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Nashville Independent Film Festival Seminar - June 2002
TO SHOOT OR NOT TO SHOOT, WHAT A QUESTION!
a.k.a. Is Your Script Really Ready??
or
It's A Personal Film! You're
Not SUPPOSED To Understand It! "The fact that no one understands
you does not make you an artist."
bumper sticker
All
will be on my website. willakers.com
Miramax looked at 300 finished
feature films last year. They bought three. Finished feature films means they
were shot, edited, scored, answer printed. Done. In the garage, and they didn't
get bought. How many films are submitted? 936 short narrative, feature,
documentaries
NIFF shows about 10%
less than 2% in short narrative in
SF festival Why? Tough question. Simple
but grim answer, which I will repeat: "Just because it's of interest to you,
doesn't mean anyone else is going to care." The worst thing
you can do is waste time and money! Don't find out at the screening you should
have done five more drafts of your script! Bad karma.
If you
raise money and blow it, it poisons the well for the next filmmaker. Be responsible.
If you make this film, will you be hated by younger filmmakers? *GENERAL This
is very, very difficult stuff.
Patti Smith / 10,000 Maniacs discussion. Why
are you worried about shooting in 16 or 35, God forbid, if the story's not there?
No shortage of good looking films.
Sound, lighting, production design,
actors, SPFX... so what? Rewriting costs you nothing.
Rewriting
once you've shot, which is called editing, is brutally expensive.
Throw a scene
out on paper, not on film or tape. Ugh.
###
Shorts
are the same as features. Only shorter. Same elements. What I say is interchangeable. Anything
I say may be wrong. Except this: The only rule: You cannot be boring.
You don't have to worry about anything else. Problem, with independent
filmmaking, is you have total control.
What's boring TO YOU doesn't count. You
have to remember the audience. Just because you think it's a great
idea doesn't always mean it's a great idea. *IDEA
What were they thinking? Most important. If
this isn't there, all else is a waste of time. On X-FILES, a writer
would sometimes work 10 hours a day for five to six months to come up with one
idea that would become an episode. For God's sake, have something
to say.
Why do you want to write? Why are you passionate? Why make a film if
YOU have nothing to say? Just because you took the time to make it,
is anyone going to want to see it? Really and truly? Just because
you've managed to extract $700,000 from dentists, doesn't mean you're going to
be able to sell the final product. Why would anyone other than your
backers want to see your film? And you have to be harsh here. In what way does
your story provide a viewer something they can relate to in some way?
It's
NOT about camera and lighting and can we get a steadicam... Is your
idea a good idea?
Is your idea a stupid idea?
When you tell people, what
do they say?
Do they get enthusiastic or do they say, "That's really interesting." In
writing, learn to understand something that is bothering you. You'll be richer
for it. When you pick a topic, think about "what are you fighting to understand?" Yourself.
Not your biography. Your feelings. Emotions. Write about your feelings. Use them
to develop your theme. Billy Bob Thornton made faces and came up with the character
in SLING BLADE. Ask yourself... has it been done before? Has it been
done better? Can I make it mine?
Can you get people thinking?
Can you make
them angry?
Is the idea cinematic? Is it dramatic, visually?
Is there
a visual image of what the story is about? CHINATOWN is about water. Does
the hero (and us) learn something worth knowing? Make it ABOUT something.
THE scene or line that is the core of the movie. SHOW CLIP FROM
CINEMA PARADISO 2:16 As we move to character, keep in mind: Is
it a movie? Does it MOVE? Are the stakes high enough in your story?
Life
& death, losing a kingdom, going to prison
ORDINARY PEOPLE -- it's about
world domination
JAMES BOND
The hero must be in jeopardy, the crusher, harm's
way. Read Clear and Present Danger then see the video. Jack Ryan doesn't even
go to South America in the book. "The first draft of everything
is shit."
Hemingway Work it work it work it. Don't be satisfied.
FACE-OFF,
35 drafts. X-MEN, 100. 1.) Your hero must be active. They must seize
control of the action, their problem, their destiny and struggle without cease
until they have triumphed over the Bad Guy. A hero who is not active will never
engage the audience or the reader. THE FUGITIVE never gives up. No matter what
problems are thrown at him, he finds a solution and continues the struggle. A
passive main character is a one way ticket to Palookaville. 2.) Your
hero must have a well defined problem. We need to know basically what is going
on very quickly. They really only need one main problem, as that is what the movie
is about. Keep it simple. One problem.
3.) Their problem must be interesting
to an audience. 4.) Hero must solve his/her own problem. They can
have allies, but in the final battle, the hero faces down the forces of evil (eeevil
if you're English) on their own. *CHARACTER Rule
Number One:
Make it appeal to actors. They have to want to play the role.
Even
for free. Especially for free!
Tape this to your monitor because this is what
you're writing: "Actor bait." "I almost always begin
with a character and work from there. Whenever I try to begin with a concept as
opposed to a character I end up getting stuck. Otherwise, I don't have enough
to work from in order to create a COMPLEX story about COMPLEX people. If you know
your characters really well you always have TOO MUCH material to work with. If
you're just trying to service a concept it's just a matter of making up things
that happen. It doesn't matter WHO it's all happening to. It's like porno."
Scott
Frank, GET SHORTY
Screenwriting has to be externalize. No interior
monologues. What you say, has to be on the screen. Cultivate ways to show the
audience what's going on in the character's head. In action.
A character
is what he does. When Mrs. Mulwray is nervous, she lights a cigarette,
and she's already got one going. Shows her internal state. You find ways to reveal
action. In THE COMPANY OF MEN, a man steals change from his friend.
A character can say, "I volunteer all the time. I make meals for the
homeless, etc." She's promoting herself. But if you see her going into a
soup kitchen and peel potatoes... you define her as charitable without having
to go into detail about it.
Who is main character?
What do they
want? -- what propels them through the movie, pursuing a goal, active.
Why
are they having trouble getting it? -- obstacles you are throwing in the way. Best
description of how to set up a character comes from the Rolling Stones: "You
can't always get what you want, but if you try sometimes, you just might find,
you'll get what you need." What do they want? this will drive
them through the story.
What do they need? they won't know this, but it's what
we see they need to recognize about themselves. IT'S A WONDERFUL
LIFE. He wants to leave town desperately. Get out of Bedford falls. He needs to
help other people. It has to be strong and will drive the whole
movie. It must also be simple. THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL. She wants to go home. DRIVING
MISS DAISY -- she wants independence and her son wants her not to drive, forces
chauffeur. Deeply conflicted.
Ask a producer from Los Angeles
what she looks for in a script: Is the hero tortured?
Does the character have
a fear?
Character's journey. Do they end up in a different place than they
began? Backstory How do they feel about what happened to them in
the past? Why are they the way they are now? Don't spend a lot of
time talking about it. Iceberg. Layer it through the story, not in a couple of
speeches.
Character doesn't need to be likeable, but character
needs to be fascinating. Richard III was the worst s.o.b. in the
world, driven, dislikable, disgusting. How many times have they made that movie?
RESERVOIR DOGS... who there is likable? They are fascinating. On
SEINFELD, the characters are not likeable. They are funny. Funny is money. BONFIRE
OF THE VANITIES, book is about a sleazy guy... and the movie makes him likeable.
And it went down the tubes. Character must be not be faced with
black and white decisions, but must be faced with moral decision: 1.) I love my
wife but I want to be a priest, 2.) A good man kills a bad one. Do you hang him? Characters
must be in a crucible and whatever decision they make must affect them for the
rest of their lives. It has to be of CRITICAL IMPORTANCE or it won't matter to
the viewer. It also is much much much easier to write.
Last Thought
on Character:
Minor characters.
Make all the characters, even
in small roles, have character. When you finish the first draft,
pull out all the secondary character's dialogue. Make them a character, don't
let them have a function. Make them more interesting. Give them attitude. Have
a waitress bring coffee over, and say "here's your damn coffee." Slim
Pickens character from THE GETAWAY. I saw the film twice, twenty years ago, and
could still quote the guy's dialogue. SHOW CLIP FROM THE GETAWAY
c. 5:30
*BAD GUY
Does
he feel he's the hero of his movie? Is he or she active, taking steps
to get what they want? Not just thinking evil thoughts, but doing
it for a reason. WHY is he doing it? What is his agenda? There should
be an emotional component to what he wants. in SHAWSHANK, he wants
order in the prison
in FERRIS BUELLER, he wants order in the school. ROONEY
What's so dangerous about a character like Ferris Bueller is that he gives
the good kids bad ideas. The last thing I need at this point in my career is fifteen
hundred Ferris Bueller disciples running around these halls. SECRETARY
He's very popular, Ed. Sportos, motorheads, geeks, sluts, pinheads, dweebies,
wonkers, richies, they all adore him. They think he's a righteous dude. ROONEY
That's exactly why I have to catch him this time. To show these kids that
the example he sets is a first class ticket to nowhere.
What
about him punches the Good Guy's button?
Always taking action. Action, counter
action.
In DIE HARD, Hans Gruber drives that story forward. Plus,
he's really, really cool. ORDINARY PEOPLE.
They can do what
they do for good reasons, but it's still bad for hero. The agent
of change. Without opponent, hero will never evolve to who he / she needs to be. In
the clip from SEXY BEAST, before we've even met the opponent, we're scared to
death of him. This is a great character introduction. SHOW CLIP FROM
SEXY BEAST c. 3:00
*CONFLICT
Is
the hero in a ton of trouble? Main questions to ask yourself: 1.
how soon do I know the action?
2. how soon to I know the counter action?
3.
how soon do I know how the tension is building...? Troubles, troubles,
troubles.
Obstacles, obstacles... Middle is when something goes
wrong constantly, not once in a while. It's an obstacle course for hero. Without
dramatic tension, you're out of the ballgame . In REMAINS OF THE
DAY... a subtle example of it, but ingenious. Emma has been trying to be friendly
with Anthony, and she can't lighten him up. She comes into his study, and he's
nervous, and has a book in his hand. She comes over and asks what the book is...
he covers it up and says "Just a book." She asks to read it. He won't
let her see it... huge tension. It keeps you glued to the scene, cause the suppressed
emotional situation is so explosive. It comes through fear of conflict,
not just fear of danger.
*RISING ACTION Lots
of them.
Keep surprising us in interesting ways, but it has to be in their
character.
They have to escalate. FATAL ATTRACTION They
meet. They have sex.
Alex calls at office. This shocks him. Her
apartment. She cooks. He tells her he's not interested in a future.
Her bed.
He has to go. She says she doesn't like it. Rips his shirt. She wants to be told
to fuck off. He tells her. She slices her wrists. His office. Psycho
bitch is back!
Inner office. He tells her that it's over. She's got opera
tickets. He says no. His house. Phone rings. Wife answers. No one
there. Later. Middle of night. She calls. "You won't take my
calls at office. I have no choice. Set meeting place." They
meet. He tells her she needs a shrink. She says she's pregnant. She wants the
child. He wants her to have an abortion. Dan's apartment. Alex is
there, talking with wife about buying the apartment. She's infiltrated his home. Alex's
apartment. He comes. Tells her to stop. She says, "own up to your responsibility."
She wants sex, then says to hit her. Then, she shifts personality again, begs
him to stay, then threatens to tell his wife. "If you tell my wife, I'll
kill you." After he leaves, she calls wife, breathes heavy, hangs up. Parking
structure. His car's trashed.
He gets package, audio tape. She's
on tape, talking about life growing inside her. Crazy. She's very insulting. Come
back to house. Bunny has been boiled. Dan tells wife about Alex.
He packs to leave. Calls Alex, tells her he's told wife. Puts wife on phone, who
threatens to kill Alex. Beth comes to school to pick up child. Gone.
Alex and child at park. Alex's apartment. He attacks her. Threatens
her with knife. Dan locks doors. Beth wipes steam from mirror. Alex
in bathroom! And that battle is her last move... *STRUCTURE
... Through emotions, we identify with the person on the screen. How
can I create events that will force feeling from a character? How
fast do we know what the story is about? Where does the story start?
GET ON WITH THE STORY.
Get rid of as much set up as possible. No opening montage
to meet the character, just start the story.
How late can you start the story? You
or I, first draft:
A couple is mailed a video of them, in their own bed...
eek, scary!
But...
When it's a David Lynch film.
Couple gets
1.)
video tape of outside of their house.
2.) video of the inside of house.
3.)
video of them, in their own bed...
Deliver the information as slowly as possible...
instead of sending #3 video first...
Two weapons: surprise & secrets When
developing the story, ask yourself where the surprises are coming. There have
to be lots of them, and you need to guard them. Don't let them out all at once.
Dribs and drabs is better. Goldman doesn't blow the delightful surprise
that Butch has never killed a man before... it has huge impact. He doesn't tell
it at the beginning, where it would be wimpy. And nowhere in the movie, does Sundance
say, "I come from New Jersey." Until the end, when it is funny. If you've
got some key information, save it. Feed it out on a need to know basis. You're
in the park with a sack of bird seed... you don't just dump the seed on the ground.
You, if you really like to watch birds, you sprinkle it a little at a time, and
you have an interesting experience. If you dumped it out all at once, then the
birds are gone quicker and it's not so interesting. Scenes What
is the emotional point to the scene?
What's the worst thing that can happen,
and not be predictable? Same rules apply. Who is main
character?
What do they want?
Why are they having trouble getting it? How
do you decide what scene to write... Be sure that: 1. to advance
the story
2 increase dramatic tension
3 necessary
4 funny... if it's
funny, the others aren't needed. Drop the curtain sooner. Let the
reader work to figure out what will happen next. Don't give away too much, let
them keep figuring out what is going to happen.
Cut the last two lines
of dialogue. Layering a scene. Put as many different levels of action
in the scene as possible. Allow us to read it three times and still see something
new each time. Two torturers are torturing someone. Fine. But they're also watching
a TV game show... The people in the scene need to be very different
from each other... two characters who are very different, not just a little different,
then add an outside conflict. Now you can write a scene. THROW MOMMA
FROM THE TRAIN -- Danny Devito's coin collection.
*DIALOGUE
re:
REMAINS OF THE DAY dialogue -- Emma asks about the book: "He feels threatened
and she just wants to get close to him." doesn't say, "My, you feel
threatened by my response." Q & A is death. Furniture
Ad dialogue. Bad dialogue: V.I. WARSHOVSKY, SHATTERED Good
dialogue: BODY HEAT PLAY CLIP FROM BODY HEAT c. 4:25 All
language is about your theme. BODY HEAT is sex.
GODFATHER is all about family
and business and honor. Read that dialogue and see how many times they talk about
it. How can you cut it to make it better? Does the
dialogue sound different from character to character?
A-B dialogue.
Subtext Explain
what subtext is. Make the audience work. SHOW CLIP FROM BANDITS The
text is "our marriage stinks and I have no respect for you."
But
they don't write that. They let you figure it out. *** *FINAL
THOUGHTS I asked questions of people who work with the Nashville
Independent Film Festival and the San Fransisco film festival. If
you have a filmmaker in front of you, what do you want to grab 'em and shake 'em
and tell 'em...
Get out of the business completely... So many places the film
can go wrong, and the script is the bone structure of the film. You can have a
good script and make a bad film, but you can't make a good film with a bad script.
You can make a good film from a bad book where SUM OF ALL FEARS is an amazing
film made from a less than amazing book. What stories do you hate
to see
Laundromat... blind date movies, we're sick of a nerdy guy ending up
in a car or an elevator with a cute blonde... competently made films that have
nothing to say. They are looking for personality. Someone has to be speaking from
their heart. If you are going to the trouble to make a film, you should make your
own film, not someone else's. What tells you a film is good, right
away
Has a heart and soul... it can be ineptly made, with bad acting... but
it has to be about something. The beauty of the technique doesn't make up for
no soul.
What tells you a film is bad, right away
Filmmakers think
they have to have something outrageous to grab you... Razzle Dazzle can only take
you so far... no matter how inventive the cutting or angles, you still have to
have a good script behind it.
If you are using the camera mike What
makes a script mediocre...
What the characters are saying, given who they are
and what they are doing, doesn't ring true. Dialogue doesn't seem believable.
And the acting is bad. "Rules" a filmmaker should live
by when approaching his script
Shorts are too long. If it's over ten minutes,
you have to see if it warrants that. If it's 12, cut it to eight. It is a short
after all. You lessen your chances of getting your film in festivals if it's longer.
End it already! Length is not going to impress. Film is not a story
written on paper, like a novel. It's different. It's its own language and that's
what is important, and the screenplay is the basis of it. #### Finally:
If you want someone to watch it, there has to be a reason, and that reason
can't be to be rich and famous. Don't make the reader, at the end
of the script say, What was the point of this? Be prepared to throw
your script away and start another one. Why do you HAVE to make it? Why
should we HAVE to watch it? Don't jerk the rug out from under the
audience. Make the journey to the end at least satisfying for those who took the
journey. When it's over, don't make us say, "Why did they do
that?"
Watch someone read your script. If they turn back to figure
something you, you're in trouble. If you have to explain something to them, you're
toast.
FOUR FINAL THOUGHTS:
1.)
Just because you have a song you can use doesn't mean you should use it.
2.)
Just because you have a crane, doesn't mean you should use it.
3.) If your
actors don't smoke, and the character does, get an actor who can smoke.
and
4.)
Just because you're sick of your script doesn't mean it's finished.
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