"BTW" lines in your script

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  • #31
    Re: "BTW" lines in your script

    Originally posted by Ven View Post
    And 99% of the scripts I've read have the same tone.
    The pissed off, sarcastic, jaded hollywood writer tone.
    Then you're reading the wrong scripts. Just saying.
    http://www.pjmcilvaine.com/

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    • #32
      Re: "BTW" lines in your script

      Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
      But here's the problem. Films are, obviously, visual. Scripts are not. An actor will tell you volumes about the character from the expression on his face. Asides are a way for the writer to engage the reader the same way an actor engages the audience.
      Agree 1000%.
      http://www.pjmcilvaine.com/

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      • #33
        Re: "BTW" lines in your script

        Originally posted by Ven View Post
        And 99% of the scripts I've read have the same tone.
        The pissed off, sarcastic, jaded hollywood writer tone.
        I think you're looking for what you want when you read scripts, then. I don't get that sense at all.

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        • #34
          Re: "BTW" lines in your script

          I don't quite get the "actor expression" analogy.

          When I run across an "aside" in a screenplay I think of it as something a narrator might say in the movie.

          I use situation, action and dialogue to engage the reader. Actors are readers too. I would hope that the character's "expression" imagined by a reader is the same the actor would "see".
          "I am the story itself; its source, its voice, its music."
          - Clive Barker, Galilee

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          • #35
            Re: "BTW" lines in your script

            By the time "situation, action and dialogue" have painted a picture of the written character, a lot of pages have gone by. One great aside can give the reader (and yes, I include actors who are reading it) an immediate clear picture of who the character is, which informs everything that happens after it.

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            • #36
              Re: "BTW" lines in your script

              One of the best lines was by Kasdan, who described a character as a "rock and roll anarchist".

              http://www.pjmcilvaine.com/

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              • #37
                Re: "BTW" lines in your script

                Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                But here's the problem. Films are, obviously, visual. Scripts are not. An actor will tell you volumes about the character from the expression on his face. Asides are a way for the writer to engage the reader the same way an actor engages the audience.
                I like this.

                Anyone that doesn't agree with this is a dunderheid.
                "Only nothing is impossible."
                - Grant Morrison

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                • #38
                  Re: "BTW" lines in your script

                  Originally posted by JeffLowell View Post
                  By the time "situation, action and dialogue" have painted a picture of the written character, a lot of pages have gone by. One great aside can give the reader (and yes, I include actors who are reading it) an immediate clear picture of who the character is, which informs everything that happens after it.
                  I like it. Make a definition out of it:

                  A great aside is one used after a lot of pages have gone by and:
                  - the reader requires an immediate clear picture to be reminded who the character is and
                  - informs everything that happens after it.

                  It's a good definition for asides other than the ones in Character Introductions.
                  "I am the story itself; its source, its voice, its music."
                  - Clive Barker, Galilee

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                  • #39
                    Re: "BTW" lines in your script

                    Originally posted by instant_karma View Post
                    I like this.

                    Anyone that doesn't agree with this is a dunderheid.
                    It's not that I don't agree, it's just that I don't get it.

                    The OP initial aside, "He's not as handsome as we might have expected." doesn't fit into the equation.

                    It would make more sense to me if the last part was, "Asides are a way for the writer to engage the reader the same way a narrator (not "actor") engages the audience."
                    "I am the story itself; its source, its voice, its music."
                    - Clive Barker, Galilee

                    Comment


                    • #40
                      Re: "BTW" lines in your script

                      one of the problems that we have with this thread is that the example in the OP doesn't match with the topic being discussed.

                      There was nothing different or "aside" with the OP example.
                      It was just well-written description.

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                      • #41
                        Re: "BTW" lines in your script

                        Originally posted by Ven View Post
                        one of the problems that we have with this thread is that the example in the OP doesn't match with the topic being discussed.

                        There was nothing different or "aside" with the OP example.
                        It was just well-written description.
                        I thought it was well-written description and an aside.

                        I guess this would be a good place to start listing examples of asides ... some great ... some average ... some bad.
                        "I am the story itself; its source, its voice, its music."
                        - Clive Barker, Galilee

                        Comment


                        • #42
                          Re: "BTW" lines in your script

                          Originally posted by LIMAMA View Post
                          One of the best lines was by Kasdan, who described a character as a "rock and roll anarchist".

                          It's actually "rock'n roll arsonist" -- THE greatest character description of all time! Describing Mickey Rourke's character in BODY HEAT.
                          Ever thus to deadbeats.

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                          • #43
                            Re: "BTW" lines in your script

                            I do it all the time. I've had people tell me they were distracting and I should take them out, and I've had just as many people tell me they were great and I should definitely keep them in.

                            I usually cut about half of them and leave only the ones I really really like.
                            Chicks Who Script podcast

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                            • #44
                              Re: "BTW" lines in your script

                              Okay, full disclosure. While skimming about 15 scripts last night, I only came up with one decent (not great) example of these colorful asides, from Good Will Hunting:

                              On Will's right sits BILLY MCBRIDE, 22, heavy, quiet, someone you definitely wouldn't want to tangle with.
                              Bottom line, as several seasoned writers have mentioned here, they're best used very judiciously in character descriptions. There's a risk, but IMO, when it's done right... POW!

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                              • #45
                                Re: "BTW" lines in your script

                                Originally posted by NoTalentAssClown View Post
                                It's actually "rock'n roll arsonist" -- THE greatest character description of all time! Describing Mickey Rourke's character in BODY HEAT.
                                Damn! I really thought it was "anarchist"....oh well. Still a great line.
                                Last edited by LIMAMA; 04-14-2010, 10:06 AM. Reason: me
                                http://www.pjmcilvaine.com/

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