The advanced dialogue class begins later today! And I promise you
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her back. After a moment, Mr. Jingles finds his feet again. He rises and starts nosing the spool back to Paul. ELAINE Oh, Paul. Don't make him do it again. I can't bear to watch.
ST - this mouse is too old for games. (softly) But he loves it so much.
ST - loves overcomes all odds. He glances around at the shack with a sad smile. This isn't exactly the Mouseville we had in mind...but we make do, don't we, old fella?
ST - Paul would prefer not to have to hide the mouse. BRAD (O.S.) As I live and breathe!
Brad has already established himself as an asshole. ST - Caught you in the act. They gasp and spin. Brad Dolan stands in the doorway. Fooled you, didn't I Got yourself a little love nest here, I see...
ST - I'm breaking this up. He pauses, seeing Mr. Jingles. ...what the fuck? Is that a mouse?
Beginning of external conflict, followed by a lot of attack/counterattack. Don't hurt him, okay? Okay?
Some implication of hopelessness. Exact copy of previous dialog from inmate (DEL) trying to protect the mouse. ST - please, I beg you. It's a goddamn mouse, y'old fool, they carry all kind'a disease...
A form of misdirection, but also serves as a trigger because the disease bit was used earlier by Percy, who wanted to kill him. Brad grabs an old garden hoe--the blade's rusted, but still sharp enough to cut a mouse in two. ...now step aside.
Challenge. Paul rushes in front of Brad, fists clenched, yelling: You leave him alone, Percy! You leave him alone, or by God I'll--
Counter-challenge to external struggle. Paul also deals with internal struggle of Percy trying to kill the mouse long ago. Brad gives Paul a hard shove, pins him against the wall. Who you calling Percy? Name's Brad, you senile fucker. And I'm gonna nail that mouse, you can take that to the everfucking bank.
Strong direct prediction. Elaine is suddenly at Brad's elbow, seething with fury: ELAINE
How dare you? Get out!
Warning. Piss off, you wrinkeldy old bitch. Me and Paulie are talking.
ST - you can't hurt me. ELAINE His name is Mr. Edgecomb. If you ever call him Paulie again, your days of employment at Georgia Pines will end.
Imply consequences. Who the hell you think you are? ELAINE
I am the grandmother of the man who is currently Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives. A man who loves his relatives, Mr. Dolan. All it would take is a phone call.
ST - I may not can whoop your ass, but I can put it down. Brad's smile falters. Elaine steps closer. ELAINE
At first I thought I'd let you be. I'm old, and that seemed easiest. But when my friends are threatened and abused, I do not let it be. (icy beat) Now get out, or you won't work another day here. Not another hour. I swear it.
ST - Don't fuck with my friend. Ends with a direct prediction. The pattern was warning, implied consequences, prediction, each one getting stronger. Brad eases his grip on Paul...and backs off. Don't know what you're getting so het up about. Just a damn mouse.
Enforces Brad's lack of compassion for people. ELAINE Get out, you ignorant man. What little mind you have is ugly and misdirected.
ST - I know what you are. Brad flushes red, heads for the door. He pauses. Don't bother coming back here tomorrow...Mr. Edgecomb Gonna be a new lock on this door. This is off-limits to residents, no matter what Mrs. My Shit Don't Stink has to say about it.
ST - I'm going to ultimately win. And off he goes. Paul tries to control the shaking in his hands, looks to Elaine. ELAINE Little trick I learned from Percy Wetmore. Is your grandson really Speaker of the House? ELAINE
He is. Paul bends down, picks Mr. Jingles up. You gonna thank the lady? She just saved your old mousie hide.
ST - Paul's way of saying "thank you" The mouse stretches his neck forward, nose twitching, smelling Paul's breath. Paul looks to Elaine. Softly: I think Mr. Jingles happened by accident. I think when we electrocuted Del, and it all went so badly...well, John could feel it, you know...and I think a tiny part of whatever was inside of him just leapt out... (beat)
Me, I was no accident. John had to give me a little part of himself...a gift, like...so I could see for myself what Wild Bill had done. When John did that, a part of whatever power worked through him spilled into me.
Explanation of metaphor. The mouse represents the transfer of power from Del to John to Paul. The explanation continues. ELAINE
He...what? Infected you with life? Paul looks at the mouse, strokes him gently between the ears. That's as good a word as any. He infected us both, didn't he, Mr. Jingles. With life. (beat)
I'm a hundred and five years old, Elaine. I was forty the year John Coffey walked the Green Mile. ELAINE
...oh my God... CAMERA PUSHES SLOWLY IN on Paul as: I haven't even had a cold since 1935. I've had to watch my friends and loved ones die off through the years...Hal and Melinda...Brutus Howell...my wife...my son... (beat)
...and you, Elaine. You'd die, too, and my curse is knowing I'll be there to see it...
A direct prediction - that comes true immediately. DISSOLVE TO: INT. FUNERAL HOME - DAY Paul, dressed in a dark suit, comes up the aisle. ANGLE SHIFTS to reveal Elaine Connelly lying in the open casket. PAUL (V.O.) ...that's my punishment, you see? My punishment for letting John Coffey ride the lightning...for killing a miracle of God... Paul lays a rose atop the casket. PAUL (V.O.) ...you'll be gone, like all the others, and I'll have to stay... EXT. CEMETERY - DAY Paul stands at the graveside as the casket is lowered. PAUL (V.O.) I'll die eventually, I imagine. I have no illusions of immortality. But I will have wished for death long before death finds me.
This scene reveals Paul's internal conflict because he knew John was innocent of the crime he was executed for. He turns and walks away. PAUL (V.O.) In truth, I wish for it already. INT. E BLOCK - NIGHT(1935) Empty and silent. Young Paul walks the Mile alone, listening to the quiet. He pauses, seeing something. A whisper:
Mr. Jingles? It is Mr. Jingles. The little mouse is peering from under the restraint room door. He's come home, looking raggled. Paul bends down, gently picks him up. Where you been, boy? I've been worried about you. You hungry? Paul turns and head back up the Green Mile, carrying the mouse cupped in his hands as we MATCH DISSOLVE TO: INT. NURSING HOME - DAY Young Paul transforms into Old Paul in the dissolve, the corridor of the Green Mile becoming the corridor of the nursing home. He's walking along, holding the little mouse the same way he did over sixty years ago.
The blending of the past and present.
WHAT I LEARNED: To read, read and re-read text to gain a better understanding of where its coming from, where it is going and the motivation behind it AND which skills the author applied to the text to make it meaningful. Dialogue Scene from JERRY MAGUIRE INT. LIVING ROOM -- NIGHT Jerry enters. Dorothy is seated toward the back. Hello. I'm looking for my wife. ** Jerry has acknowledged the place Dorothy has in his life. ** Dorothy looks up, robbed of words. Stunned, she does not move. (continuing) Alright. If this is where it has to happen, then this is where it has to happen. ** He's willing to say what he has to, even if it means rejection from her sister's women's group. ** Dorothy says nothing. (continuing) I'm not letting you get rid of me. How about that? ** He's not going to give up. ** He shares a look with some of the other women. She's not going to say a word. Neither do they. (continuing) This used to be my specialty. I was good in a living room. Send me in there, I'll do it alone. And now I just... I don't know... but on what was supposed to be the happiest night of my business life, it wasn't complete, wasn't nearly close to being in the same vicinity as complete, because I couldn't share it with you. I couldn't hear your voice, or laugh about it with you. I missed my wife. We live in a cynical world, and we work in a business of tough competitors, so try not to laugh – ** Jerry's life and his view of life has changed since the beginning of the story. ** (directly) I love you. You complete me. ** He's found the half that makes him complete. ** DOROTHY
Aw, shut up. You had me at hello. ** Dorothy never doubted her love. ** What I learned: I learned that a lot of information can be given through the uses of effective dialogue. Script Analysis from Alien
finding out he's a robot. They want to know the what, why, where, and how of this Alien that's stocking their lives. My comments are either in bold, or if your email doesn't support that, is in quoation marks just below the name of the Character talking. I like this scene, because it's basically the second act turning point in the scene, and the point where the crew stops their fearful running and hiding, and finally decides to make their last stand against the Alien, even if it means blowing up the ship and losing everything.
Begin to reassemble the wiring in Ash's head. RIPLEY "I've suspected something was wrong from the start of this. Something was wrong with him. I should have never let them back on board." Ash let it on board. Ash let it grow inside Kane. Ash blew the warning signal.
litter."
PARKER What's that. RIPLEY "I'm tired of the games. Half this crew is dead, and we could be next."
That's what I want to know. Ash's head is placed on the table. His eyes flicker into consciousness. RIPLEY "You better give it to us, or I'm ripping your head off -- again." What is Special Order 937. ASH "She will never learn. I can tell them, but they'll never understand." You know I can't tell you that. RIPLEY "Just what I expected. Okay, game over." Then there's not point in talking to you. Pull the plug. ASH "She's serious. Fine, I'll tell her, but she still will not understand." Special Order 937 in essence asked me to direct the ship to the planet, investigate a life form, possibly hostile and bring it back for observation. With discretion, of course. RIPLEY "And leave us out of the loop?! We sacrifice ourselves for that company, and then we get used like this!" Why. Why not tell us. ASH "You stubborn fool. They're smarter than you." Would you have gone. PARKER
nothing less. And I better get paid."
Alien. No matter what happened to us.
really see this from both sides." That's unfair. Actually, you weren't mentioned in the order. LAMBERT Those bastards. ASH "Why does Ripley always feel she is right? It's always black and white to her. There's more to the universe than who she thinks she is and how she sees herself in her little sphere of life."
They didn't know what the Alien is. RIPLEY "I frankly couldn't give a rip about what they though it was or it wasn't. I want to live." How do we kill it. ASH
she's too caught up in her pride to acknowledge that. They will never learn how powerful that creature is. Only I can fathom it." I don't think you can. Not in this ship, given its life support systems. But I might be able to. RIPLEY "I don't want to hear what I can't do. Tell me what can be done before I rip your head off and throw you into space." How. ASH "She thinks I'm going to just tell her? I'm the superior being here, I'm the one who's not afraid of death. You Ripley, are simply human, but you'll never admit to that."
exactly at my best at the moment. If you would reconnect...
fool."
kill it without my help.
to tell me I'm gonna die like the rest of the crew. I'm the one in control here, and I'm not going to take this."
ASH
solution."
If you don't go into hypersleep, you'll die with or without the Alien.
"You're programmed by the same company that has used us for bait up to this point. You don't want us to survive. You're programmed to do everything possible to make that creature survive. You're part of the system, and I'm not going to stand for it any longer." Nice try, Ash. ASH "You're only hope of survival, if you can survive is in me. Doesn't she understand that I know this ship better than anybody? I know what it takes to survive if that is what consumes her so much. Unplugging me will only seal her doom." I will do whatever I can to help you. I swear it. PARKER "I'm tired of this whining. Who the heck does this droid think he is? We've been duped once, not any more. Who's gonna die next, how are we going to kill that creature, that's what I want to know. I want to get back to Earth in one piece, and Ash here sure isn't helping the situation."
thing if we can't?" I agree. ASH
I thought they loved their lives, and here I am, the solution to their problem. If they would just see that I can't do anything for them unless they put me back together. There is so much more to this alien than anything they could comprehend." You idiots. You still don't realize what you're dealing with. The Alien is a perfect organism. Superbly structured, cunning, quintessentially violent. With your limited capabilities you have no chance against it.
protect us. You're so in love with your organism, even if it meant our deaths."
to admire it. But I can see that you also want to survive. I've been programmed to help you."
I will kill it because I am programmed to protect human life as you know. RIPLEY "Are you sure about this? Because after you tried to kill me and the rest of the crew, I have a hard time believing you." Even if you have contempt for it.
on human FEELINGS." Even then. Bitter and angry. RIPLEY
Sorry Ash. I don't buy it. ASH "LISTEN to me! You cant' survive without me. It's too powerful, it's the perfect killing machine. That's why we were sent to investigate it. It's made so that mere mortals like you are powerless in it's stead."
be ripped to shreds, destroyed and...
Ash softens...
be there to watch." I can only wish you well... Ripley pulls the plug. PARKER "Why was he so desperate to survive? I thought he was a droid, why did he care so much about living? Are we the fools?" He was probably right. We do need him. RIPLEY "I knew it, I let the idiot talk too long. I guess you're just as gullible as the rest of them. Well I'm not going to die." He was conning us. LAMBERT "Ripley, I heard what he said. Droids can't lie, they're machines, not you and me." He was programmed to protect human life. RIPLEY
it. Forget Ash, he tried to kill me. He was programmed by the system, and in the system we mean nothing and that alien means everything."
lives and that's all I care about. Anyway it's done.
Scene from MIDNIGHT COWBOY when Joe first meets Ratso
INT. EVERETT'S BAR - DAY Joe sits at the bar, staring morosely at his image in the mirror, already quite drunk, oblivious to the assorted types hiding from daylight in the barn-like saloon, waiting for night to fall. RATSO'S VOICE Excuse me, I'm just admiring that colossal shirt... RATSO studies Joe across the corner of the bar -- a sickly, child-size old man of twenty-one -- hopefully nursing an empty beer glass, contemplating the money on the bar in front of Joe. RATSO
That is one hell of a shirt. I bet you paid a pretty price for it, am I right?
(Manipulative -- Ratso's engaging Joe in conversation with an ulterior motive) Oh, it ain't cheap. I mean, yeah, I'd say this was an all right shirt. Don't like to, uh, you know, have a lot of cheap stuff on my back.
Ratso spits as JACKIE leans on the bar next to Joe -- a feminine young person, heavily made-up, hair teased, wearing earrings and a lace-trimmed blouse over shocking pink levis. JACKIE Got a cigarette, cowboy?
RATSO (a stage whisper) More goddam faggots in this town.
(Self-seriving -- Ratso doesn't want competition for the new guy) Reaching for a cigarette, Joe glances at Jackie, startled as Jackie twitches his pink levis angrily and turns away. Shee-it... (shakes his head) Kee-rist, you really know the ropes. Wish to hell I bumped into you before. I'm Joe Buck from Texas and I'm gonna buy you a drink, what do you say to that?
(Incredibly naive, but also generous) RATSO Enrico Rizzo from the Bronx. Don't mind if I do. (slaps bar) Same all around! For my friend, too!
(Uh-oh. Joe's a little too generous -- and makes "friends" too fast.) The TV screen over the bar features a mating game program as Jackie cruises down to join a tall farm boy with plucked eyebrows. The TV HOST points to three young men, visible only from the shoulders up, from whom a pretty DATE GIRL in blindfold must choose an escort. TV HOST ... and for the losers, who don't get the girl, we'll give as consolation prices -- a six month supply of underarm deodorant...
(funny, but also foreshadowing Joe's future) In a booth now -- the TV screen in the background, continuing the game -- Joe is refilling Ratso's beer glass as he speaks, loud over the laughter of the TV audience. JOE
... you see what I'm getting at here? She got a penthouse up there with color TV and more goddam diamonds than an archbishop and she busts out bawling when I ask for money!
(Joe's already confiding in his new "friend.") RATSO For what? JOE
For money. RATSO For money for what? JOE
I'm a hustler, hell, didn't you know that?
(A hustler doesn't recognize a hustler. That doesn't bode well for Joe's future success.) RATSO How would I know? You gotta tell a person these things (shakes his head) A hustler? Picking up trade on the street like that -- baby, believe me -- you need management. JOE
I think you just put your finger on it, I do. RATSO My friend O'Daniel. That's who you need. Operates the biggest stable in town. In the whole goddam metropolitan area. A stud like you - paying! -- not that I blame you -- a dame starts crying, I cut my heart for her...
JACKIE'S VOICE I'd call that a very minor operation...
(great line, but Joe's not paying attention to the truth behind it) |