TODAY'S NUGGET: Oklahoma Crude (1973) - Primal Ferocity of a Single-Minded, No Excuses Female Lead

[Quick Summary: When a big oil company harasses a woman who owns a small oil field, her only allies are her estranged father and a stranger.]

Before he co-wrote (and won the Oscar for) Shakespeare in Love (1998), Marc Norman wrote this script with an unapologetic, ambitious female lead.* 

It may sound trite, but I've read a lot of single-minded male characters, undistracted by ideas of balancing work and family, but not female ones.

What is interesting about Lena is her sheer force of will.  This is her fight and she's willing to die for it.**  Why do I believe that? Why am I curious to follow her?

I think it's because her stubbornness, the stuff of legends, leads her to wild places.  

For example, in an early scene below:
- We see how hard bitten Lena has become.
- Her absentee dad Cleon comes to her plot of oil field.  This is their first contact and he tries to offer help.
- Notice how her motive is all about survival. She doesn't even waste a syllable on him.
- Also note: There were no slug lines (INT./EXT.) in this script.  Rather, it was broken into chapters.  The one below is titled, "LENA'S FATHER SHOWS UP."

His eyes rove her -- land on her folded hands. He smiles faintly, and gingerly lays his hand on top of hers.

CLEON (CONT'D): Look...

Lena recoils, snatches up the rifle.

LENA: Stay back.
CLEON (CONT'D): Look at your hand. It's the same as mine.

He tries to get her to compare them.

CLEON (CONT'D): Look at it -- you got my hand. (desperate) Damn it, Lena -- I come to help you. LENA: Me and my oil land!
CLEON: No -- to help you. To help you hold out, if that's what you want.

Lena looks up at him and chuckles bitterly.

LENA: Can you use a rifle?

Cleon makes a sort-of gesture.

LENA (angry): Handle a derrick, maybe? Can you drill a hole?
CLEON: I can learn..!
LENA: Just get out of here!
CLEON: No!
LENA (shouting): What the hell good are you?
CLEON: I'm your pa, Lena!    
LENA: So? You gonna read me nursery rhymes?

She stands, turns her back on him, and starts up the hill.

CLEON: Lena! You can't do it all by yourself.

She spins, raging.

LENA: Just fuck off
CLEON: Don't do this...    
LENA: I mean it!

Cleon falls to his knees in prayer.

CLEON: I can't, Lena...
LENA (exploding): Get out of here, you...scumbag son-of a bitch!

Cleon's mouth drops open. Lena fires, wildly, from the hip -- hit hat flies off.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I don't see female characters like this in more modern scripts.  There's something refreshing about a character who is this focused on the present, and not worried with "having it all."

Oklahoma Crude (1973)
by Marc Norman

 *It was played by actress Faye Dunaway (after Bonnie and Clyde, but before Chinatown).

**As an aside, she was not "likeable", and I was fine with it. I liked that this script took such a big swing on a female character.

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Ice Harvest (2005) - When Wide/Close/Tight Camera Shots Works for an Action Montage

[Quick Summary: A shady lawyer tries to make off with $2M that was stolen from a Wichita, Kansas mob boss.]

Q: Why were you interested in this action-dark comedy?
A: Because it's from the great writer-director Robert Benton, who is mostly known for dramas.*

Q: What did you like about it?
A: I thought the action montage (below) was interesting because it reads so easily on the page.  I didn't notice the camera shots.

Q: GASP!! Camera shots?! Isn't there a "rule": Do not to include camera shots?
A: Yes.  (Though you know I believe in guidelines, not the so-called "rules.") 

Q: Why can they break this "rule"?
A: The purpose of the so-called "rule" is for new writers to avoid using &/or mishandling a device they don't know how to (or why to) use them.  

Experienced writers will knowingly use camera shots when they have a specific purpose for them, as shown in this scene below.

NOTE:
- Vic has been chasing Charlie and his co-conspirator Roy.
- Vic has just shot Roy.
- I like that the close ups are saved for big important, climatic scenes like this one.

EXT. LAKE BASCOMBE - NIGHT

...A QUICK SERIES OF SHOTS:

ON ROY: as he hits the deck like a ton of bricks. [Roy is the first sign of this dock falling like dominoes.]

INSERT OF SEVERAL PILINGS --as they give way. We HEAR the sound of rotting wood being torn apart.  [We see and hear the cause. Also, we're not in any single POV.]

TIGHT ON CHARLIE --who guesses first what's going to happen and grabs for one of the taller pilings.  [Close up of our protagonist = "important," in cinema language.]

RIGHT ON MORE OF THE DOCK'S CRUCIAL UNDERPINNINGS--as they start to collapse. [This builds on the previous insert of the pilings, building tension.]

CLOSE ON VIC--looking around, unable to grasp what is going on. [Close up to show another character is confused at an important moment.]

WIDE SHOT--We see the dock from some distance away and in slow motion the last section of it (where Charlie, Vic and Roy have been standing) begins to sag and give way. [Wide shot show the extent of what is befalling the three men.]

CLOSER IN--Roy's body begins to slide down toward the ice below. [Close shot of the beginning of Roy slipping away, both metaphorically and actually.  This extends Charlie's anguish because Roy was the only one who had the info about the hidden money.]

MED. SHOT VIC--as his feet go out from under him and he lands on the sloping dock. [The medium shot is useful to see where Vic slips and lands.]

ON ROY'S CORPSE--as it lands on the ice below, making a terrible sound and sending out cracks in every direction. An instant later the empty trunk hits, opening a hole in the ice.  [This shot completes the arc of where Roy ends up and dovetails next shot.]

TIGHT ON VIC--who beings to slide down the slippery incline; frantically grabbing at whatever with his free (he won't surrender the gun in the other). His slide is slow, but he can't stop it, and as he disappears into the gap in the dock (following Roy), he even tries to grab onto Charlie. Failing, he too disappears into the void. A split second later, WE HEAR A THUD, FOLLOWING BY A CRACKING SOUND from below. [Tight shot for Vic's big finale. Vic follows Roy, metaphorically and actually.]

ON CHARLIE, still hanging onto the piling for dear life, looking over his shoulder.  [Charlie is the lone survivor, and we want to see all of his reaction.]

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I didn't notice the camera shots because they had a purpose. In this big moment, I expected (and wanted to see) close up reactions.

The Ice Harvest (2005)(undated draft)
by Robert Benton & Richard Russo
Based on the novel by Scott Phillips

*The films that he wrote (& may have also directed) include: Kramer v. Kramer; Places in the Heart; Superman; Bonnie & Clyde; What's Up Doc?  He has 7 Oscar nominations (1 win for direction and 3 wins for writing).

TODAY'S NUGGET: Love's Labour Lost (2000) - "[Love] Kills Sheep" Sight Gag in Shakespeare

[Quick Summary: This is a musical adaption of a Shakespeare play, set in the 1930s, in which four friends swear off love.]  

BAD NEWS:

I admire Kenneth Branagh's attempt to do something new by adding dance and musical numbers to a lesser known Shakespearean play, but I didn't believe it.

Roger Ebert writes about a few problems:

"Love's Labour's Lost" is hardly ever performed on the stage and has never been previous filmed, and there is a reason for that: It's not about anything. In its original form, instead of the songs and dances we have dialogue that's like an idle exercise in easy banter for Shakespeare. (my underline)

As a result: 

It's like a warm-up for the real thing. It makes not the slightest difference which boy gets which girl, or why, and by starting the action in 1939 and providing World War II as a backdrop, Branagh has not enriched either the play or the war, but fit them together with an awkward join....Like cotton candy, it's better as a concept than as an experience.

GOOD NEWS:

1) I did like the updated use for the homonym (1 word, 2 meanings) for "Ajax", then used to reference a tragic Trojan War figure, and now for a cleanser.

2) Branagh furthers the turn of phrase with an actual sight gag: the cleanser, i.e., love, has killed the sheep! This visual is a funny, clever way to show a metaphor.

INT. LIBRARY -- DAY

BEROWNE prowls the circular gallery.  He passes books which he ignores and cleaning materials, which he does not. Next to an abandoned servant's broom there is a well known brand of bleach. This inspires him.

BEROWNE: By the Lord, this love is as mad as Ajax,

He glances out the window. A sheep grazes in the park. After a moment it falls over unconscious.

BEROWNE: It kills sheep!

But in this state, any form of madness is understandable.

BEROWNE (CONT'D): It kills me, I a sheep! I will not love. If I do, hang me; I'faith, I will not.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I particularly like this sight gag because it works for those who understand the literal level (cleanser kills sheep), but also those who get the humor of the deeper level (those who know historical Ajax + the cleanser).

Love's Labour Lost (2000)
by Kenneth Branagh and William Shakespeare

TODAY'S NUGGET: Tucker: A Man and His Dream (1988) - A Foil Role Worthy of a Best Supporting Actor Nomination

[Quick Summary: Against all odds, Preston Tucker, famed for building WWII combat turrets, decides to build the Tucker "car of tomorrow."]

Though this was an ok script, how did it end up netting Martin Landau an Oscar nominated performance for best supporting actor?

Well, first, he had direction by Francis Ford Coppola, which couldn't hurt.

Second, he played the character of Abe, a realistic NYC businessman and Tucker's biggest ally.  Abe is also is used as a foil, often exposing Tucker's blind spots. 

For example, in the scene below, he tries to reason with Tucker, who only wants to think big.

Notice how Abe's practicality is contrasted by Tucker's impracticality (or is it vision?)*, which is the point of the scene.

INT. DEN - DAY

Abe is talking. Tucker, Vera, and Eddie are in the room.

ABE: ...which leaves three war surplus plants we've got a shot at. A long shot, because everybody in the country's trying to get them, but it's worth a try. One's perfect. Nice and little. The other's too big. Cost twice as much to re-tool, but we could swing it if we had to.

TUCKER: What's the third one?

ABE: Impossible. The Dodge plant, where they built the B-29 engines in Chicago.

TUCKER: What's wrong with that?

ABE: It covers 475 acres for one thing, with sixteen buildings. One of them is seventy-three acres long. One building. The biggest building in the world under one roof.

Vera and Eddie look at each other, knowing exactly what Tucker will say.

CLOSE ON TUCKER.

TUCKER: It's perfect!

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: A good foil will push back against the protagonist, and thus reveal things in the protagonist we did not know before. 

A foil is often the main antagonist, but could even be an ally, like Abe here.

Tucker: A Man and His Dream (1988)(revised shooting draft, 5/5/87)
by Arnold Schulman and David Seidler

*Just for fun: Only 50 Tucker automobiles were made, and I think Preston Tucker would be thrilled that they are now valued over $1+M.

TODAY'S NUGGET: Rachel, Rachel (1968) - Making the Unfamiliar Familiar

[Quick Summary: After a big city boy asks her out, a lonely grade school teacher, who lives with her mother, starts to daydream about where her life is going.]

Though he's read thousands of scripts, Black List founder Franklin Leonard recently said that he still looks for scripts that "transport" him somewhere.

But what does that look like on the page? 

This week's script is a good example of transporting us into a character's head because it made the unfamiliar very familiar in a few sentences.

FYI: I will note that this wonderfulness does come with some messiness.  We are in Rachel's POV, which is subjective, moody, and prone to tangents.

As a result, the story was sometimes jumbled and weird. (But perhaps that's the point?  After all this IS called "Rachel, Rachel.")

I liked the scene below, which instantly makes the unfamiliar familiar:
- This is the first time we see Rachel's mother in her own social setting.
- Within a few short sentences, we know the relationship between these women is long standing, competitive, and a relief from daily life (eating, smoking).
- We know Mother is concerned about appearances ("company eyeglasses," "elfin frames of delphinium blue" says a lot in a few words).
- Though I may not know these characters, I know this situation of playing games at someone else's house. It felt like I was sitting at this table.

INT. DINING ROOM - CLOSE SHOT - MOTHER - NIGHT

It is later now. Mother looks cute with her curly hair and "company eyeglasses", with their elfin frames of delphinium blue.

MOTHER: Oh, Verla! You're not going to no-trump!

CAMERA PULLS BACK to show Mother playing bridge at the dining-room table with her cronies, VERLA, FLORENCE, and HOLLY. They have consumed everything on the platter and are smoking up a storm.

VERLA: Now don't be a sore loser, May. When you come to my house, you can win!

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I am impressed by the speed which I simply felt I dropped into this scene. It is a masterful economy of writing.

Rachel, Rachel (1968)
by Stewart Stern
Based on the novel "A Jest of God", by Margaret Laurence

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).

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Way We Were (1973) - When You Need to Beef Up the Guy's Part; Pollack's 1st Rule in a Love Story

[Quick Summary: After WWII, an idealistic political activist and a super-popular society guy try to navigate being a couple despite their opposite temperaments.]

TWO THOUGHTS :

1) BEING REWRITTEN.  This was the situation here:

- Writer Arthur Laurents wrote the role of Katie for Barbra Streisand.
- According to director Sydney Pollack (here), Laurents was so committed to Katie's story that the love interest, Hubbell, was not as strong a character.
- Thus, Robert Redford wouldn't sign on.  Streisand wrote about it (here): 

Bob was concerned that the script was so focused on Katie that Hubbell's character was underdeveloped. (He was right.) Bob asked Sydney, 'Who is this guy? He's just an object...He doesn't want anything. What does this guy want?' In Bob's opinion, he was 'shallow and one dimensional. Not very real.' ' A pin-up girl in revers,' as Sydney put it."

[She told Pollack], "Give him anything he wants."

Write more scenes to strengthen his character. Make it equal....So Sydney hired two excellent writers, David Rayfiel and Alvin Sargent, to beef up Bob's part and go deeper, beneath that golden-boy exterior. And I told Ray to pay him whatever he wanted. But Bob's answer was still no. I was heartbroken.

In other words, it's sometimes necessary to get another (more objective) writer(s).

2) POLLACK'S FIRST RULE IN A LOVE STORY.  All the above goes to why the original draft didn't work.  Pollack put it well (here):

Never make one character attractive at the expense of the other. You have to bring the character up but not at a partner's expense.

Note in this re-written scene below:
- This is a more balanced meeting of equals, who both upend expectations.
- Katie and Hubbell were in a college writing class together.
- She wanted to be a writer, but isn't as good as he was. Writing comes easily to him, but he can't share it with his friends.
- This was a chance meeting at an outdoor restaurand their first real conversation.

MED. SHOT - KATIE

She makes for the curb, trying to sneak off into the darkness. But softly comes:

HUBBELL'S VOICE: Have a beer?

FULL SHOT - KATIE AND HUBBELL

She stops dead and turns to him. He grins.

HUBBELL (continuing): It's a celebration.

KATIE: Team team team.

HUBBELL: Wrong.

KATIE: Your crew won.

HUBBELL: Oh well, we always win. That's easy.

KATIE: That's right, everything's easy, I forgot. (pause) Listen, I'm sorry but I've...well, I've let the months slide by without telling I...I really loved your story. You're a good writer and...

HUBBELL: Thanks, Katie.

KATIE: ...I'll see ya. I've got to get to work.

She starts off.

HUBBELL: Hey, Katie? I sold one.

KATIE (turning): Huh?

HUBBELL: I sold a story.

KATIE (softly): Jesus. Oh boy, Hubbell. Congratulations.

Hubbell holds out a stein of beer.

HUBBELL: Drink.

She hesitates. Then takes it, holds it up.

KATIE: To your first novel.

HUBBELL: Hey. Not so fast.

KATIE: Why not!

HUBBELL: Okay. Why not. You say so. 

KATIE: I say so.

They clink steins and drink. Then he looks at her. They smile.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I'd never considered "bringing a character up" to the level of the other character in a love story.

This is especially eye-opening in light of the several crossed out, rewritten pages in this draft, where the Hubbell role is not as well written as Katie's role.

The Way We Were (1973)(A.S. draft, 7/21/23)
by Arthur Laurents, Alvin Sargent(uncredited)

TODAY'S NUGGET: The Fortune Cookie (1966) - How to Do Irony Right

[Quick Summary: After a crooked lawyer convinced his brother-in-law to fake an injury, the latter has qualms.]

Though this isn't the strongest Wilder-Diamond script, I did like the crooked lawyer, Willie, who is the quintessential example of an ironic character.

Let's see how his actions and words are the opposite of what he means:

INT. GINGRICH OFFICE - DAY

Willie has the phone to his ear, but is covering the mouthpiece with his hand.

WILLIE (to tailor): I'd like to have a matching tie and handkerchief - nothing flashy - maybe something like this.

He opens his coat to reveal the lining - blue polka dots on a white ground. [He actually wants something flashy.]

WILLIE (into phone): Sorry, You were saying? 

INT. O'BRIEN'S OFFICE - DAY

O'BRIEN (into phone): In return for a release from all future claims, we are willing to compensate your client with a lump sum - say, two thousand dollars. Fair enough?

INT. GINGRICH OFFICE - DAY

WILLIE (into phone): It may be fair - but it's not enough. I had a slightly different figure in mind - say, five hundred thousand? [He knows $500k is not fair for a fake injury.]

INT. O'BRIEN'S OFFICE - DAY

O'BRIEN (into phone): Five hundred thousand? (a reaction from the other partners) You're being grotesque! (boiling over) Let me tell you something, Gingrich - as one member of the Bar to another - if indeed you are a member of the Bar - 

INT. GINGRICH OFFICE - DAY

The tailor is removing Willie's coat, and as he talks, Willie switches the phone from one hand to the other, to accommodate him. [He's showing that he's more interested in his suit than the negotiation.]

WILLIE: Look, Mr. O'Brien, I don't want to be unreasonable. You say two thousand - I say five hundred thousand - tell you what - let's split it down the middle. [His reasonable 'split down the middle' IS unreasonable because it greatly favors his side.]

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This character is shameless and swings for the fences with gusto.  It reminds me to let all the flaws hang out.  

Don't be so subtle the reader can't see how the actions and meaning are opposite each other.

The Fortune Cookie (1966)
by Billy Wilder & I.A.L. Diamond

TODAY'S NUGGET: Ninotchka (1939) - Breaking Up a Couple with "The Lubitsch Touch"

[Quick Summary: When a Russian bureaucrat goes to Paris to sell seized jewels, she falls for a guy who represents all she stands against.]

I first encountered German director Ernst Lubitsch in a story about writer-director Billy Wilder posting a sign in his office, "What would Lubitsch do?"

Who was this revered director? And what exactly was his famous "Lubitsch touch"?

After reading this quote by Samson Raphaelson (who wrote 9 films with Lubitsch), I think this "touch" is more about his approach:

 ...I never caught Lubitsch ever thinking in terms of a formula; that is, he wouldn't say, "How can ve use a door in this scene?"...He would face the problem and say, "Vat do ve do here? How do ve lick dis? How do ve say it vit style? How do ve say it different? How do ve say it different and good? Different and true?" but he was also one of the few great practitioners who was not a victim of his own inventions and of his own style. In The Smiling Lieutenant, for instance, he used a minimum of dialogue and only at the high moments - this was soon after talking pictures came in, still using the rich resources of silent invention, so that the dialogue would become the cream, the peak of a scene. (my underlines)

Today's script is one of Lubitsch's top 3 favorites and most often cited.  

It is a prime example of: 1) doing a breakup differently; and 2) holding off on dialogue until the high point.

In the scene below:
- Ninotchka has come to Paris to sell the jewels of the former Grand Duchess Swana, who now resides in exile in Paris.
- Ninotchka falls for Leon.
- Swana is Leon's ex-girlfriend and is suing for her jewels back. 
- Meanwhile, someone stole the jewels back for Swana.
- After Swana bleakly states the reality of the situation, notice how this breakup is different.  Ninotchka and Leon are matter-of-fact and holding back emotions.
- I love how previously Ninotchka would not drink champagne nor ask for a funny story, and now she does, i.e., she's changed.
- The dialogue peaks when Leon expresses he will never be the same (see below):

INTERIOR, SMART NIGHT CLUB

...SWANA (rubbing it in): It is unfortunate that you have so few more days in Paris. (she turns to Leon) Be sure and redouble your efforts so that madame can take some pleasant memories when she returns to Moscow. (she rises, Leon rising too) Good night. (Ninotchka nods without answering. To Leon) Good night, Leon.

LEON (coldly): Good night, Swana.

Swana leaves the table. Leon sits again. The mood of the two has been changed by the problem of their separation, which has been brought before them. They sit in silence for a moment. Ninotchka speaks first. 

NINOTCHKA: Now I think I need a glass of champagne. 

Leon fills their glasses. They drink. Then Leon takes Ninotchka's hand.

NINOTCHKA (trying to break the mood): Quickly, please...tell me one of your funny stories.

LEON: A funny story?

NINOTCHKA: You never finished the one about the two Scotchmen with the names.

LEON: Well, there were two Scotchmen. One was named McIntosh and one was named McGillicuddy. They met on the street.

He stops.

NINOTCHKA: Go on.

LEON: No, darling. I'll tell you another story, a much better one. (with deep sincerity) The only thing that will be over on Thursday is the lawsuit. There will be no Thursday for us. Not next week or any week. We won't let it happen. I'll tear it out of the calendar. Is that a good story? ["Tear the calendar out" is a beautiful image. What a different way to say he'll never forget her.]

NINOTCHKA (touched): Wonderful -- if one could believe it.

LEON: You must, darling.

NINOTCHKA (lifting her glass): To the loveliest story I ever heard.

They drink. The orchestra starts a number.

NINOTCHKA (afraid of where the conversation may lead): Shall we dance?

They both start toward the dance floor.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: This breakup is so poignant because it's got deep emotional truth that's so graceful, elegant, and amusing too.

The more I read about Lubitsch's work ethic, the more I realize that "how do we say it different?" takes a whole hell of a lot of work.

Ninotchka (1939)(shooting draft)
by Charles Brackett & Billy Wilder and Walter Reisch
Based on the original story by Melchior Lengyel

TODAY'S NUGGET: Love in the Afternoon (1957) - If You're Having Trouble Writing a Romantic Chemistry, It Starts With...

[Quick Summary: The daughter of a detective falls for the playboy that her father is shadowing.]

Q: When creating romantic chemistry, "start with the status quo,"* right?
A; Yes.  It is "what is missing" from the protagonist's life. 

Q: So "what is missing" = the antagonist. 
A: Not exactly.  

Q: Ok, if it's not "getting the guy," then what is it?
A: It is what the protagonist is missing emotionally, which the antagonist may point out or helps her realize. 

Q: What does status quo look like on the page?
A: There's a good example in today's script. 

The writers took their time laying out Ariane's inner and out life.**  She's curious, smart, but feels excluded.

So when she and the playboy hit it off later, we understand why she's so taken by him.  She's included in on a grand adventure, which fills that emotional need.

In this scene from the first ten minutes: 
- We see that Ariane yearns for adventure, love. She is lonely.
- We want to root for her.  She's considerate about her Papa, persistent, curious.
- Note also how humor is used to establish the fun tone, especially Ariane's parting line.

THE OFFICE

Ariane puts the cello aside, gets up, comes into the office. Chavasse has opened the briefcase, and taken out the camera.

ARIANE: I'm worried about you, Papa. You've been working every night.

CHAVASSE: It's my busiest season.

ARIANE: You need a rest, Papa.

CHAVASSE: Thank you, darling, but in my profession -- it's like being a doctor. I have to be on call night and day. A good doctor can never rest -- not until the patient is out of bed.

ARIANE: I never thought of it that way.

CHAVASSE:You shouldn't think of it at all!

ARIANE: Sorry, Papa.

CHAVASSE: How are things at the Conservatory?

ARIANE: So-so. We're rehearsing.

CHAVASSE: Rehearsing what?

ARIANE: A symphony. Haydn's 88th. You see -- I always tell you what I'm doing. But you never tell me what you're doing.

CHAVASSE: That's because I love you. And because I want to protect you from these sordid matters I have to deal with. Now go back to your cello.

ARIANE: Yes, Papa. Wouldn't you like some breakfast?

CHAVASSE: Later. I have some work to do in the darkroom. I'm expecting a client.

He has taken the roll of film out of the camera, now crosses to the door of the darkroom, opens it.

ARIANE: When Mama was alive, I'm sure you discussed your work with her.

CHAVASSE: Your Mama was a married woman.

ARIANE (with affection): I'm so glad.

She goes back to her room.

WHAT I'VE LEARNED: I often worry about taking too long to establish the status quo.  However, this script showed me I should take my time for a great pay off later.

Love in the Afternoon (1957)
by Billy Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond
Based on the novel by Claude Anet

*For more explanation and examples, see Ch. 7 "Structuring Conflict" in Writing the Romantic Comedy (2020, 20th anniversary edition), by Billy Mernit (here).

**I found it interesting to see that it took the writers 36 PAGES before the girl and guy meet in person! Though to be fair, she learns about his situation through her dad and sees his photo early on.