast on her feet.
ex. "CLARICE (quickly blocking him): Dr. Chilton - if Lecter feels you're his enemy, then maybe I'll have more luck by myself. What do you think?" (p. 7)
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Another way to look at "Show, not tell" is to infer.
This allows the audience to put 2 + 2 together for themselves.
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
by Ted Tally
In this script, I really like how Clarice Starling is introduced to us. We infer a lot about her personally through her actions.
- She's polite.
ex. In the middle of Crawford's long dialogue: "Claire notices, in the corner of the room, a rumpled cot, a hot plate, soiled dishes. She looks back at him." (p. 3)
The absence of Clarice speaking here shows us that she's too polite to mention the mess.
- She's vulnerable.
ex. "Clarice flinches as a heavy steel gate CLANGS shut behind her, the bolt shooting home." (p. 5)
- She thinks fast on her feet.
ex. "CLARICE (quickly blocking him): Dr. Chilton - if Lecter feels you're his enemy, then maybe I'll have more luck by myself. What do you think?" (p. 7)
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Another way to look at "Show, not tell" is to infer.
This allows the audience to put 2 + 2 together for themselves.
Silence of the Lambs (1991)
by Ted Tally
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
TODAY'S NUGGET: #62 WGA Script of All Time - Moonstruck (1987)
[Quick Summary: After a mousy accountant gets engaged, she visits her fiancee's brother to invite him to the wedding, & falls in love with him.]
The thing about John Patrick Shanley's dialogue is that it is funny AND realistic, WITH subtext & attitude, WITHOUT edging into farce.
MR. JOHNNY: And I'll have the special fish.
LORETTA: You don't want the fish. [Nice attitude.]
MR. JOHNNY: No? [Meekness here shows he cowers before strong females.]
LORETTA: It's the oily fish tonight. Not before the plane ride. [She's got funny point of view, but she's got a point.]
MR. JOHNNY: Maybe you're right. [Dude is a doormat.]
LORETTA: Give him the manicotta, Bobo. Me, too. [She's in charge.]
BOBO: Yes, Miiss Loretta. [Everyone else also knows she's in charge.]
LORETTA (to Mr. Johnny): That will give you a base. For your stomach. You eat that oily fish, you go up in the air, halfway to Sicily you'll be green & your hands will be sweating.
MR. JOHNNY (smiles): You look after me. [Ironic. He sees this as caring, even though he's really being told what to do.]
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Great dialogue contains conflict without saying so.
Moonstruck (1987)
by John Patrick Shanley
The thing about John Patrick Shanley's dialogue is that it is funny AND realistic, WITH subtext & attitude, WITHOUT edging into farce.
MR. JOHNNY: And I'll have the special fish.
LORETTA: You don't want the fish. [Nice attitude.]
MR. JOHNNY: No? [Meekness here shows he cowers before strong females.]
LORETTA: It's the oily fish tonight. Not before the plane ride. [She's got funny point of view, but she's got a point.]
MR. JOHNNY: Maybe you're right. [Dude is a doormat.]
LORETTA: Give him the manicotta, Bobo. Me, too. [She's in charge.]
BOBO: Yes, Miiss Loretta. [Everyone else also knows she's in charge.]
LORETTA (to Mr. Johnny): That will give you a base. For your stomach. You eat that oily fish, you go up in the air, halfway to Sicily you'll be green & your hands will be sweating.
MR. JOHNNY (smiles): You look after me. [Ironic. He sees this as caring, even though he's really being told what to do.]
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Great dialogue contains conflict without saying so.
Moonstruck (1987)
by John Patrick Shanley
Thursday, September 15, 2011
TODAY'S NUGGET: #63 WGA Script of All Time - Jaws (1975)
[Quick Summary: A police chief, scientist & grizzled fisherman battle to protect a summer resort town that is terrorized by a gigantic white shark.]
Should you ever need to write a blood spatter scene, take note of this excellent one:
"ANGLE - GROUP OF KIDS ON RUBBER RAFTS
They begin a water fight, slapping at the ocean with karate-type blows, sending little explosions of water at each other.... [Ah, a nice innocent set-up.]
MATHEW
He hits the water, which sprays all over another youngster.
CLOSE - MATHEW
His face dripping with red rivulets. [Hooray! Tension increases without announcing 'tension increases here.']
CLOSE - P.J.
Looks down at his hand. The water surrounding all the boys is slick with blood." [More tension. How will this resolve? Must read on.]
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Blood in motion should stay in motion.
Jaws (1975)
by Peter Benchley
Should you ever need to write a blood spatter scene, take note of this excellent one:
"ANGLE - GROUP OF KIDS ON RUBBER RAFTS
They begin a water fight, slapping at the ocean with karate-type blows, sending little explosions of water at each other.... [Ah, a nice innocent set-up.]
MATHEW
He hits the water, which sprays all over another youngster.
CLOSE - MATHEW
His face dripping with red rivulets. [Hooray! Tension increases without announcing 'tension increases here.']
CLOSE - P.J.
Looks down at his hand. The water surrounding all the boys is slick with blood." [More tension. How will this resolve? Must read on.]
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Blood in motion should stay in motion.
Jaws (1975)
by Peter Benchley
Friday, September 9, 2011
TODAY'S NUGGET: #64 WGA Script of All Time - Terms of Endearment (1983)
[Quick Summary: A mother-daughter relationship struggles over 3 decades to make sense of themselves, men & family.]
The best description I've seen of this movie is that it's about characters trying to connect.
The writer (James L. Brooks) sets up the situation beautifully for the mother Aurora (Shirley McClaine): She is her own worst enemy.
ex. Aurora desperately wants to be loved, yet she's extremely critical & difficult. She attracts men like flies, yet not one is good enough.
To connect, Aurora has to change. She has to modify her words & expectations.
The genius is that it's also funny as she trips all over on her way to self-improvement.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Aurora is memorable, specifically because she's so difficult.
Terms of Endearment (1983)
by James L. Brooks
The best description I've seen of this movie is that it's about characters trying to connect.
The writer (James L. Brooks) sets up the situation beautifully for the mother Aurora (Shirley McClaine): She is her own worst enemy.
ex. Aurora desperately wants to be loved, yet she's extremely critical & difficult. She attracts men like flies, yet not one is good enough.
To connect, Aurora has to change. She has to modify her words & expectations.
The genius is that it's also funny as she trips all over on her way to self-improvement.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Aurora is memorable, specifically because she's so difficult.
Terms of Endearment (1983)
by James L. Brooks
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