TODAY'S NUGGET: The Postman (1997) - How to Visually Show Transformation (When a Character Adopts a Guise)

[Quick Summary: When Holnists terrorize a post-apocalyptic world, a loner, who calls himself the Postman, stirs up a Resistance by bringing mail to isolated towns.]

This is a well-written, engaging, earnest adaptation, but LONG.

However, the script lays out how to give meaning visually to a moment. 

The script refers to the protagonist as "The Postman" from the start.  

However, he is never referred to that by name, so the audience is unaware until this moment below.

Notice that the meaning is two-fold:
- He adopts The Postman's guise.
- He is also a dead man walking, as he is still being hunted by Holnists.

EXT. BOTTOM OF RAVINE - NIGHT

He comes to a stop in a forest, covered with undergrowth and dotted with saplings, nothing's been down here in years. He's lying on an unnaturally hard something. He pulls up -- takes stock. The thing is square. He cautiously pulls back a few branches.

An old, rusted Jeep with faded U.S. government markings. Its hood buried under the dirt of an old mud slide. The Postman stoops to look through the passenger side window, comes face-to-face with death. A skeleton sits inside, the skull grinning against the glass facing The Postman. 

But The Postman doesn't jump back. He just stares. The two heads meet halfway as The Postman's face is reflected on the glass, superimposed over the skull. [emphasis mine]

A hypothermic shiver wracks his body. The Postman tries the door, but it won't budge. THe other side of the Jeep is buried. But seeing that the windshield is partly smashed, he clears away the debris, peels back the spider-webbed safety glass and climbs inside.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I thought the superimposed reflection was a great way to explain what The Postman was thinking.

The Postman (1997)(1/28/97 shooting script w/revisions)
by Eric Roth and Brian Helgeland
Based on the novel by David Brin

TODAY'S NUGGET: Conspiracy Theory (1997) - Deepening Emotional Jeopardy w/Multiple Motives

[Quick Summary: Jerry, a raving conspiracy theorist, convinces Liza, a Justice Dept. attorney, that  someone is after him for what he knows.]

I liked this script because: 1) It's more about characters than plot; and 2) To do that, the writer expanded the emotional jeopardy element.  How did he do that?

I think it is because he gave Jerry a multiple motive.  He wants to protect Liza because she's the only one who will help him, but also because he's in love with her.

Every scene has a deeper subtext (see below). The agents think Jerry is concerned about Liza to save himself (plot), but his motive is more personal (character).

INT. CROWN VICTORIA - PARKED - NIGHT

Agent Lowry leans forward to look up to the window of Liza's apartment. Behind him, he hears the back door open, Agent Murphy slide in the backseat. As Lowry eases back: 

LOWRY: How's your bladder?

The barrel of Murphy's black 9mm is pressed squarely against Lowry's temple.

VOICE Not bad. (cocks hammer) How's yours?

It's Jerry in the backseat! Lowry's a pretty cool customer. He regards Jerry evenly in the rearview.

LOWRY: Lots of folks are looking for you.

Lowry's hand toward a .45 on the front seat.

JERRY: Then you must be the smart one. Hands on the steering wheel.

A little nudge of the 9mm and Lowry does as he's told.

JERRY: Thank you.

LOWRY: You're welcome. Where's my partner?

JERRY: I like that. A gun to your head and you ask about your partner. He's okay. May have a headache for a few days. Are you here with honorable intentions?

LOWRY: I'm not sure what you mean.

JERRY: You should think of me as Liza Sutton's guardian angel.

LOWRY: That's ironic. Because we're here to protect her from you.

JERRY: You're here because you figured I might show up.

LOWRY: It seemed like a possibility. What about your intentions? Are they honorable?

JERRY: I'm not a violent man, Mr. Lowry. Not by nature anyhow. But if you hurt Liza in any way, I'll kill you. Does that seem honorable?

LOWRY: Well, I don't know if --

Jerry creases the back of his head with the gun barrel As he slumps over unconscious...

JERRY: Seems honorable to me.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I had not thought to double up on jeopardy like this before.  It gives characters a deeper pool to explore.

Conspiracy Theory (1997)(12/11/95 draft)
by Brian Helgeland

TODAY'S NUGGET: Kansas City (1996) - One Way to Justify a Road Trip

[Quick Summary: In an uneasy 1934, Blondie kidnaps innocent Mrs. Stilton to force Mr. Stilton to get Johnny, Blondie's husband, released from the mob.]

At first glance, this story just seems to be a meandering road trip around Kansas City between Blondie and Mrs. Stilton.

But below the surface, it's great storytelling:

1) There is a justification for the women to not stay in one spot for too long, i.e., they have to wait for Mr. Stilon to fix the situation but people are looking for them.

2) There is a reason behind each stop, i.e., we learn more about the characters.

For example, in the scene below:
- We learn how smart Blondie is.  She knows her sister is the one person who could talk her out of things and ruin her plan.
- Note the economy of writing, especially Babe looking in the car --> Blondie on the lookout.

INT. THE REEL INN - DAY

BLONDIE stands up and goes to the window. ANGLE OF WHAT BLONDIE SEES: BABE is parking her car on the street. BLONDIE goes immediately to where BESS is sitting.

BLONDIE: Come on, lady, we got to get out of here. Now.

BESS: What for?

BLONDIE: 'Cause I don't like it here. Move it. Let's go.

BESS doesn't question BLONDIE'S orders. She is stoned enough to do what she is told. She stands up puts on her coat and waits for further instructions.

BLONDIE: Follow me.

EST. FILM ROW - DAY

BABE sees BLONDIE'S car parked on the street. She looks in the windows then opens the doors and looks around inside to make sure it is BLONDIE'S car. As the CAMERA PULLS BACK we see that BLONDIE has been watching her sister from behind a building at the corner.

When BABE goes toward THE REEL INN, BLONDIE brings BESS out from behind the building and escorts her to the car.

BLONDIE starts the car and makes a U-turn. She watches in the rearview mirror.

BLONDIE: That was close.

This is all a blur to BESS.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I appreciate this example of how to tell a story in an interesting way. I wasn't expecting to get as involved emotionally as I did.

Kansas City (1996)(undated draft)
by Robert Altman & Frank Barhydt

TODAY'S NUGGET: Last Action Hero (1993) - Knowing How to Pace Action Sequences

[Quick Summary: When Danny finds a magic ticket that allows him to go into movies, he helps his favorite action hero Slater fight crime.]

This is a great idea and I can see why they're trying to remake it ever since. However, I did get bored with the many action sequences.  

On the other hand, I was impressed with the pacing and flow of action.  

There's definite tempo (bad guys, good guys, build tension, crash!), but also knowing when to stretch and when to speed up.

In the scene below:
- Slater has been injured.  It is all up to Danny on a girl's bike vs. bad guys in sedan.
- The writers make you feel how it feels to be Danny (headlights looming at him).
- They also secretly speed up our mind's eye (fall out window, lying on grass).

We're talking a TWO-TON SEDAN versus a GIRL'S FIVE SPEED. With Smurfs. They race toward each other. Collision imminent. DANNY is sweating. Teeth gritted. Eyes squeezed nearly shut.

DANNY: This is gonna work...it's a movie, I'm a good guy, this has got to work....

The headlights LOOM in front of him. Blinding. RUSHING FORWARD.

And it hits DANNY like a thunderbolt:

DANNY: I'm the comedy sidekick. Oh, shit, I'm the comedy sidekick. IT'S NOT GONNA WOOOOORRRK!

Needless to say, he swerves, jumps the curb, doing fifty, races for the edge of a hillside as we

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

SLATER appearing, huffing and puffing --way in the background, a TINY SCREAMING DANNY can be seen on a bicycle as he goes through a second story window.

Shouts. More breaking glass. Curses in Yiddish.

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

SLATER turns, sees DANNY falling out of another window, lying on the grass.

EXT. STREET - NIGHT

DANNY, groggy, as SLATER reaches him.

DANNY (a whisper): I think I scared 'em pretty good.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This script makes you feel what Danny is feeling in real time, which is due to pacing. Slow down for emphasis, faster over boring parts.

Last Action Hero (1993)(10/20/92 draft)
by Zak Penn and Adam Leff
Current draft by Shane Black and David Arnott
Production Polish by William Goldman

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Passenger (1975) - Creating an Interesting "The Girl"

[Quick Summary: A journalist takes over the identity of a dead hotel neighbor, who turns out to be an hunted arms dealer.]

Why is "The Girl" here not a throw away stereotype, though her main purpose is essentially to look after and assist Locke?

I think it's because she engages him like a good tennis partner, batting the dialogue back over the net.  She also requires him to be in the present, not the past or future.

The scene below is their first meeting. Notice how quickly he tells her the truth.

46. A long room - Palacio Guell. Interior. Day.

...LOCKE: Excuse me, I'm trying to remember something.
GIRL (very naturally): Is it important?
LOCKE: No.

The Girl reacts to Locke with an absolute directness, and with an unusual absence of embarrassment.

LOCKE: Do you know what it is? I came in by accident.
GIRL: The man who built it was hit by a tram.
LOCKE: Who was he?
GIRL: Gaudi. He built this house for a corduroy manufacturer.

She gets up.

GIRL: Come.

They enter a big salon.

GIRL: They used this room for concerts. Wagner.
LOCKE: Do you think he was crazy?
GIRL: What do you think?
LOCKE: No, he wasn't.

She looks at him and laughs easily.

GIRL: How could you come in here by accident?
LOCKE: I was escaping.
GIRL (deadpan): Wow...(then seriously) From what?
LOCKE: I thought there was someone following me, somebody who might recognize me.
GIRL: Why?
LOCKE: I don't know.
GIRL: Well, I can't recognize you. Who are you?
LOCKE: I used to be someone else. But I traded him in. What about you?
GIRL (she smiles ironically): I'm in Barcelona. I'm talking to a man.

Locke smiles at her.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I was impressed that "The Girl" was a meaty part. Her only purpose is to help Locke, but that is what SHE wants, not because it's a plot crutch.

The Passenger (1975)
by Marc Peploe, Petter Wollen, and Michelangelo Antonioni

TODAY'S NUGGET: Excalibur (1981) - Where are the Choices With Real Consequences?

[Quick Summary: King Arthur rises to power, but his reign is plagued with .]

This is a case of a decently written script with unfortunate story issues.

First, Arthur starts off strong, but then is overtaken by more interesting characters.

Second, Arthur does not make consistent choices that have real consequences.  Yes, he does make choices, but they seem to be driven by circumstances vs. himself.*

I picked this scene below for its character choices and real consequences.  

Note how this argument feels very human, despite that they're bargaining about magical powers.  Will  Merlin uphold his principles or fall victim to his own desire?

EXT. BATTLEMENTS, CAMELOT - DUSK

....Morgana, who has been watching from the shadows, slinks up to Merlin's side.

MORGANA: Crazy old fool. You think yourself a kingmaker. Ha! a meddler, more likely. Look what a mess you've made of things.

Merlin smiles knowingly at her.

MERLIN: I? Perhaps, perhaps. I'm losing interest, Morgana...I have helped men -- or meddled in their affairs, if you would have it that way --since the dawn of time. Now let them live by their own laws. Let them stand on their own feet. The gods of once are gone forever, it is a time for men...Morgana, make a man out of me. Kiss me.

He reaches to touch her lips. She cradles his hand in hers and doesn't allow Merlin to kiss her. SH kisses his knuckles and stares into his eyes, stoking his desire.

MORGANA: You know what I want. I want the secret of true magic, how to thicken the stuff of dreams and wishes with the flesh of the world.

MERLIN: That I cannot.

She breaks away, provocative, alluring.

MORGANA: Then I will not.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I feel when characters make choices without real consequences, it comes off as false. 

ex. Guinevere runs off with Lancelot...and isn't worried about Arthur?!

Excalibur (1981)(9/28/79 draft)
by Rospo Pallenberg and John Boorman
Adapted from "Le Morte Darthur," by Rospo Pallenberg

* As Roger Ebert puts it much better: "There is another problem, too: one common not only to many movie versions of Arthurian legends, but epidemic in the modern sword-and-sorcery genre. The people in this film seem doomed to their behavior. They have no choice. Arthur is courageous as a youth, but then presides over the disintegration of the Round Table, for no apparent reason. The brave and pure Lancelot, accused of being Guenevere's lover, engages in a deadly joust to defend her honor. Not much later, however, they make love. Merlin is a great and powerful magician, but allows Morgana to outwit him; he seems to decide from moment to moment whether to possess vast powers or none. 

Since there is no consistency in the behavior of the characters, “Excalibur” is maddeningly arbitrary. Anyone is likely to do anything, and when they do, Boorman springs another battle scene on us, with horses whinnying and swords thumping into flesh until the novelty wears thin...."

TODAY'S NUGGET: Batman (1989) - Tension While Batman & Joker Fall in the Air

[Quick Summary: Bruce Wayne (Batman) defends Gotham against a brand new criminal, Jack Napier (Joker).]

Dark and extreme superhero movies are common today.

But in 1989, Tim Burton was breaking new ground with the colors and visuals.

This isn't the most emotionally compelling script that I've read, but I give it some slack as there were a lot of bumps on the way (writers' strike, studio fears, etc.)

However, I liked the following scene for keeping tensions high while in mid-air:

EXT. CATHEDRAL TOWER - NIGHT

Two bodies fall in pad de deux. Joker SCREAMS. SOUND OF WIND RUSHING BY.

EXT. FALLING POV - NIGHT

CAMERA FALLS DOWNWARD. Lights float lazily up AT us from the onrushing street below.

EXT. FALLING - NIGHT - TIGHT

BATMAN FIRES a hook and a line back up at the roof.

ON HOOK

It lands on roof and skitters along looking for a crevice to hook on.

ON JOKER

He stares back at Batman as he drifts away. JOKER'S LAUGHING ALL THE WAY DOWN.

ON HOOK

SKITTERING.

ON BATMAN

He spreads his cape, slowing down a bit.

ON GARGOYLE

Hook skitters to it and seizes on its grimacing jaws.

ON JOKER (SLOW MOTION)

He plummets to earth CRASHING ON CATHEDRAL STEPS. LAUGHTER STOPS!

ON BATMAN (SLOW MOTION)

HE FALLS, TURNS UPSIDE-DOWN AND STOPS in mid-air. Coming to the end of a long tether from the top of the tower. He bounces a bit and hangs upside-down. Like a bat. A SCREAM fills the air.

EXT. CHURCH STEPS - OVERHEAD ANGLE

We're looking DOWN AT the Joker, whose body lies splayed and broken o n the steps. We DRIFT DOWNWARD, CLOSER, until his FACE FILLS THE SCREEN, his chilling grin still intact.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I liked that the writers didn't try to tug at our sympathies by making the Joker have regrets at the end.  This kept up the tension in the fall.

Batman (1989)(5th draft w/revisions)
by Sam Hamm and Warren Skaaren
Based on the character created by Bob Kane

TODAY'S NUGGET: JFK (1991) - The Emotional Ride of Obsession

[Quick Summary: The hunt for a murderer after President John F. Kennedy is shot in Dallas, TX on Nov. 22, 1963.]

THREE THINGS I LEARNED FROM ROGER EBERT'S REVIEW:

1) FACT vs. FICTION IN FILMS.

This is not a film about the facts of the assassination, but about the feelings. “JFK” accurately reflects our national state of mind since Nov. 22, 1963. ...I believe films are the wrong medium for fact. Fact belongs in print. Films are about emotions.*

2) SO WHAT IS OLIVER STONE'S FILM ABOUT?

His film is not about the case assembled by his hero, New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison (Kevin Costner). It is about Garrison's obsession. The film's thrust is not toward truth, but toward frustration and anger.

3) WHY IS THE SCRIPT WORTH READING? It is not a pretty to look at (156 pgs. long, single spaced), however it is unusually nimble for the amount of detail.

Oliver Stone was born to make this movie. He is a filmmaker of feverish energy and limitless technical skills, able to assemble a bewildering array of facts and fancies and compose them into a film without getting bogged down. His secret is that he doesn't intend us to remember all his pieces and fit them together and arrive at logical conclusions.

I liked that the script kept focus on the emotional ride of obsession by showing what it costs.  It's the small things that are so devastating.

INT. GARRISON HOME - NIGHT (1967)

After dinner, toys scattered around the living room. Phone ringing as VIRGINIA, 6, answers it, playing with her doll. In background SCOOTER is chasing ELIZABETH around.

VIRGINIA: Hello.

MALE VOICE: Hello is this Jim Garrison's daughter?

VIRGINIA: Yes?

MALE VOICE: Virginia or Elizabeth?

VIRGINIA: Virginia.

MALE VOICE: Virginia, you're a lucky girl. Your daddy has entered you in a beauty contest. Would you like to be in a beauty contest?

VIRGINIA: That sounds fun.

MALE VOICE: I need some information from you then. How old are you?

VIRGINIA: Six.

MALE VOICE: And how tall are you?

In the STUDY, JIM watches the NEWS in horror. [News reports the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.]

MALE VOICE: And you get off from school at 3 every day?

VIRGINIA: Yes.

MALE VOICE: Do you walk home?

VIRGINIA: Uh huh.

LIZ comes to the phone, a look on her face.

LIZ (taking the phone): Who you talking to?

MALE VOICE: Okay Virginia, that's all I need to know. I'll call you again when it's time for the beauty contest.

LIZ: Who's this?...Hello?...Hello?

Pause. The man at the other end listening to Liz...He hangs up. Liz turns to Virginia.

VIRGINIA (excited): Mama I'm going to be in a beauty contest! Daddy.

LIZ: What did he ask you!

VIRGINIA:Well, he asked me everything. He asked me...          

Liz freaking.           

                                                                                INTERCUT TO:

LIZ marches into Jim's study.

LIZ: Did you enter Virginia into a beauty contest?

JIM (absorbed in the TV): What?

LIZ (hysterical): A man just called. He asked her everything! Her height, her weight, when she came home from school. 

JIM: Honey, some crackpot! Martin Luther King was just killed in Memphis!

LIZ (screaming): I don't give a damn about Martin Luther King! Your daughter's life was just threatened!

JIM: Just a crank making phone calls. Happens a dozen times a day at the office.

LIZ: Our home Jim!  A kidnapper, a murderer!

JIM (consoling): Only cowards make crank calls, egghead, nothing is going to happen (puts his arms around her).

LIZ (beats on him): How do you know? How do you know!

JIM: Get a hold of yourself.

LIZ: I'm leaving. I'm taking the kids and I'm leaving! I can't stand it anymore...

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: After reading this script, I don't remember much about it, except the emotional toll.  Which might be the point in the end.

JFK (1991)(Jan. 1991 draft)
by Oliver Stone

* "I have no doubt Cronkite was correct, from his point of view. But I am a film critic and my assignment is different than his. He wants facts. I want moods, tones, fears, imaginings, whims, speculations, nightmares. As a general principle, I believe films are the wrong medium for fact. Fact belongs in print. Films are about emotions. My notion is that “JFK” is no more, or less, factual than Stone's “Nixon” or “Gandhi,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Gladiator,” “Amistad,” “Out of Africa,” “My Dog Skip” or any other movie based on “real life.” All we can reasonably ask is that it be skillfully made and seem to approach some kind of emotional truth. Given that standard, “JFK” is a masterpiece."

TODAY'S NUGGET: Frankenstein (1931) - Dwarf on the Roof, Frankenstein Below

[Quick Summary: Dr. Frankenstein creates a Monster that runs amok.]

Screenwriting still baffles me. It's unlike any other kind of writing.

I have learned a few things though:

1) The closest analogy is still that it's a recipe or a blueprint of ideas.

2) Good writing is like a shot of aged whiskey, i.e., a complete, exciting idea in one gulp.  Harder than it sounds to stuff action, geography, emotion into a sentence.

I like how the writers show geography and height in the example below.  

Can you see the Dwarf looking through the roof and Frankenstein looking up? 

Also, note that the action (Dwarf climbing down) shows us the roof is high without telling us.

INT. LABORATORY - REVERSE SHOT

The head and shoulders of Frank-
enstein in fore, this time, shooting
up to the large opening in the roof
to where the Dwarf kneels, peering
down in. From somewhere beneath the
opening two shining steel rods, placed
about four feet apart, rise into the
air from a momentarily unseen fixture
on floor of laboratory, connecting
with the two high frequency wires,
that drop down from above.

                                             FRANKENSTEIN (sharply)
                                                      Come down, then! Help with
                                                      these attachments. We've no
                                                      time to lose.

His manner is peremptory,
indicating a high state of
nervous tension. The Dwarf,
grasping a rope, which trails
loosely from the roof, lowers
himself with quick agility to
the laboratory level. CAMERA
FOLLOWS HIS PROGRESS DOWN,
MOVING BACK to assume floor
level focus, and we get a
general view of the interior
of the laboratory.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: Sometimes it helps to set the geography for the reader first (guy above on roof) so the following action makes more sense (guy climbs down).

Frankenstein (1931)(8/12/31 draft)
by Garrett Fort and Francis Edwards Faragoh
Adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel (1818)

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Matrix (1999) - Understanding When to Add the Grand Spectacle

[Quick Summary: When a hacker learns that his life in the Matrix is a sham, he joins the resistance against the evil artificial intelligence.]

We all know that you can't build a cake on top of frosting.  You make the cake first, and the frosting is the finish.

It's the same way with the grand spectacle.  Build a solid story first, then go wild with spectacle. 

I liked this film because it did just that.  

First, the writers had something philosophical to say about fighting to believe.  

Then they added some grand spectacle on top, such as this unforgettable moment:

EXT. ROOF - DAY

...Just as she drops the final Marine, Trinity sees what's coming. Neo sees her, the fear in her face, and he knows what is behind him.

Screaming, he whirls, guns filling his hands with thought-speed.

Fingers pumping, shells ejecting, dancing up and away, we look THROUGH the sights and gun smoke AT the Agent blurred with motion --

Until the hammers click against the empty metal.

NEO: Trinity!

Agent Jones charges.

NEO: ...Help.

His GUN BOOMS as we ENTER the liquid space of --

-- BULLET -TIME.

The AIR SIZZLES with wads of lead like angry flies as Neo twists, bends, ducks just between them.

Agent Jones, still running, narrows the gap, the bullets coming faster until Neo, bent impossibly back, one hand on the ground as a spiraling gray ball shears open his shoulder.

He starts to scream as another digs a red groove across his thigh He has only time to look up, to see Agent Jones standing over him, raising his gun a final time.

AGENT JONES: Only human...

Suddenly Agent Jones stops He hears a sharp metal click.

Immediately, he whirls around and turns straight into the muzzle of Trinity's .45 --

--jammed tight to his head.

TRINITY: Dodge this!

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I like the economy of this "bullet-time" on the page. It's good frosting (but only because of the previous foundation of 'cake.')

The Matrix (1999)(shooting draft, 3/29/98)
by The Wachowski Brothers