MUSING #40 - Reading for Inspiration

MUSE: Reading the STRANGER THAN FICTION script.  

MUSING: I am setting a goal of reading more scripts. At least two a week. I love reading scripts and have reminded myself to more often, but I don’t make enough time in my schedule to do so. I can be a slow reader (especially if it’s something well-written that I want to absorb) and unlike a book, I like to read a script in one sitting. I most often read scripts at the beginning of a project or during the editing process. At the beginning I look for scripts that relate in tone and genre of my idea. I want to be reminded how comedy translates on the page and the pacing of physical comedy verses verbal comedy. I also like seeing how a writer creates the visuals of the scene - the best find a balance between details and minimalism, painting exactly what they see in as little words as possible. And in their own specific voice. When I read scripts during my editing process, I look at these aspects again, as well as the ways writers break the rules. Or if their rule breaking doesn’t work, why, and how can I do it better? In the case of the best scripts, how does something that seems to break the rules actually follow them perfectly? 

Today I had planned to read THE CURRENT WAR, which I watched the other night. It is about the conflicts between Edison, Westinghouse, and Tesla as they invented the electrical systems that power our modern world. I feel there are many parallels with that script and mine: historical/biopics that take place course over multiple years and have multiple main events rather than one large climax - also there is an unconventional antagonist. In my film the antagonistic force is a combination of the media (represented by the reporters and the Washington Post owner Edward McLean) and other leaders that choose power over duty. They are not necessarily fighting my protagonist directly, but their actions do negatively effect the world he is striving to help. In THE CURRENT WAR, the three protagonists are antagonists to each other, each battling to be the main inventor/supplier of electricity to the United States.  Though this film is a drama, I hoped reading the script would help me edit the pacing of my Act 3, which feels like a second Act 2 at the moment. Unfortunately I can’t find it online. But I did stumble upon the script for STRANGER THAN FICTION (written by Zach Helm), which is one of my favorite films. 

I think I love the script even more than the film now. The narrative voice is so fun and interesting, and there are multiple thematic through-lines that I hadn’t noticed in the film. Overall, it was an enjoyable read that paints the visuals very well while not being too wordy, and left me with a hopeful message about love and life. Plus it made me laugh out loud. That’s the kind of work that I want to make! It also didn’t have a traditional antagonist figure (spoilers ahead!) since the writer that is narrating the protagonist’s life, and ultimately scripts his death, isn’t doing so in a malicious way. She has no idea that what she is doing is effecting an actual person.  She means him no harm, and yet her decisions lead to massive harm. But also positive growth. If she hadn’t started writing his life as a tragedy that ultimately ends in his death, than he wouldn’t have broken free of his mundane routine to actually start living his life. It’s rather brilliant. Though there is a fair amount of philosophy about life in the story, none of it feels heavy handed, possibly because of the comedic tone and absurdity of the situation (which never is fully explained, but we aren’t left feeling that it needs to be… it just is). 

I would love to write a script like this, and will one day. But for now I am focusing on this round of edits to SILENT CAL. So what have I learned from STRANGER THAN FICTION to assist me with my script. The main thing is to have it be a fun read. I’ve been very focused on the beats and arc of the story, but I want it to flow as well. STRANGER THAN FICTION jumps between the protagonist and the writer multiple times, which is similar to how I jump between Calvin’s action and the reporters. But I feel I can make them connect more. In STRANGER THAN FICTION, the authors story is based on her struggle to write and figure out how she is going to kill the protagonist. This goal is not hidden from us, or even the protagonist. Perhaps I can make my reporters goal clearly to write badly about Calvin… or at least all politicians. They don’t care what good the leaders are doing, they only care what headlines they can make (so they are putting words over action, which is the opposite of Calvin’s mission). Calvin pushes forward, no matter the bad press. He focuses on the work at hand. But when he is face to face with the Media Boss, McLean, he falters by using neither words or action to protect his wife. This is a low for him, from which his wife says he needs to speak up when he has a chance, especially now that he has this platform. After this point, we see him going on speaking tours around the country (we see it, but still don’t hear him speak). But in a way this feels like he has become what he most feared - a leader that says more than he does. It isn’t until he is given the opportunity of becoming president that he can truly take action. But right now that action is talked about more than it is shown (by the Radio personality Will Rogers). Maybe that’s why my third act feels off - it needs to amp up in action and pace. In STRANGER THAN FICTION the protagonist’s action literally speeds up as he races to reach the author before she writes the words that will kill him. This action is met with a solemn decision and the pace slows down as he meets his inevitable end… or so he thinks. So I need to figure out how to heighten the action at the top of my Act 3. Not only in pace but also in my protagonist’s actions/decision making. As of now, it’s more fate doing the propelling forward. How can I make him take more control? I ask the question, but I don’t have the answer yet. I think I’ll dive into the rewrites concerning the reporters and reflect on the ending as I work.