The Craft of Scene Writing
Page 35
Intern, The
Interpreter, The: backstory; exposition
Intimacy
It Happened One Night
It’s a Wonderful Life; hook
Janney, Allison
Jaws
Jenkins, Barry
Johansson, Scarlett
Johnson, Don
Jordan, Michael B.
Julie & Julio
Juliet of the Spirits
Juno; subjective approach; tone; visuals
Jurassic Park: scene analysis; setting
Kane, Carol
Kaufman, Charlie
Keaton, Diane: Manhattan; Godfather, The
Kidman, Nichole
Kids
King Kong
Kiss Me Deadly
Kissing Jessica Stein
Kurtz, Swoosie
L.A. Confidential; action scene context; camera work in; character; character orchestration; characterization; dilemma; expectation; reversal; rock bottom; surprise
La Dolce Vita
Lancaster, Burt
Land of the Lost
Lang, Stephen
Langella, Frank
Last Action Hero
Lars and the Real Girl
Last Boy Scout, The
Last Tango in Paris; location; monologue
Law, Jude
Lawrence, Jennifer
Lawrence of Arabia
League of Their Own, A
Leaving Las Vegas
Lee, Spike
Leigh, Jennifer Jason
Lemmon, Jack
Leo, Melissa
Leonard, Robert Sean
Lethal Weapon: action descriptions; character insight; character introductions; expectation; surprise
Levitt, Joseph Gordon
Levi, Zachary
Levine, Ted
Liar Liar; concept logline; exposition; hook; nonverbal dialogue in
Limitless: concept logline; drugs in
Location
Logistical constraints
Lohan, Lindsay
Long Goodbye, The
Looper
Lord of the Rings trilogy: foil characters; mirror characters
Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring: stumbling in
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; action; scene analysis; schizo moment
Lost in Translation
Love & Other Drugs: character growth in; creative counterpoint
Lucy
M
Ma Vie en Rose
MacGuffin. See props
MacLaine, Shirley
Madsen, Virginia
Maggiorani, Lamberto
Makavejev, Dušan
Maltese Falcon, The; prop
Mamet, David
Man Trouble
Man Up; doomed romance in
Manhattan
Manic Pixie Dream Girls (MPDG)
Mara, Rooney
M*A*S*H
Mastrantonio, Mary Elizabeth
Maze Runner
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
McLintock!; character; characterization; reversal; surprise
McMillan, Kenneth
meet-cute
Memento: concept; setup; theme line
Menochet, Denis
Metropolis
Mezrich, Ben
Mi Vida Loca
Midnight Cowboy: costume and wardrobe; title
Midnight in Paris: ending; location; opening
Micheaux, Oscar
Midnight Cowboy
Milk
Million Dollar Baby
Miracle in Milan
Mise-en-scene
Mission Impossible: dramatic irony; props
Moby Dick
Modine, Matthew
Momentum
Moneyball: dialogue; set-piece scene; subtext
Monroe, Marilyn
Mood
Moonlight; action
Moore, Mandy
Mortensen, Viggo
Mothlight
Motifs; definition of
Mr. and Mrs. Smith; subtext
Mulholland Drive
Mulroney, Dermot
Murphy, Cillian
Murphy, Donna
Murphy, Eddie
Murray, Bill; Caddyshack; Lost in Translation
My Best Friend’s Wedding; action description; character; cheat; exaggerated importance; expectations; exposition; location; reversal; script draft of; structure and character; visuals
My Dinner with Andre
Mystery versus suspense
Mystic Pizza: beats; concept; monologue in
Napoleon Dynamite
Narrative; goal-oriented; reality and
Nashville
Neill, Sam
Neorealism
Network
Newman, Paul
Nicholson, Jack: Batman; Duplicity; Man Trouble
Night of the Hunter; visuals
Night of the Living Dead; casting
No Country for Old Men; theme
Nolan, Christopher
Nolan, Jonathan
Nolte, Nick
North by Northwest
Nosferatu; visuals in
Nutty Professor, The
O’Toole, Peter
Officer and a Gentleman, An: character tracking; meet-cute; obstacle course scene
Oldman, Gary: The Dark Knight; True Romance
On the Waterfront: communication; dialogue; dialogue, repetition
Once Upon a Time in the West: beat, reaction to; dialogue; scene analysis; subtext; visual responses
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One-take style
Orphanage, The
Oscar Winners
Outlines
Owen, Clive
Pacing
Pacino, Al: Dog Day Afternoon; Heat; Godfather, The; Serpico
Page, Ellen: Juno; Tallulah
Paltrow, Gwyneth
Pan’s Labyrinth
Parallax View
Paranormal Activity
Pasolini, Pier Paolo
Patriot Games
Pearce, Guy: L. A. Confidential; Memento
Peck, Gregory
Pegg, Simon
Penn, Sean
Pepper, Barry
Persona
Perspective
Philadelphia
Philadelphia Story, The
Phoenix, Joaquin
Pinky
Pirates of the Caribbean
Pitt, Brad
Platt, Oliver
Plot point
Plot twist
Point of view; narrative; objective; subjective
Pounder, CCH
Pragmatic intentions
Precious
Preston, Kelly
Princess Bride
Prometheus
Proposal, The
Props; charging; definition of; extension of character via; theme and
Pullman, Bill
Pulp Fiction: concept; props
Purple Rose of Cairo
Raging Bull
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Ransom
Rapace, Noomi
Rashomon
Reeve, Christopher
Reilly, John C.: For the Love of Game; Step Brothers
Remains of the Day, The
Repulsion
Requiem for a Dream
Reservoir Dogs
Reversals; in action; in climax; opposites
Rewriting; action descriptions; big-picture perspective; character; character arc; character, introduction to; character orchestration; character, questioning; climax; conflicts; definition of; dilemmas; ideas; lining everything up; location; motifs; ripple effect; rock bottom; scenes; structure; visuals
Reynolds, Ryan
Ribisi, Giovanni
Rifkin, Ron
Roberts, Julia: Duplicity; Erin Brockovich; My Best Friend’s Wedding
RoboCop
Rockwell, Sam
Rocky; location; theme
Rodrig
uez, Michelle
Rollerball
Romance
Rope
Rosemary’s Baby
Rosenblatt, Jay
Rourke, Mickey
Rudolph, Maya
Ruffalo, Mark
Ryan, Meg
Sarandon, Susan
Saving Private Ryan
Scene: advanced scene writing; backbone; brunt of; clarity; communication; definition of; dialogue, length of; division of information; dramatic irony; duration; final story question; goal; length; logic; mystery versus suspense; narrative point of view; nuance; parentheticals; point of; sequence versus; set-piece; single action; small unit; story density; structure; stumbling; subtle; Writing Rule #1; Writing Rule #2; Writing Rule #3; Writing Rule #4
Scenes from a Marriage
Schindler’s List; characters
Schulman, Tom
Scott, Tony
Scream: motif; scene analysis; setup
Searchers
Sequence: definition of; scene versus
Serkis, Andy
Serpico; clarity; dilemma; setup
Setting; character’s interaction with; kitchens; set-piece scene; theme
Setups; subtext; surprise and
Se7en: character growth; closing scene; motifs; opening scene; props; rock bottom; setting; title; visuals
Seven Pounds
Seydoux, Lea
Sex, Lies, and Videotape; props in
Shakespeare, William
Shakespeare in Love
Shallenberger, Matt
Shane
Shaw, Robert
Sheen, Martin
Sheen, Michael
Shields, Willow
Shutter Island
Sideways; concept; reframe; scene analysis
Silence of the Lambs; gender in
Silent films
Simon, Neil
Singin’ in the Rain
Sixth Sense, The; end; setting; surprise
Sizemore, Tom
Skarsgard, Stellan
Slater, Christian
Sleepless in Seattle: dilemma; theme
Sleepy Hollow
Smashable
Smell of Burning Ants, The
Smith, Kurtwood
Social Network, The; dialogue; opening scene
Some Like It Hot
Something Wild
Sorkin, Aaron
Spacey, Kevin: L.A. Confidential; Se7en
Spec script
Speed
Spellbound
Spielberg, Steven
Stagecoach
Stagnation
Stakes, tangible
Star Wars: characters; characters, mirror; climax; concept; growth; scrawl; theme
Status quo assumptions
Steiger, Rod
Step Brothers
Stone, Emma
Stone, Oliver
Streep, Meryl
Strode, Woody
Stumbling; source of
Style
Subplots
Subtext; of a beat; capturing; as surprise
Sunset Boulevard; final line
Superbad; character growth in; character insight; creative counterpoint; ending; opening scene
Superman: The Movie; concept logline; dilemma; expectation; fainting and recovery scene; mugging scene; scene analysis; setup; surprise; “wild guess” line
Surprise; change; in climax; in comedy; essence of; expectation and; finding; frustration and; linking; opposites; setup; as subtext; three rules for creating and evaluating; “who is at the door” question
Suspense: creating; mystery versus
Sutherland, Donald
Swanson, Gloria
Sweetie
Synecdoche
Tallulah
Tangled: stumbling in; character arc; dilemma
Tarantino, Quentin
Taxi Driver
Taylor, Lili
Terms of Endearment
Thelma & Louise
Thematic intentions
Theme; assumptions about; definition of; dialogue and; double entendres; summations
Theme lines
There Will Be Blood
13th
Thomas, Kristin Scott
Thomas Crown Affair, The; action description; cheats
Three Days of the Condor
Thurman, Uma
Tian, Valerie
Tin Cup; body language in; clarity; “regulars” in; scene analysis
Titles
To Kill a Mockingbird: theme line
To Sleep with Anger
Tomei, Marissa
Tone
Tootsie; comic premise
Town, The
Toy Story 3
Training Day
Transitions
Travelators
True Romance: beat; beat, goal of; beat outline; cheats; dialogue; dialogue as action; expectation; interrogation scene; pacing; reversal; scene analysis; twist
Turning point
12 Angry Men; hook
28 Days Later: dilemma; expectation; surprise; theme
h Hour
2001: A Space Odyssey; transitions
Twist. See plot twist
Umberto D
Unforgiven; theme
Up
Upham, Misty
Usual Suspects, The
Vertigo
Visuals; adverbs; action description; as, while, and participles; blocking; charging; cheats; context; density and detail; directing on the page; efficiency and clarity; essence of climax; figures of speech; fragments; initial function; language of; passive voice; rewriting; setup; wrestling with words for clarity and efficiency
Voice of the script: beginning; ending; genre and beyond; managing expectations; personal; your voice
Voight, Jon
Von Stroheim, Erich
Walken, Christopher
Wall Street
Wall-E
Waltz, Christoph
Wardrobe; extension of character via; state of
Wayans, Damon
Weaver, Sigourney: Avatar; Ghostbusters
Wedding Banquet, The
Weekend
Weir, Peter
Wendy and Lucy
Wenham, David
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
When Harry Met Sally
“who is at the door” question
Who’s Afraid of Virginia
Woolf
Wiig, Kristen
Wild Strawberries
Wilder, Billy
Williams, Robin: Dead Poets Society; Good Will Hunting
Willis, Bruce
Wilson, Owen
Winger, Debra
Wizard of Oz, The
Wonder Woman
Wong Kar-Wai
Wooley, Sheb
Worthington, Sam
Wrestler, The; dilemma; visuals
Wright, Robin
Wrinkle in Time, A
Writing: action descriptions; adverbs; as, while, and participles; balancing modes; blocking; breaking the rules; brevity; character’s thoughts; cheats; closed mode; concept; context; deleting; density and detail of an action scene; directing on the page; efficiency and clarity; essence of climax; expressionistic style; figures of speech; final polish; finding the proper mode; fragments; free; initial function of an action scene; language of; medium, discovering you; minutia; open mode; orphans; passive voice; rewriting; scene, advanced; sentence fragments; setup of an action scene; small picture approach; subjective style; visuals; voice drafts; wrestling with a single word; wrestling with words for clarity and efficiency
X
X-Men series
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
JIM MERCURIO is a writer, author, screenwriter, and filmmaker. He has directed or produced five feature films and helped countless writers as a teacher, story analyst, and script doctor.
Jim directed the horror/thriller Last Girl, which won Best Feature at Texas DOA Film Festival. Jim produced Hard Scrambled, starring Kurtwood
Smith (That ’70s Show), which won best dramatic feature at Garden State Film Festival. He wrote and directed the bonus material for the film Making Hard Scrambled Movies—a two-hour seminar on making indie films—which The Washington Post called “a must for would-be filmmakers.”
While receiving his Masters of Arts in Film from the University of Michigan, he won a Hopwood Award in screenwriting, one of the most prestigious college writing awards in the country. Past recipients include Arthur Miller and Lawrence Kasdan.
One of the top screenwriting educators in the country, Jim has directed more than forty DVDs on the craft of screenwriting, including his own six-disc Complete Screenwriting: From A to Z to A-list. He was a star speaker at the Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles and was invited by Disney to teach story at SIGGRAPH in Boston.
Creative Screenwriting magazine ranked him as one of the top screenplay consultants in the country. His clients range from beginners to Emmy-winning and Oscar-nominated A-list filmmakers. To attend one of Jim’s workshops or work with him one on one, visit his site at www.jamespmercurio.com.