Day 28 – Awards Ceremony.

JUNO

• • People don't speak like this, was my first reaction. But the dialogue contributes to the idiosyncratic tone and texture of the film. Cody wrote it with so much confidence and flair that audiences bought it. At first, the dialogue draws attention to itself, but as we are hooked into the story, it no longer distracts. And even though there is a stylistic veneer covering all dialogue, underneath you can easily distinguish the characters by it.
  • ALL CAPS are used to introduce new characters, but also to put emphasis on important props.

INCEPTION

• • The action sequence opens really nicely with the line "And with that, he JUMPS."
  • ACTION VERBS: RAPPELS - SLIDES - JOLTS - SLIPS - FLASHES etc. This is a wonderful way of verbally indicating that this is an intensely visual, kinetic sequence. Aesthetically it may not be pleasing on the page, with all the CAPS, numbers and sluglines, but it is clear, and it gets the energy right.
  • A barrage of slugs (scene headings), as we cut from one location to the next. Despite this, Nolan keeps this sequence active, and moving.

PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN

• • Diegetic music to set the tone. The use of Wagner's Liebestod ("Love Death") is not only thematically on point, it provides a wonderful background for Cassandra's raw emotion.

JURASSIC PARK

• • The scene does not have a full scene heading. IN THE REAR CAR is essentially a secondary heading or secondary slug. This makes action writing a whole lot more elegant to read.
  • Koepp starts the page with BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. How amazing is that! Just like the characters in the movie, we have no idea what this sound means (yet). But it's BIG!

THE WHITE LOTUS

• • In the show, the visuals, audio and music are really important. Not much of this seems present in the script. Some sparse subtext is written in the description, between the dialogue.
  • Mike White breaks a formatting rule in terms of capitalisation, and he uses ALL CAPS for an entire sentence describing the audio, and providing a level of suspense and foreboding to introduce the "SMACH" (sic) cut. I guess you get that this should read SMASH CUT. 

THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD

• • The colour of the pages: blue. In the header it says "Blue Revision", which means it is an early revision of the script while the film's production was already underway. This colouring of drafts is a safe way of making sure all crew are working from the same version.

RATATOUILLE

• • The Pixar team keeps to the maximum of 4 lines of description, as recommended by Dr David Trottier. Brad Bird loves the use of ALL CAPS to highlight elements other than just audio.

THREE BILLBOARDS

• • McDonaugh weaves 3 realities: Mildred's action, Dixon's oblivion, and Willoughby's thematic monologue. Sheer brilliance. The fact that he formats the names in an unorthodox way is never an issue in superbly crafted scripts like this.

GHOST

• • Rubin keeps us in the hero's POV as Sam responds to the scene with denial (the Refusal of the Call), and we - the reader - slowly understand that Sam has entered the real of the ghosts...
  • The initial CUT TO: CLOSEUP - MOLLY is not something you would typically do any longer. The script was written more than thirty years ago. That being said, it still reads quite effectively. And who says you can't set the rules aside briefly for effect?

WINTER'S BONE

• • Most emotionally effective stories and scenes have a strong POV.
  • We're forced into the perspective of the main character, both in terms of world view and physical perception.
  • In today's scene from WINTER'S BONE, writer-director Debra Granik locks us into the POV of Bree.
  • The scene is tense and menacing, as she wakes up to the sight of the imposing hillbilly woman Merab Milton.

THE BIG SICK

• • THE BIG SICK is billed as a comedy, yet this entire page lacks a single joke.
  • The montage may be ironic, but it is not laugh-out-loud funny. And the dialogue at the bottom of the page is not comedic at all.
  • Is this a different type of comedy?
  • If you were to do a count, you'll probably find more moments of pain, hurt and awkwardness than comedy beats. Perhaps THE BIG SICK is really a drama with a funny standup hero, and a light-hearted ending.

CHINATOWN

• • Rather than first writing a static - potentially boring - paragraph detailing the furnishings, Robert Towne dives straight into the action, and dripfeeds the description of the room and the props throughout. This is far more effective, far more enjoyable.

YELLOWSTONE - EMMETT WALSH

• • Emmett Walsh is almost certainly the actor Taylor wanted for the role. When he didn't get him, he kept the name. Who wouldn't be honoured to play a character that was intended for Emmett Walsh?

YELLOWSTONE - ACTION FINALE

• • In mediocre films, action sequences often serve up the repetition of one singular story beat, e.g. the hero fighting the villain in a fist fight, or a chase through a small town.
  • Here, the six minutes are brimming with character moments. Pay attention and you'll see that the sequence contains some payoffs on setups from earlier in the pilot.
  • It is a great example of character-driven action, and it will appeal to an audience broader than just the fans of testosterone-driven visual spectacle.
  • The finale of the sequence is a devastating moment for the Dutton family, and it sets up strong potential for ongoing conflict