SP 472 American Film History, Week 11

Writing

• What is the writers’ contribution?

• Can you name a screenwriter?

• How many writers work on a film?

• How much is the director and how much is the writer?

Writing

• Reading a screenplay - what is there and what is missing?

Writing• Classical Paradigm

– Dominant narrative structure in American Film

– Protagonist - initiates action

– Antagonist - resists action– Dramatic question - How

does the protagonist get what he/she wants

– Conflict/opposition– Patterns of action - cause

& effect until climax and resolution

Casablanca

Writing– Dramatic unity– Plausible motivations– Coherence– Deadlines help move the

action– Often Classical Narrative is

a journey, chase or search– Protagonist is goal-oriented

- passive characters are not deemed as interesting

Casablanca

Writing

• Screenplay Structure– Three Acts– Act I - Set up– First quarter of the movie– Premise defined– Obstacles laid out

Casablanca

Writing

• Screenplay Structure– Three Acts– Act II – Confrontation– Protagonist fights obstacles– Reversal of fortune in middle

Casablanca

Writing

• Screenplay Structure– Three Acts– Act III - Resolution– What happens as a result

of the climax

Casablanca

Writing• Point of View

– First person narrator– Omniscient point of

view– Third person narrator– Objective point of

view

Writing

• First person narrator– Tells his/her own story

or an objective observer

– Can be reliable or not– Can be the camera

A Clockwork Orange

Writing

• Omniscient point of view– Camera or narrator

is an all-knowing observer like in a novel

– Every time the camera is moved, you are given a new way to evaluate the scene

Writing

• Objective point of view– Variation of

omniscient– Records events

impartially - ideally suited to film

– More “realistic” as there is less distortion

The Passenger

Writing• Non-verbal or

figurative techniques

The Shining & Diane Arbus’ Twins

Writing

• Motifs– Integrated within the

realistic texture of a film

– Anything that is systematically repeated, yet does not call attention to itself - unduly…

Writing• Symbols

Being There

Writing• Symbols

Planet of the Apes & Godzilla

Writing• Metaphor

– A comparison that cannot “literally” be true

– Two items that are not normally together - “devoured be love”

Trainspotting

Writing• Allegory

– Avoidance of realism– Connection between

a character or situation and a symbolic idea or complex ideas

The Seventh Seal

Writing• Allegory

– Avoidance of realism– Connection between

a character or situation and a symbolic idea or complex ideas 8 & 1/2

Writing• Allusion

– Implied reference to a well-know person, event or work of art

Writing• Allusion

– Implied reference to a well-know person, event or work of art

Writing

• Homage– Like a quote or

tribute to a colleague or established master

Battleship Potemkin

Writing

• Homage– Like a quote or

tribute to a colleague or established master

The Untouchables

Writing

Psycho & “Halloween H20

Writing

• Literary adaptations– Loose– Faithful– Literal

Emma

Writing

• Loose

King Lear and Ran

Writing

• Faithful

Writing

• Literal - often reserved for stage plays

Proof - the film and the play

Writing• Some Like It Hot, 1959

– Written & Dir. by Billy Wilder w/Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon & George Raft

– Nominated for 6 Oscars, won 1 ( Best Costume Design)

– Considered one of the greatest comedies of all time

– Rated “Condemned” by the Catholic Legion of Decency & banned in Kansas

Writing

• Billy Wilder, 1906-2002– Started as a screenwriter– Films are very informed by

his European roots– Went on to become one of

the greatest Hollywood directors ever

– Films include: • The Apartment, Double

Indemnity, One, Two, Three, The Lost Weekend. Sabrina, Stalag 17, Sunset Boulevard, Ace in the Hole, The Seven Year Itch, Love in the Afternoon, Witness for the Prosecution

Writing

• Tony Curtis, 1925-2010– Born Bernie Schwartz in

the Bronx– Stalled in costume dramas,

Burt Lancaster became a mentor and helped him break out of being just another pretty face

– Was married to Janet Leigh– Films include:

• The Defiant Ones, Houdini, The Sweet Smell of Success, The Boston Strangler, The Vikings, Spartacus, Operation Petticoat

Tony Curtis on Cary Grant

Writing

• Jack Lemmon, 1925-2001– 7 films with Billy Wilder– Started on Broadway– Best Supporting Actor (Mr.

Roberts) & Best Actor (Save the Tiger)

– Films include:• Mr. Roberts, The Apartment,

Days of Wine & Roses, The Odd Couple, The Out of Towners, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, The China Syndrome, Missing, Glengarry Glen Ross, Grumpy Old Men

Writing

• Marilyn Monroe, 1926-1962– Began as a model which

got her a film contract– Married to Joe DiMaggio &

Arthur Miller– Later studied the Method” at

the Actor’s Studio– Films include:

• All About Eve, The Asphalt Jungle, Niagara, How to Marry a Millionaire, The Seven Year Itch, Bus Stop, The Prince & The Showgirl, Let’s Make Love, The Misfits