'Untitled Chef Project' - Script Review

Post based on 'Untitled Chef Project' by Steven Knight; draft dated July 25, 2007.

This script has neither stars nor a director attached to it. I do not even know if its in production with any movie company right now. Adam, is the manic and obsessive chef of a two-star  restaurant in paris He is also a drug-addict with a big debt to some shady drug dealers. So, four pages into the script Adam has a breakdown and just vanishes. A few month later he appears in New York and sets out to open up a new restaurant and win his third Michelin Star. He assembles a crew, renovates a restaurant, but it doesn't take long until his past catches up with him. To win his third-star Adam not only has to fight cocky restaurant critics, rival chefs, but also overcome his inner demons.

The script was a good read. The ambition and motivation of the main protagonist really drove the story. Although I found most characters to be rather bland, they all had to fullfill one very specific plot role (the love interest, the foe, etc.) and did so rather nicely.

Note to myself: After reading the script and traveling with these characters for a while, I noticed a  definite change in the main character. In these last scenes the protagonist gained a new side and was better for it. So, it was a journey that was worthwile, not only for Adam but also for me, the reader. My hero should transform to a better version of himself - that makes the time spent with him satsifying.

Do you think a movie can work without ambition driving it? Or without the characters changing? What is your opinion on this script? I am looking forward to reading your comments.

Have a nice day,
- Tristan

References: none

'The F-Word' - Script Review

Post based upon: The F-Word written by Elan Mastai; based on the play “Toothpaste and Cigars” by T.J. Dawe and Michael Rinaldi; draft dated November 28, 2007.

Welcome back for the second entry in my script review series. Today I present to you the romantic comedy 'The F-Word' by Elan Mastai. Like almost every rom-com this is about a boy falling for a girl and all the consequences that arise from that. Casey Affleck ('Gone, Baby, Gone', ' The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford') will play the hopeless romantic, while his female counterpart is not casted yet. It will be directed by Alex Holdridge ('In Search of a Midnight Kiss'). 

What can I say? I am in love with this script! Madly, deeply in love. It is the kind of script everybody hopes to write - and then to read these lines lets me lose all my hope, as I fear I will never write anything this good.

As you might have deduced from my opening paragraph this not your typical Heigl-Aniston-rom-com-fare. This is a story about real love and about the inability to speak about this love. This script is genuinely funny and witty. Not one line is akward or misplaced. 

I really can not tell you more about the plot, as the story of 'The F-Word' does not differ too much from the >boy meets girl, boy can not have girl, boy gets girl< pattern. 

So why is this script so damn good? The characters come alive on the page. I don't know when I was that emotionally invested into a screenplay. While I was reading the script, something miraculous happend: Elan Mastai let me feel their love, their longing to be with the other one. It only took a few pages and I knew Chantry and Wallace had to be together forever!

Note to myself: I do not have to invent a new, crazy plot. The oldest story will work if my characters a vivid and real. The key to interesting characters is the dialogue. It has to be characteristic and specific in order to work.

So, have you read the script and fell in love too? Or did you hate it? I want to hear your discussions in the comments...

Have a nice day,

- Tristan

References: JoBlo.com;

'R.I.P.D' - Script Review

This post is based upon the script: R.I.P.D by Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi; Revisions by Brian Koppelman & David Levien; Current Revisions by Phil Hay & Matt Manfredi; Based on the graphic novel by Peter Lenkov; dated September 2009.


Hi, all you out there!
Here the first entry in a new series. To get a better insight into movie screenwriting I started reading movie scripts a long time age. But I can not write extensive multi-part features about every script I read. In this series called 'Script'ed', I want to publish short reviews of some of the scripts I read. As in my movie discussion I will highlight what worked for me and what did not, as well as point out what I took out of the reading experience for me as an aspiring script writer. Of course I can not compete with sites, like ScriptShadow, but perhaps you will appreciate the short format and my own point of view.

I will start things off with R.I.P.D. The script will be produced by Universal Pictures, with Robert Schwentke (Flight Plan) directing the story about a murded cop who gets the chance to work for the Rest In Peace Department in his afterlife. Together with his crazy partner, he attempts to stop the man who killed him, from killing his wife (widow?). The do-gooder police officer will be played by Ryan Reynolds (Buried, upcoming The Green Latern), while his crazy partner is played by Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover, Due Date). The film is scheduled for a 2012 release.

What worked (for me):

- The hook ist just genius! Outside of the normal perception of everybody dead people live among us. It makes for great jokes and stunning visuals, although the script has it's problems explaining everything and still is kind of shaky sometimes.

- The side-kick played by Zach Galifianakis could easily be the craziest and funniest person in a summer blockbuster 2012. 

What did not work (for me): 

The end was kind of a dissapointment. I don't want to spoil it for you, but i was kind of dissapointed.

The main protagonist was so bland! Really, like boring, you know.  Additionally, his marriage, which is his major motivation throughout the movie, feels forced and unnatural. There are only a few lines of script shared between husband and wife before he is killed, so I wan't really invested in their relationship.

Note to myself: I get the feeling, a really good end is the hardest thing to write. Readers (and viewers alike) build up a lot of expectations and will be dissapointed, if the end is not what they hoped for. Especially when an end seems so open, that it was probably written with the next installment in mind. I should write an end without the fear of the consequences! To what end is the story leading up? How can I satisfy the expectations of the viewers, but still surprise them?

I had a lot of fun reading R.I.P.D. and writing this post. Do you have any questions regarding the script? What is your opinion of this script?

Have a nice day,

- Tristan

References: IMDb;

'Legend of the Guardians' - ... On Building a World

by Tristan Mahlow

Hi there,

another movie night, another movie I have to write about. Yesterday we watched 'Legends of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole'. I found it to be rather 'meh' - which is a problem of the story being rather bland and typical. 

But the topic of this blogpost is the building of worlds. Every movie creates a parallel universe with its own set of rules. The story is grounded in this reality and has to adhere to them. In my opinion, the viewer has to know theses rules before any emotional resonance can be achieved. 

One example from the movie: After being kidnapped the protagonist is forced to be a 'Picker' - there is a lot of screaming and the music swells dramaticly and we, the viewers, found ourselves to be wondering what's going on - something bad probably. Of course all characters in the movie might know what exactly a 'Picker' is, but the audience is left hanging and so instead of fearing for the protagonist, we get lost until the next scenes resolve the question why becoming a 'Picker' is so bad. There are a few other examples of this throughout the movie.

The described example is the opposite of 'Dramatic Irony", which creates tension, because the viewer knows more than the character(s) and anticipates the future outcome.

Note to myself: The viewer has to know the rules of the universe the movie is set in - only then he can fear and hope for the characters.

[Apparently, with this and 'Sucker Puncher' Zack Snyder's 'Style over Substance' - Approach comes tumbling down on him. I fear the worst for his Superman reboot.]

Have a nice day,

Tristan

References: Wiki; IMDb (7/10); Rotten Tomateos (51%);