Research: On collaboration...

"How The Kingdom Came
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola recall their collaborative process in scripting Moonrise Kingdomand explain why, for them, writing dialogue is like a musical experience.

Written by Rob Feld

(January 25, 2013)"

http://www.wga.org/content/default.aspx?id=5167

Research: On humor...

My takeaway tonight was from a lecture not a film: that funny is the unexpected.

Is that true? Sometimes. 

Richard Saul Wurman had this to say at tonight's lecture (among other riveting topics):

Woody Allen said: "80 is the new dead"
Clearly funny.

Wurman said: "79 is the new 77"
But no one laughed. Unexpected, yes. Funny, not necessarily.

Incorporating humor in the script is perhaps my biggest fear and weakness. Perhaps I need to think about the rules of improv - the circumstance creates the funny, and it's often the unexpected.

Ughghg.  

Research: Transitions

Quick read tonight...

Takeaway: convenient transition from Clementine reading a letter to the actual scene referred to in letter. 

It will be interesting to map out transitions - abrupt, adjoining, connected, etc. 

Research: Stranger than Fiction

I started reading Stranger than Fiction tonight. Brilliant. It's just so good. Clever and meta. Witty and whimsical. Dramatic and tragic. It literally had me laughing out loud.

So much to learn here.

Today's quick takeaway: Immediate hook when the narrator mentions this a story about Harold, and his wristwatch. All within the first page of script.

More to come...

Research: Good tagline example

The Giant Mechanical Man: What if only one person understands your art?


Asides:
(the symbolism of the zoo with caged animals is a great location for Janice and Tim)

(did you know that Lee Kirk, writer and director, and Jenna Fisher, actor and producer, met through this script, fell in love, and are now married? I just came discovered that while searching scripts)

(meaning of the film revealed: Janice and Tim attend an engagement party. The bride to be's speech is also one of the central's points of the film: It only takes one person to make you feel appreciated and that you belong. Paraphrased)

Research: Meta and the Velveteen Rabbit

A few more pages of Eternal...

Takeaway: I love the use of a story or reference within the story that points to or reveals some larger meaning. For example, in one of Joel's memories, Clementine talks about the book the Velveteen Rabbit. Her reference is about the rabbit, but she is really describing the whole point about the film, the main message about relationships:

"It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

Brilliant, isn't it? 

Research: Universal truths

Continuing to read Eternal. I've been tied up at a conference all week, so I've only been able to read a few pages each night.

Tonight's takeaway (elementary but still important): Most stories reveal the same truths but under different circumstances. In this case, it's the reality of relationships but revealed through an unusual story where one can erase one's memory. The same dialogue could have been in any movie (not to diminish the dialogue here, it's quite good), but it's set in these surreal scenes. For example, what Joel once found charming in Clementine is now annoying as the relationship progresses. Or, the jealousy Joel has upon learning Patrick is seeing Clementine.

Universal truths or common realities or shared fears.

Might be an interesting experiment to take the same dialogue of a movie (word for word) and place in a new setting....

Research: Dialogue note

Busy day - 14 hour work day!

Managed to still read a few more pages of Eternal...

Takeaway: good dialogue can reveal so much in just one quick exchange (Clem and Joel after drunk driving example). Saying something hurtful then immediate regret. So much action, so much movement and character development in such a rapid exchange.

Research: Split Screen

Read more of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Downloaded two more scripts. 

Takeaway: use of split screen and use of voice from one scene over action in another 

Research: After the first draft...

After the first outline and the first draft, I should re-read this as a reminder about the importance of narrative, storytelling, and character  development. I could do without the complaining, indulgent tone of the article, but it makes many good points.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/its-okay-if-you-didnt-like-boyhood_b_6694772.html

Research: Reading screenplays

I read the first half of the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind today. One of my favorite films.

A few of my notes:

• The writing is clever. With simple, short descriptions about the ways that Joel and Clementine order coffee, we really see their characters and personalities. 

• Reading scripts that I am familiar with is helpful to show how the words on the page created the movie on screen. However, I think I also need to read scripts for films that I haven't yet seen. In reading Eternal, I am so enamored with the film that I bring that favorable bias to bear on the script. The foreshadowing is easy to spot. The character traits are easily seen. However, when sharing a screenplay with a potential producer, they don't have the luxury of such a favorable bias. They are reading it as words on a page, completely new, rather than words on a page that connect with a finished film.

• Clementine is fascinating from the start. She is in stark contrast to Joel (orange hair vs gray suit, outspoken vs mumbling, brave vs timid, inconsistent vs consistent, unpredictable vs predictable, colorful vs blank). Her character makes me want to turn the page, but especially to discover what has drawn these two characters together. 

http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Unprocessed/eternal-sunshine-script.pdf

Research: Writing a Killer Script

My takeaways from this article: http://www.stylist.co.uk/stylist-network/how-to-write-a-killer-script

• "Depending on how complex your story is, it (the outline) could be three to 10 pages of running copy set out in sections"

• Keep notes (if you have a change, just add it to notes for the re-write).

• Don't be afraid of a terrible first draft.

• 8 to 12 weeks for writing. Ideally with one week of downtime, then revisit for last edits.

• Emotional movement in every scene. Character's emotion should move/change. 

• If it doesn't move the story forward, delete. 

• Developing characters. Four character traits (drives action and reactions) 

Research: The Royal Tenenbaums

Last month I read "The Royal Tenenbaums" script. Brilliant. Beautiful. Perfect.

http://rushmore.shootangle.com/academy/films/tenenbaums/library/the_royal_tenenbaums_script.pdf