Characters and Story - Still King and Queen of Screenwriting!
By WriteMoviesRight, Apr 3 2017 11:21AM
There’s a lot of CGI going on in the world of film right now, but as evidenced by the winners at the Academy Awards this year and most years, characters and story still reign supreme in the world of good screenwriting. Even a spectacular film like Avatar didn’t get a nomination in 2009 for best screenplay, though it got other awards. We are storytellers, story listeners and watchers by nature. Humans like connecting to the tales, maladies and triumphs of others so that we can help to affirm and identify the quality of our lives, by watching the actions of other people through fiction, biographies, news and woefully, some reality television. If you ever doubt this, watch the show Naked and Afraid, and then read some of the reactions to it on discussion threads on the internet.
We constantly compare ourselves to the actions that we see onscreen. Given that same situation, would we be inclined to murder someone like the killer in the film we are watching, or would we rise above our base instincts and be magnanimous, generous, law abiding? If we lost our legs in a war or to a shark attack, would we be strong and still be a good parent, spouse, or would we devolve into self-pity and drink ourselves into a stupor, neglecting our kids and family, resulting in a divorce , a sad life and dying alone. If we drank too much late one night, forgot to put the screen over the lit fireplace, and walked to the store, only to return to a house burned down, with three kids dead and a hospitalized wife, would we recover and live life to its fullest, or would we become a shell of a person, barely able to manage anything that required us to engage in human interaction? And is that self-pity, or self-punishment, or both? These are the questions we, the audience want to explore, and we the Screenwriters want to present to our audience in a strong, thoughtful manner that allows self-examination, self-reflections, and a better understanding of ourselves, and the world we live in.
Let me say at this point, that I am speaking to those who choose to learn and execute the craft of screenwriting, not those who just want to make money in film. There is a lot of popular stuff out there that makes a boatload of money, starting from a script, but they are formulaic and hold and deliver elements that get paychecks, like video game massive, ridiculous fight scenes that go on the entire last act, or clownish characters with over the top delivery. That has little to do with the actual craft of screenwriting, and that is what I’m talking about here - Oscar worthy writing.
Our job as Screenwriters is to understand the range of human emotions available to us to present the case of our character’s lives to our audience, so they can reap the benefits of self-examination through watching the story unfold. That has been the point of plays since before Shakespeare, and films since they were first produced in the late 1800’s. They inspire, deliver cautionary tales, terrify, explain an historical event through accurate account, or a farcical alternate explanation. Films help us dream of the future, in a galaxy far, far away, and see ourselves in the humanity of the non-human characters.
What if we personally don’t know of which we write? What if we have no historical guide to point us in the right direction? What if no book was written that we are adapting? Then we are in the personally uncharted territory of writing an original screenplay, which makes us dependent upon our imagination, our research skills, our heart, our soul, and the characters we develop who will take us and our readers and viewers on a journey.
So what does it take to be good at the craft of writing an original screenplay, and it most certainly is a craft. Well first it takes a good idea, and sound imagination. When I’ve done screenwriting workshops at film festivals, sometimes with hundreds of people attending, inevitably at least once a year, one person in the class would not be taking notes, or they were only half listening. Sometimes they would ask disconnected questions from what I was teaching. I got to know who that person was over the years, and at some point, they would confirm my suspicions. They would find me during a break or if they were brave (or oblivious), during a Q&A session, and begin to tell me the most absurd reason possible for being there. They had a good idea “that would make us both rich” and the only reason they came was because they wanted me to write it. In the beginning, I was shocked at the arrogance of it all, then sad at their low self-esteem that revealed that thought they could not write it themselves. I really didn’t know quite how to react!
It was so bizarre that I could not even get insulted, probably because I was pretty sure that would be lost on them, so I’d politely tell them that I wasn’t interested, and suggested that they get the most out of the class and write it themselves. Usually they would leave, sometimes angry at my stupidity. Over the years, I learned to step back and let the students with legitimate questions who were also shocked take care of it by stepping in with rational questions, after I simply said no thank you. They’d get the point, which was get out of the way of serious craftspeople looking to improve their skills, and they’d simply drift off. I actually had one woman tell the offender that “Some of us came here to learn from her, and as long as you are talking, we can’t hear her talk, and I spent money to do that!” I said nothing. He left, and we got back to the work of screenwriting.
We will assume that if you are reading this, you are not that guy or gal, and you are a professional with some level of confidence that you can do this, even if you haven’t written a word yet. It is after all, a state of mind first.
So for the serious minded, imagination and great ideas are a good thing, but nothing beats hard work! You can have an idea, even a lukewarm idea, and with a clear understanding of the craft and great research skills, it can become an outstanding idea. Inspiration often comes from understanding the subject matter to its fullest, and the more you know, the more room you have as a writer to expand your characters and their activities. The less you know, the more limited you are in telling your characters what they should do, at first, and listening to them as they tell you what they will do, as the process takes you over. That is where you want to be as a screenwriter. That is your zone, but it doesn’t just jump in your lap. You have to work for it and earn it.
How do we do this? I think it comes with the complete understanding that if we do not know something, and that means anything, 100% ourselves firsthand, we must find out more about it, whether it be a subject, object, person, situation, illness, political climate, scientific hypothesis and so on. If you don’t believe how important research is to writing or producing a good screenplay, just go to IMDB.com and read some of the goofs comments on some movies. People know stuff, and they are watching the film like a hawk to see if you know it too. You can not research that pocket watch if you want to, but be assured that some pocket watch enthusiast and collector, will trash you when you put a 1920’s watch in a 1890’s screenplay, just because you saw one and it looked cool. They will let you know about the hands not being designed that way till 1910, and the numbers for that brand being in Roman numerals, not digits, and on and on. The more we know, the richer the writing, the better the characters, the less angry kickback, and thus the better the story, and that is what it is all about - characters delivering the concepts of a story. Trust me when I say, research is your friend. Get to know it.
Let’s take a film like Lars and the Real Girl. The title kept me away from it for a long time, not being one too wild about oddly quirky films, but the nomination for best original screenplay in 2008, Ryan Gosling and Emiliy Mortimer drew me in. It was a bonus to see that Patricia Clarkson was in it too. Coupled with the fact that to improve skills as a Screenwriter or teacher, you have to watch every genre and type of film, even when you might not naturally be inclined to do so, I rented it. I’m glad I did because it is an interesting, well-written piece of work, almost in the vain of Irish and Scottish cinema, which I love. One of the most bizarre, hilarious pieces of work ever is Orphans, a screenwriting masterpiece written and directed by Peter Mullan, in my opinion.
Back to Lars and the Real Girl. -- it is a bit slow moving for some, but that only allows a viewer or practicing Screenwriter the time to truly break down what is happening. For good film, the character needs to grow or change during the course of the movie. The best films and the characters we like the most, usually change and grow the most. Think of The Shawshank Redemption, a film that I have never met one single person who didn’t like it. Why? Andy Duframe grows exponentially from beginning to end, and he takes everyone in his circle with him on that journey. They are all individually, and collectively, better for having known him. Same happens with Lars and the Real Girl, but there is another twist in this film.
Lars has a smaller life, with smaller problems and less outside influencing factors. No police arrest him, nobody is murdered, no mandatory confinement from an outside source, but the reality is, he is just as broken as Andy Duframe and he takes Duframe’s denial to new heights and settles into it with a quiet cry for help once “the real girl” arrives. He is a strong, damaged, visible, quietly compelling character, brilliantly played by Ryan Gosling. What is different is the manner in which the secondary character, the town, evolves. The town as introduced by its heart first (his sister in-law, beginning in the opening scene), rises first individually then evolves, and ultimately collectively acts as one entity, to meet the needs of the main character. By the time the brain, his doctor, comes on the scene, you begin to see that the heart and brain are capable of bringing the reluctant other body parts in line to support the soul of their small community, Lars. He would never know that is what he is, and perhaps they didn’t know it either at the beginning, but as they grow, they learn – body and soul. In this case, as a character study, Lars, the sister in law and the doctor drive the action of the film, and engage the audience in their collective growth. This is complex screenwriting at its best! Clear, different, concise.
You can also see the clarity in Nancy Oliver’s writing in Lars, and the simplicity of the story. There is no conflicting or convoluted delivery because the Director “got it” and stayed true to the writing. And while The Shawshank Redemption is a wonderful, well written film you can feel the difference between the delivery of it and the writing of it. That’s because Stephen King wrote the short story upon which it was based, and Frank Darabont adapted it, beautifully, but something about it feels more sweeping and less laser focused, still wonderful though. But the characters remain individuals, which is good, but more conventional story telling, delivered well in this film.
The complexity and clarity of Lars and the underlying theme is crystal clear, even if the characters are not as universally acceptable, likeable or are very quirky. Every film has an underlying theme, sometimes two. What is the driving theme of Lars and the Real Girl as a whole? The short of it is that “love does not judge, is patient and can heal all things.” The film makes a beautiful statement, and Oliver’s skill at making many people, meld into one character ‘the town’ to function collectively as the antagonist turned ally in time, gently nudged into conformity by the heart and the brain, is a screenwriting wonder. Bravo to Oliver, and the Academy for recognizing the complexity of her writing, and how difficult it is to pull off the nuances she crafted and delivered.
So how do you get the richness of either of these films? Characters first in my opinion drive the strength of a screenplay. You can’t tell a story about people you know nothing about, past their name and two or three other facts. The clearer and more complete your characters are, the most interesting and complex the action of the story. You must know your primary characters as well as you know your own self and your own history. This seems to be the pattern of those films nominated for Best Original Screenplay at the Academy Awards, so why shoot for less? Claim the red carpet!
The path to this conclusion is pretty simple when you break it down. Create interesting characters, by researching everything about them that you think you want to know and include, then research everything about the world they operate in so that you can get information about how they might function in that world. When you’ve done this, and when you truly understand that character, you will stay consistent in the actions you write for them and the story will flow in a manner that is congruent with their makeup. Get clear about your underlying theme, and the rest will simply move forward with ease! Remember, characters and story are still primary if the craft of screenwriting is your goal, and they reign supreme!
